The second characteristic for being a novice teacher involves effective communication. I feel that I am going to be a very effective communicator not only to my students, but with the parents of my classroom as well. Parent communication is vital in order to make a classroom run smoothly, whether it is for volunteers with a class party, or keeping a parent updated on what is going on within my classroom. To help show that I am an effective communicator, I will discuss my artifact involving my Scholastic homepage.
The Scholastic homepage is a tool that teachers can use to inform the parents and students of news, class assignments, resources to use and it can serve as a calendar for the year. I plan to implement this type of communication with my future classroom. It is easy to access online using a username and password that the teacher provides, and for those who do not have access to the internet will also be able to see the webpage because the information can be printed in a hardcopy form.
In my homepage that I created, I listed classroom announcements, posted the class spelling list for the week, and showcased some valuable resources students could use to help improve their academic abilities. On the Scholastic homepage there is also an opportunity to post suggested books for students to read. In the future, I would love to use this to post books that would not only interest the students I have, but also help reinforce some of the topics we are discussing at the time in our classroom. Within my homepage, I also had an introduction page and this was where I wrote a brief introduction to the parents about myself. I provided a professional picture of myself and this provides an inviting feel to the homepage itself to make parents feel welcome to communicate with me.
Lastly, this homepage has a feature that enables me to see how many people have viewed the page. The students have a login separate from their parents, so I would be able to see how many students use the page for assignments and help. By using this feature, I will be able to see how effective the homepage is as well. Overall, the homepage is a great tool because it is user-friendly, and a great way to tell parents what is going on within their child’s classroom each week. I feel that it is a great tool for effective communication, and something I want to definitely use in my future.
Stephanie, Good blog entry!!! I agree with you in that communication with home is of utmost importance. I saw a sample of the Scholastic homepage and liked the ease with which it could be utilized. I have used one of the Scholastic websites to promote book fairs. Here at M-D, I really like our school's website and how Mrs. Terry keeps it current at all times. I also like the features for communication that Edline provides. In addition, there's something to be said for the "old fashioned" weekly newsletter that can be hung on the refrigerator. Whatever the means, and multiple ways may be necessary, effective communication with the folks at home is a powerful teaching tool! :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job of describing your understanding of this characteristic and its importance to effective teaching. As always, you did a great job describing your artifact and ideas for its future use. You'll also want to consider the fact that not all of your students' home may have computers and/or Internet access....so always think about alternate methods of communication so that you can stay in touch with and keep all parents informed.
In re-reading your entry I see that you did consider the fact that some parents might not have Internet access.
ReplyDeleteWell done!