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Section 2: Communications Plan

Staying connected in the classroom has never been easier. Today parents, teachers and
students have more options available to connect them with the classroom. Taking advantage of
technologies such as, emails, sharing documents, and classroom webpages or blogs are ways to
help todays student achieve higher test scores, grades and reach goals. No longer are teachers
only available to parents or students for guidance or questions during classroom hours. Picking
the right components of technology for the classroom can result in positive gains for the teacher,
Student, and parents.
Having a high technology classroom means the teacher, students and parents are
connected so that the student can benefit in many levels of learning. (Dickerson& Segars, 1999)
using technologies such as emails, group messaging discussions and web pages lead to students
taking advantage of more than one way of communicating and accomplishing assignments on a
learning level. With technology students can have access to teachers for questions on assignments
when not in class, as well as access to other students to strengthen group collaborating in groups.
Today it still seems like communication between home and school is lacking. In this age
of access to information anytime-anywhere, it is appropriate to explore alternate ways to
facilitate dialogue between the contexts.(Kervin, 2005) Introducing a weekly email from the
teacher to the parent or care giver of the student would open up a relationship between the two
where more information could be shared to help the student thrive. Teachers emailing completed
assignments with grades included will help to bridge the gap between home and school to ensure
students success.

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Another aspect in having technology rich classrooms can be the enhancement of the
curriculum. Through adding Internet and computers for the teachers and students, schools can
gain access to areas of curriculum that locally they may have had access to. The term global
community in a classroom setting can now mean connecting and learning of classrooms across the
country. They can view and learn from different areas that previously were only available to the
classroom via an out dated book. With all the technology also comes the risks. Privacy violations
and cyber bullying seem to be the greatest risks with youth. (Moreno, Egan, Bare, Young & Cox,
2013) Studies have recently shown, one-third of adolescents had given their internet password to
friends and one fourth were unaware that content uploaded online cannot be permanently deleted.
(Moreno, Egan, Bare, Young, & Cox, 2013) Developing grade and age appropriate lessons
involving Internet Safety is crucial for teachers looking to use any form of technology in their
classrooms.
Technology rich classrooms will increase in time, having teachers who know how to
navigate and use all the keys available to them is absolute. Todays teachers have more ways to
engage and reach students than ever before.

References

DICKSON, G. W., & SEGARS, A. (1999). Redefining the High-Technology Classroom. Journal
Of Education For Business, 74(3), 152. Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=1621898&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Kervin, L. (2005). Students talking about home-school communication: Can technology support
this process?. Australian Journal Of Language & Literacy, 28(2), 150-163.Retrieved From:
https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=17410351&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Moreno, M. A., Egan, K. G., Bare, K., Young, H. N., & Cox, E. D. (2013). Internet safety
education for youth: stakeholder perspectives. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-6.
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-543 Retrieved from: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=88981803&site=ehost-live&scope=site