Title:

Using Class Web Pages to Promote Communication Between School and Home 

Presenter:

Maggie Whittington 

Short Description:

For beginners: participants will design and create a class web page to be used as a tool to promote communication between school and home. 

Category:

Lab 

Length:

3 hour(s)

Skill Level:

Novice 

Long Description:

This hands-on workshop for beginners will take participants through the process of designing and creating a class web page. Participants will learn how a class web page, as a learning and communication tool, enables students to check homework assignments and complete online projects at home, and provides parents with a way to keep abreast of what is happening in their child's classroom. Class web pages are a great tool to promote parental involvement and support for the school.  

ISTE Standards:

*Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. *Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. *Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. *Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. *Teachers manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment. *Teachers use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning.  

Research:

Use of a class web page promotes communication between school and home by encouraging parents and students to stay involved in the classroom from their home. Research supports that parent involvement in education has a direct impact on student achievement. Many teachers are discovering the value of the class web page as an effective communication tool. David Warlick says, Parents and community are looking online to learn how their schools are preparing students for the future and how well they are succeeding. (Plan It. Design It. Build It. Put Your Web Site to Work. Technology & Learning, Sept. 15, 2002.) A well known educator, Susan Silverman found that her class web page successfully reached out to her students, their parents, their grandparents, as well as other teachers. Susan says her students told me how our web site took center stage at family gatherings in their homes. The students strove for excellence since a very large audience would see their work. (Who Really Benefits From a Class Web Site? Technology & Learning, Sept. 1, 1998.)