Listen to this post as a podcast!
If I were to revise this blog I might add a daily update post. When I first got started I thought I would just add important events and announcements. I think it would be a cool idea to add a daily or weekly update to recap what went on in the classroom that day/week. I didn’t do this at first because I thought it would take too long and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it. A daily post like that might only take about 10 minutes depending on the amount of detail I wanted to include. It would also be a great self-reflection tool for myself as well. Another projected problem would be a parent who was skeptical in the blog’s use. And of course, those parents who don’t have internet access- where then I would need to provide a hard copy of the blog to the student.
Overall, I really enjoyed creating this blog and believe that I have chosen the right tool to solve my parent communication problem. I have included posts in the blog with tips encouraging parents to help their students succeed and suggestions for at-home work extending beyond the classroom. I have asked for parent communication and informed them of classroom events. Please check out my blog and leave feedback for improvements.
Nicki -
ReplyDeleteI think your blog looks professional and has a lot of promise for increasing communication between you and the parents of your students. This tool would be especially helpful for parents who do not see their children on a daily basis, but want to stay informed. Excellent idea! Are the older posts for the upcoming year or just for examples? On the "Website for Extra Practice at Home" post, you might want to consider making the links active. That way, visitors can simply click on it. Also, have you considered an RSS feed? If you had a short tutorial, this would show parents how it could be added into a feeder via google reader or within an email program so that they would not have to manually go to the site everyday and see if it had been updated. Also, and this is just my opinion, perhaps updating it weekly would be best because if there is too much content to read, parents may get bored and skim first and then stop reading because it is taking too much time. A Monday update would enable you to give weekly expectations and assignments for your students. It is looking really great. :^)
Nicki, your class blog looks so great!! I like the variety of posts that you included. I think that you will definitely have parents tuning in. I think it will be helpful to offer a hard copy of the essential content from the blog. I think the parents will appreciate the online calendar too! You've done a lot of work to make sure that the blog is inviting. Parents will feel connected and informed on the class events.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a daily class update/journal and I would try to only include important information in a weekly update, similar to a weekly classroom letter. That will help parents to feel like they aren't missing out if they don't happen to catch the daily blog posts. I think this will definitely help your wicked problem of school - home communication! :)
Hey Nick!
ReplyDeleteYour blog looks great! It did seem like a daunting task the first time I created one, too. But it was quite simple! I hope to do this at the beginning of the school year as well. The daily or weekly update might be difficult to keep up with at first, but I think that as soon as you establish the habit, it will be second nature. If you are still worried about it, you don't have to set that precedent. You could just post when there are new things going on! Either way could work!
Tai