How can you use technology to better engage with parents and students?

Certainly, technology offers us many tools that boost and facilitate communication with students and parents. It’s essential to remind ourselves that all platforms or any virtual meeting we occasionally have with them shouldn’t substitute human interaction. We must use technology wisely and the other way around. Depending on the situation and what is required we can choose the correct platform to enhance the learning process and/or stay in contact with parents and students as well. It’s important to take into consideration all students’ interests and their backgrounds because not all of them could have some financial limitations. This is when our role as supporting educators plays a fundamental role.

Technology is continually advancing, shaping the present and influencing the future. It helps bridge communication gaps, provide real-time insights, and offer innovative experiences. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) create immersive educational experiences. Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Moodle foster collaboration. Edmodo, Remind aid communication, Seesaw showcases work. Quizlet, Flipgrid, Socrative enhance learning. Pear Deck, Prodigy for interactive lessons. Edpuzzle integrates videos, Scratch teaches coding. Notion aids note-taking. ParentSquare improves school-parent communication. Choosing what is most suited, relevant, convenient and safe is the key.

I think that technology provides an excellent means of communication between educators, parents, and students. For example, we send announcements, assignments, and updates to parents and students via email and messaging apps. In the past, for example, we filled in the gaps by using the Google Team and Zoom platforms. We also typically send out digital newsletters via email to inform both parents and students about school events, accomplishments, and important dates.

I agree that various transformative learning tools like LMS or video conferencing tools like gmeet or teams can enhance learning experience but to make teaching effective blended approach will work.As the learning tools and apps can be accessible but are not effective in creating teacher student rapport which is only possible via blended learning

Platforms like Kahoot or Quizizz make learning fun through quizzes and games, promoting engagement and competition. One of the applications i use in my classroom is Plotagon which allows me present real life situations in a fun way and encourages students to think about the situation or the question. Selecting the right platforms involves considering the nature of your content, the learning objectives, and the preferences of your students.

For effective implementation of digital tools to enhance teaching and learning, parents and learners need to be given a detailed description of the platform chosen.

It's important that both parents and students are carried along at the start of the program. Whatever platform is being used, there should be clear set boundaries. So as to ensure that the communication lines are always effective, and reduce unnecessary hassles.

Expectations and boundaries should be determined and set in advance for better experience from both sides. When it comes to communication, availability of both parties both physically and mentally is highly essential to have a productive and valuable dialogue. You can specify your availability hours and when should someone contact you in situations of emergency. The frequency and mode of communication should be determined clearly for removing any sort of confusion. Expectations should be realistic and achievable. From a teacher's point of view, feedback/appreciation, criticism and evaluation should be provided to students/parents on regular intervals but should be extremely professional. Avoid contacting each other on odd hours.

Digital environments that are productive and healthy are promoted by clearly defining expectations and limitations about technology use. Parents and students can participate with confidence when rules regarding communication frequency, response times, and subject appropriateness are established. This is because everyone will know the boundaries that encourage constructive relationships. Including clear policies on the use of technology fosters accountability and sets clear expectations. A safe digital environment is created by well-defined boundaries, which guarantee that technology is used as a tool for learning and connection rather than becoming uncomfortable or distracting.

Navigating technology in communication brings the challenge of blurring work and personal boundaries, often leading to unrealistic expectations. To mitigate this, clarity is key. Establishing clear expectations and boundaries is crucial from the outset. A communication policy outlining the purpose, frequency, and mode of communication sets a foundation. Specify your availability, communicating when and how parents and students can reach you, as well as when you're not available. Respecting time is equally vital—be mindful of appropriateness and conciseness, avoiding messages or calls at inconvenient times.

Technology is a powerful tool that can contribute to effective teaching and learning. It helps the teacher to fully cover his or her syllables, while students also get the opportunity to interact with different genre-based studies. However, we would do ourselves a great disservice as educators if technology replaced the role of face-to-face interaction. The traditional way of teacher-learner interaction helps to better understand, appreciate, and study the emotions of students and their reactions to specific topics or issues.

Technology can always assist a teacher or facilitator in enhancing communication with students. Rather than using complete movies to students to help them learn certain novels in Literature, I collect select scenes and show these after teaching them the text. This paves way for imagination first, followed by depiction of that in visual form. Teaching idioms and phrases with the help of relatable pictures is another way of enhancing communication. YouTube videos, reels, images, video clippings, WhatsApp, etc., can be used sparingly but wisely to enhance communication.

No doubt, technology has influenced and impressed everyone because of its varied scope and uses but still it needs to educate and update it regularly by everyone especially parents and students in the fields of technology because of its developments, improvements in it and lack of awareness.

While technology can be a valuable tool to enhance communication and engagement in education, it is highly unlikely to replace the essential presence of the face-to-face teacher. No matter how advanced technology becomes, it cannot fully replicate the richness of human interactions, crucial for meaningful learning. It should be seen as a complement, enabling more interactive and personalized experiences, but not as a substitute for the genuine connection between educator and student.

In a PBL environment, teachers can enhance engagement and personalization using technological tools. They can create individualized learning paths for students, ensuring that tasks align with each student's interests and abilities. Regular feedback and progress tracking can be managed efficiently through digital tools, providing students with timely and constructive critiques. Interactive elements such as quizzes and polls inject fun and reinforce key concepts. For group projects, collaboration tools facilitate effective teamwork and communication. Digital portfolios encourage students to document and reflect on their learning journey. Real-time surveys provide instant feedback, aiding in the adjustment of teaching strategies.

I think one major challenge of using technology especially with younger students is their tendency to get distracted very easily. It is crucial that educators be intentional about monitoring the students attention regularly. The help of parents can also be enlisted to make this more effective.

At the end of the day, it's humans connecting with humans. However the medium we choose, we should remember that. Everything else is secondary - technology is merely the tool that bridges a/some gap(s).

Don't push an elephant up a hill. Just put the food at the top and coach them on how to move up. In other words, set a challenging goal, then empower your students to lead a team up the hill. Of course you can define the skill sets needed, and of course, you can have minimum requirements... but "teaching" after the minimum is holding them back. Transition to being a coach. Let the students solve the problems on the challenge. As for connecting with parents... you can have the student handle the that communication too. I heard the students are good at social media... use that for PR about their project progress.

Technology has become a common medium of interaction. It also supports bonding. We can encourage Students to chose their partners to identify, create, organise and delegate the responsibilities for carrying on projects assignments and as well as achieve higher educational endeavors. Those Students who cannot find partners on their own for the team may be alloted with partners suitable to them as per the teacher's assessment. One more choice is, if the student want to work solo, guidance may be given on the methods which can be used to complete various goals. AI has been helping many students in setting up milestones. Whether it is simple activity like pecha kucha or financial analysis on excel sheets

Most of time technology would help in learning progress but not create those environment that would student and teacher bonding create. Technology adopting is not problem but only depend on this that would be problem.