Emery Toler

http://educateandexcite-emerytoler.weebly.com/
EDU-225
10-03-2015

Technology to Support Communication

Introduction
The 21st century presents a unique set of challenges when introducing new information to
young students as technology has become a part of the lives of mostly everyone. New teachers
must embrace these challenges and balance tested tried and true ways that challenges their
students, and involve and introduce the parents and educators with the technological advances
and the understanding of computer language that are becoming a mainstay of societies
everywhere while creating a supported global community. These Global networks enable
students at all grade levels to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills to understand and
guide their world (Wishnietsky, D. H., & Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, B. I. 1993).
That is why using such tools as interactive websites, social media, email and videos can supply
teachers with greater tools that can provide support and enhancement in the process of educating
students while connecting them with computer based technologies in the process.
Technology to Enhance Communication
Interactive websites: Interactive websites used in the classrooms can create an open dialogue
between student and teacher and at home with parents that allow the internet to describe and
participate with educational games and introduces different cultural places that brings

information and knowledge of the world, interactive whiteboards, wikis, teacher-created

websites, story creation tools, cell phones, Skype, digital projectors, and connections outside the
classroom (Federoff, M., Hicks, T., Mangiacapre, A., Reilly, E., Imbriale, R., Sheninger, E., & ...
Langhorst, E . 2011). By applying these different ideas the teacher can promote connections and
support communications between interested parties from the classroom to the world outside of it.

Social media: The usage of social media can be imperative and an important tool for teachers
when communicating with students. By accessing this tool the teacher provides an incredible
amount of information with people from all over the world while being an informative
communication forum for students and educators alike. Also students can access different ideas
at home and discuss with parents and peers becoming connected to people and information
shared amongst one another. With social media in terms of optimism and innovation in
technology readiness, there are clear differences among teacher seniority, the most used social
websites, and the time spent on Facebook. The four facets of technology readiness, i.e.,
optimism, creativity, insecurity, and discomfort, all possess prediction ability with respect to the
intention of using Facebook for class management (Shu-Fen, L., Chu-Liang, L., & De-Chih, L
2015).

Email: The teacher using email as a tool to communicate with students and parents has an
interactive device which helps to eliminate time and distance for the educator and more time and
able to reach more people at a greater distance. Having the students using email can create
friends in many parts of the world and with help from parents and educators open up a global

dialogue of knowledge and participation between all parties. The author was noted that E-mail
supports collective reflection on a learning task after adding the following supportive measures
to the regular e-mail program: (1) a fixed partnership, (2) fixed timing, (3) an exercise of
individual freewriting, and (4) collective use of a paper worksheet (de Vries, B., van der Meig,
H., Boersma, K. T., & Pieters, J. M. 2005) supplying this as an optimum tool in the classroom.

Video: Using video technology can be another way to prepare students on a visual and digital
level that makes for a spectacle that can make otherwise sometimes dull and verbal
communication become alive and give other options on how to address information and specific
topic used within the classroom. By providing visual stimuli the access to the optimal experience
can create dialogue and excitement especially with the younger students. As teacher educators,
classroom teachers, and administrators interested in educational technology acquire a firm
theoretical as well as practical foundation upon which to introduce nonlinear digital video into
their undergraduate or graduate instruction; discover a time-tested, step-by-step process for
introducing creative hands-on videography projects into their respective teacher preparation
programs or classrooms; and recognize why it is critically important for preservice and in-service
teachers to establish a personal underlying pedagogical philosophy for infusing video technology
into classroom instruction (Sweeder, J. 2007).

Communication Internet Security and Safety

While Technological advancement can be a blessing in the pursuit of education being
aware of the security and safety risks that can come with using them is something all teachers ,

parents and educators should make clear. In the U.S. It notes that information posted in their
public profiles provides personal details needed for identity theft. It also mentions that one
should click on Help section whenever an e-mail asks for money or sensitive information, and
suggests that youths must carefully choose their friends in online social networking sites like
Facebook. Moreover, the author indicates the significance in integrating Internet security
information in financial education programs offered by financial planners to young adults (Gallo,
E. 2011). Understanding the challenges that come with using the internet and other forms of
technology requires teachers to present these issues with the utmost transparency so that
students, administration and parents can be aware of what needs to be done to create a safe
environment for everyone who uses these to play, study, learn, and communicate through
selected computer based entities and security measures should be at the forefront when they are
used.

Concluding Paragraph
Communication in the 21st century is a challenging and exciting part of the education system.
Bringing together information and knowledge while creating new ways to support teachers and
parents in their quest to provide a forum where education can be exciting and much easier to
access. While this is a great and noble quest, remaining conscientious and proposing safety and
security measures that protect and provide safe connections with technology is a must. Protecting
the rights of anyone who uses these advancements and having respect for the social and the
potentially global aspects that come with advancement should always be a priority as with
anything that affects the world as a whole.

References:

de Vries, B., van der Meig, H., Boersma, K. T., & Pieters, J. M. (2005). Embedding E-Mail in
Primary Schools: Developing a Tool for Collective Reflection. Journal Of Educational
Computing Research, 32(2), 167-183.
Federoff, M., Hicks, T., Mangiacapre, A., Reilly, E., Imbriale, R., Sheninger, E., & ... Langhorst,
E. (2011). Let's Hear It for.. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 54-55.
Gallo, E. (2011). The Young Adult: Financial Education, Social Networking, and Internet
Security. Journal Of Financial Planning, 24(10), 36-37.

Shu-Fen, L., Chu-Liang, L., & De-Chih, L. (2015). THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' TECHNOLOGY READINESS AND INTENTION TO
USE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT. International
Journal Of Organizational Innovation, 8(1), 48-63.
Wishnietsky, D. H., & Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, B. I. (1993). Using Computer
Technology To Create a Global Classroom. Fastback 356.