Using Technology In The Classroom? Keep Parents In Mind

I was having a conversation with a colleague the other day. We got to talking about parents and the struggle he was having getting them to realize that all these social media tools and Web 2.0 tools were worth the time and effort the teachers were spending to enhance learning in the classroom. So I asked, what had he done to get the parents involved in the conversation?

It seems simple but parents have to be involved in that conversation. School is different now than it was 5, 10, 20 years ago. And (for good reason) the use of technology in the classroom, including social media and Web 2.0 gets questioned. How does that help kids read better? How does that help them do math better? Again, all valid questions but sometimes parents who question the methods or the reasons why are seen as bothersome or trying to get in the way. And maybe for some, that is the case but I would guess that the questions arise from a misunderstanding.

So what is the solution?

I dunno?

Do I have an idea?

Sure do.

Anytime a teacher wants to use Twitter, Voicethread, whatever the tool, bring them in (if you can), record a video, communicate somehow, the answers to these 3 questions:

What are you using? Again, it sounds simple but you've got to communicate what tool you are using. How it works. Are the parents going to have access to the student work? What will they be able to see? This is all the technical stuff. The depth to which you go is up to you. If you can bring them, take the time to teach them how to use the program.

Why are you using it? You've got to communicate to the parents the purpose of the use of the tool. How does it fit with the content? Explaining why you are going to use it will help you determine for yourself, the best pedagogy for the technology and how it will fit into your teaching. That, in turn, helps the parents to understand the same.

How does the use of this tool enhance student learning? The most important question to answer. How will the use of this ultimately make learning better. Why will the use of this tool be good for kids?

You've got to build those bridges with parents. The easiest way is to bring them in and tell them whats going on. Better yet, let the kids teach their parents.

The point is, parents need to have that buy-in. They need to understand wthe technology choices you are making in your class.

What are you doing to help parents understand how technology works in your classroom? Leave some ideas below. 

photo credit: Knight Foundation via photopin cc

Meeting Parents Half Way

If you have read any of my leadership posts in the past you know I am all about reflection. One of the most important things good leaders do is reflect. Time must be taken to think about the direction our organizations are going and if any adjustments, at any level, need to be made.

Many leaders, schools and districts have done a great job with reflection. They have looked at everything from the way kids get to school to what is done with them while they are there to teachers and the types of professional development offerings.

But...

There is one place that maybe we don’t think about much. Or it might be an afterthought. Or in some cases ignored all together.

Parents

I will admit, when I was in a leadership position (School Improvement Team Chair) when I was at the school level I didn’t think about it. Our group worried about test scores, staff morale, bullying and other topics. But, like any leader should do I have since reflected on that time I spent in that position and realized we missed chance to really think about parents and what their perceptions of our building were.

Parents should be advocates on our side. But sometimes they are seen as the enemy rather than our ally. There are lots of terms out there. Absent parents. Helicopter Parents. Parents We Love To Hate. But they are still parents. We still want to believe they have the best interests of their child in mind, just like we should.

And it isn’t just schools. Individual classrooms are that way as well. When I was in the classroom I had a teammate that refused to call parents, sit in on conferences, just about have nothing to do with them. She said her job was to teach kids and didn’t get paid enough to “deal” with parents.

The whole point of this is we have to think differently about our parents. The best ally you can have in your classroom is your parents. Think about it. When you want to do something “outside the box” it is easy for your admin to shoot you down. It’s a lot tougher for them to shoot down a room of 30 parents. (Now don’t go doing anything against your admins wishes and said it was ok because I told you so. I will deny everything.)

There is a cliche about flies and honey and vinegar that fits in here...

One of the issues with parents and schools that comes up time and time again is that many parents are bitter towards schools because of their own experiences growing up. In the current reform movement the battle cry is that our schools have virtually remained the same for the past 100 years. So this argument makes sense.

I was talking to a teacher the other day about another teacher at his school. He was saying there is a teacher there that has been there for 34 years. Quite amazing and something to be proud of. Except every year the admin in this school has trouble putting kids in her class because many of the parents had her as students and remembered their experiences and don’t want their child to have the same.

I dunno about you but I don’t think I would want to be remembered that way.

There are a lot of issues at play here with parents. But I think there are some things schools can do to be more parent friendly. And this isn’t even a list of things you can necessarily do. Just some things to think about.

Look at your building from your parents point of view. When they get there do they know where to go? Who greets them? It all comes back to customer service. Silly I know but it’s true. Even if your school secretary (or teacher) has had a bad day, the parent walking through that door doesn’t know that or the circumstances around that. Each parent that walks through those doors is a guest. We have to remember that.

When was the last time we asked parents what they really though about the classroom, teacher, school or district? If we want to be better we have to understand our weaknesses. By asking the parents what we are good at and what we could be better at we can begin to change our school culture, for the better and perhaps change minds.

How many parents are involved in major school decisions? Sure there might be a PTSA. But I mean on your School Improvement Team or Leadership Team. Do they have membership there. In NC we are required to have a parent involved on our teams. Perspective is important. And they can sometimes see things we don’t when it comes to our buildings.

What do you think? What works well in your building or your classroom when it comes to parents? What could you be doing better? Leave some comments below.

You may also want to checkout the archive from this week’s #edchat. It was all about parents and there were some really great things said and ideas toss around. 

Image CC DoctorStrange

Are Parents The Obstacle To The Future Of Education?

In the past you have read about the many obstacles teachers/schools face when it comes to using Social Media/Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom. Filtering, lack of professional development, and support are just a few.

Last night, participants of #edchat discussed and debated that parents are the one's in the way of progression. Ideas were also tossed around about how to get parents more involved in the process. Here is just a taste of what was said:

• Change the way we "do business" as far as P/T/S conferences, Back-to-School Nights, Curriculum Nights, Open House nights for math/reading/etc...integrate tech and web 2.0 tools! video lessons & share with families...have students share...
• We are in a difficult time period here... Parents have to be taught and given access if we want to do many of the things we talk so much about. Soon enough, the students of today will be the parents of tomorrow.
• Technology is yet another tool. Folks are afraid of what is new and need some time to assimilate. If they are shown the value of the 'new tool', they will try to make it work in their classes too, because great teachers will do whatever they need to do to get kids to learn.
• I think parents and teachers are roadblocks...fear and ignorance are the worst of the culprits. I think we need to teach from the top and then go down, otherwise we will not have the support we need from the top. How many things, for instance, are blocked by your district's servers? There is where to start the education...
• The best way to educate parents about Web 2.0 is to USE it. Include it as naturally as you do in the classroom. Send surveys (such as this one) or create videos on the web and share them. Use tools such as VoiceThread, Animoto, Google Docs, Smile Box, wikis, blogs, etc so they can see and have opportunities to respond to your projects.
• We don't want to teach "social media" - we want to use it TO teach.
• Wonder if teachers talked about how to educate parents about the benefits of calculators 40 years ago?

Some Thoughts...

Fear
This, I see is the biggest challenge to overcome. It seems like daily we hear about a predator who uses a social network to meet an underage child; the same social network we advocate for use in the classrooms (sometimes). We hear about the latest case of cyberstalking or cyberbullying. But can you think about the last time you heard about a positive use of these tools? I know the stories are out there. I have heard them. But the problem is they stay inside educational circles and hardly ever make it mainstream. So parents have this warped idea that all social networking is bad and evil. Parents are scared to let their students use the internet or have their picture appear on the web, all over the fear mongering that perpetuates the airwaves.

Were parents, teachers, administrators, so resistive to change when the slide rule, calculator, overhead were introduced in school? Were they afraid that when students learned to use a calculator they wouldn't know math any more? Maybe. Social Media and Web 2.0 Tools are just that, tools. They are the devices teachers use to teach, and students use to learn. I (and many others) see them no different from the chisel and slate, ink and hide or pencil and paper. These are just the new tools. And new tools take time getting used to.

Cybersafety
Going right along with fear of use of these tools in the classroom is the lack of education on our part. I am sure there are individual schools/districts out there doing a great job of teaching their students responsible use and cybersafety. But I would guess that the vast majority of students are not regularly involved in a cybersafety curriculum on even a monthly basis. Whats worse is that when the students are learning about how to stay safe online the parents are rarely involved.

Access
Another comment that was made was about access. Parents might not understand these tools because they have not had the time/ability to investigate them at home because of access. I live/work in a very rural area of North Carolina. Everyday I hear a teacher or parent that is frustrated because where they live in an area either not served by high-speed internet access or they only thing they can get is dial-up. So because there is frustration with the technology and access at home, this is then translated, perhaps unintentionally, to the classroom.

Ideas For The Future
If you are a teacher who regularly uses technology in the classroom when was the last time you invited parents into your room to use it with their students? I know, most who use these tools do a great job of showing off the end result but what about from the beginning? If you create a classroom blog, do you invite your parents to also post? If you are creating Voicethreads do you have your parents come in and give them access so they can create one too?

The idea here is involvement. Parents naturally fear what they don't understand. So, help them understand. Give them same access you would give a student. Bring them in, and teach them just as you would your students. If you are using Edmodo, let them in and see the discussion. If you are working in Animoto, bring them in and have them make one also. If you can't do it during your class, make the time to do it during a special open house night or meeting at your school. Even if there isn't enough time to create, at least show. More importantly, talk about the whys and the benefits.

Another thing schools and districts need to do a better job of doing is education of our parents. In addition to bringing them in to show them the use and benefits of the these tools in the classroom, we need to be having frank conversations about how to keep our students safe online. If we begin to show parents that teachers and schools are doing what they can to keep students safe online at school, we might begin to break down some of barriers. We are in the business of education. Why are we leaving the parents out of the conversation?

What do you think? Are parents the road block to change. What are you doing right at your school or in your classroom. What are some successes that you have had with parent buy-in? What are you going to do different?

Image from Creative Commons Image Search. View the original here.