Technology to Support Communication

Section 2: Communications Plan

The relationships between parents, teachers, peer, and students is one on the most vital
components to the academic success of a student. Henry Ford once said If everyone is moving
forward together, then success takes care of itself. The day I fulfill my dream and become a
teacher it will be one of my goals to set up clear, precise and up to date communications between
all people involved. Communication is key and can make or break ones success at being an
educator. Being an educator it is our responsibly to take charge and set up all and any means of
communications to the parents of the children we are teaching. The involvement of the parent is
very important to the teacher, the student and parents. Keeping parents in the loop is a top
priority, because it can directly affect the student.
My communications plan for my first year of teaching, will be a learning process but will have many
benefits in the end. I will plan on starting parent teacher meeting before the start of school, to insure that I
can personally meet, great and welcome them to the class, though I am not teaching them, they are
directly involved with their childs education. I will also plan on sending out a welcome letter to each and
every parent, this letter will introduce myself and tell a little about me and my educational background,
this letter will also be a list of items needed in class, and will have all of my contact information. I will
include a form the fill out so that I know all the information needed on the child. The information needed
will be along the lines of: any known allergies, illnesses, fears, emergency contact information and so on.
I want to stress to the parents that I care about my students and want the best for them while in my class. I
plan on engaging the parents through a Facebook page and website for the parents to keep up to date on
the current events in class. I will make sure to email or text communications over the parents and keep
them in the loop of present and future lessons. As a teacher I would feel that all parents should know
what their children are learning in class, at all times.

The classroom is a place where we can utilize technology to enhance the learning experience, the
world we live in today offers so many different devices that can really cater to almost any and all learning
styles. One of most widely used social networking sites Facebook can be utilized in the classroom and
outside of it. According to (Beatty, Mia (2013) Facebook can offer online discussions, to which the

students are able to, read and respond to questions and comments of others, and respond to the
topic at hand. Class discussions do not need to end when the bell rings, but now extend
intellectual thinking into each child's home as students pick up online where they left off in class.
As a teacher you could make it a requirement for the students to participate in the online activity
and then the next day host an in class discussion on the topic that was on Facebook. The creation
of a class web page can also be beneficial. Creating a class page or group allows our students to
check class information and communicate informally with peers. When students are no longer
required to go to an extra website created by us, the convenience of using social networking
groups that they already participate in increases the likelihood that these dialogues will continue.
When it comes to Internet security and safety these are issues that are not to be taken lightly, the
internet can be a dangerous place and its important that we set up blocks and have security to protect
children from accessing harmful sites. The Internet as a valuable tool. Like any other tool, the Internet
can be misused or dangerous in certain circumstances. Students must learn how to use the Internet safely
And effectively. ("Issues School Divisions must address (n.d.) it is important for the school to set
up rules, that apply to the students and they must abide by the rules in order to participate it the classroom
actives when on the computer. The school should set up blocks and firewalls to sites that are deemed
dangerous. The computers should be limited in what the student should be allowed to do, for example
they shouldnt have access to downloading websites. Internet safety is key and shouldnt be taken lightly.

References-

Beatty, Mia (2013) Integrating Google Blogs into the K-6 Language Arts Classroom to Promote
Interactive Learning Communities.
Bobbitt, R., Inman, R., & Bertrand, E. (2013). Using Remind 101 as a Classroom:
Communication Tool. NACTA Journal, 57(4), 77-78.

"Issues School Divisions Must Address (n.d.) Guidelines and Resources for Internet Safety in
Schools. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Richmond, VA: Virginia Dept. of Education, 2007. 5.-6. Web.
20 Dec. 2014.