Doug Johnson

Techno-Parenting
Head for the Edge, March 2000

Just last week I got this in my email inbox:

Hello Parents and Guardians,

We are coming to a close on our mental health unit. Throughout the unit, the students have been writing in a journal every day. Next Tuesday, Nov.16, this journal is due. They must have 11 journal entries and the journal must have a cover that relates to their journal. Also, the students have been creating a power point presentation. They are coming along wonderfully. Tell your child what a great job he/she has been doing in health!

Jane Doe, Health Teacher

That message is just the latest in an almost weekly series of reminders I’ve been getting from the teachers in my son’s school. I’ve been asked to help with homework and projects; been forewarned of upcoming tests and their content; and been advised of upcoming field trips. And do you know what? My son’s schoolwork is better as a result.

This is just one example of how technology can help forge terrific alliances between teachers and parents. Neither alone can offer a child the best possible learning experiences. It takes, if not a whole village, at least a couple of huts to educate today’s kids. How can technology be used to make those vital parent/teacher links?

Email is just one obvious way technology can help the communication process. True, not all parents have email, but a surprising percentage do, and that percentage grows each year. Parents who can’t afford home computers may still have access to them at work or at their public library.

Email has some real advantages over other means of communication. It’s the rare email that gets lost on the way home. A single email message can be sent at a keystroke to dozens of parents without the hassle or cost of photocopying. Parents can rapidly respond to email as soon as it is read. Email messages can be indexed, stored, and rapidly retrieved. (A memo is not sent to just inform the reader, but to protect the writer, remember?)

The telephone is still the premier means of communicating with individual parents. It’s easy to use, almost every parent has one, and it’s personal enough to say you care. Teacher should have a classroom telephone along with a good voice mail system. If your district can’t afford to put a phone in your classroom, ask to borrow a student’s cell.

Student information systems that are networked to the teacher’s desktop making finding current phone numbers quick and convenient. Already on the market are web-based information systems that allow parents to check their children’s password-protected grades in real time. It’s not hard to imagine this scenario: See Jimmy flop on the couch with remote in hand claiming that he’s doing swell in all his classes. See Mom log on to his teacher’s grade book and discover he is an assignment or two shy and did a less-than-stellar job on the lastest test. See Jimmy hit the books- under Mom’s supervision.

School-produced web pages in our district, as well as in others, currently provide parents schedules, hot lunch menus, course descriptions, policies and school contact information. Teacher-designed web pages contain assignment logs, course notes, spelling lists, and classroom newsletters. Media specialist-compiled websites give parents and students links to study guides, homework help sites, and reference materials. These pages are colorful, current, and extremely useful.

What’s the next step in web based communication? A teacher in Iowa I met a year ago is pioneering a way parents can participate in the assessment of their own students’ performance in real time. He connects a web cam to his computer while his students are giving oral presentations, having given the parents the URL where they can watch their lil’ darlings perform. My guess is that the amount of preparation goes way up knowing that Mom, Dad and possibly Grandma, might be watching. Far–fetched? Web cams are being used in daycare centers and preschools today.

While our district, like many others, is making progress with school-home communications, both traditional and digital, we need to continue to grow. I received another email recently; this one sent by a parent:

 

Dear Teachers,

I have recently received an update on Beth’s progress in school. I am disappointed, but not surprised. Beth always believes that she is doing better than she really is. The only way that I can help her stay organized with homework is to have you send me a list of her assignments. This would include upcoming tests and quizzes. Please email this information every week. Hopefully we can make a difference in her grades.

Thanks for your cooperation.
Jane Doe
email jdoe@hotmail.com

Why should the teachers go to all the trouble to help folks like Beth and her mom out? I’ll give you a list of reasons:
1.    Home schooling
2.    Charter schools
3.    Virtual schools
4.    Vouchers
5.    Open enrollment

Parents are already choosing their children’s schools here in Minnesota. Most parents understand that more than any time in history, an excellent education will be crucial to the success and happiness of their children. Schools that become more effective by harnessing the communication power of technology will have parents who are active and satisfied consumers.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in its May 27, 1999, issue that some students believe “the best professors are the ones who bother to make Web pages for their courses. And a growing number of students use the quality of course Web pages as a deciding factor when picking classes.”

Today this is happening in higher education. How long before your parents will be selecting their children’s school by the quality of its communication and its ability to make parents and teachers partners in the learning process? I got a dollar that says it won’t be long.