Using Web 2.0 Tools To Connect With Parents

By Aviva Dunsiger

Grade 1 Teacher

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board

Why Connect?

• When I was in the Faculty of Education, a professor told me this:

“Parents give us the best that they have.”

I think that this says it all!

Individual Student Blogs• Parents add comments to blog posts.

Encourage the students to continue to write through these comments.

Grade 1 Class Blog• Parents add comments here. Can look

here to see what’s happening in the classroom and provide feedback too.

Professional Blog

An example of parent/teacher interaction. Mom offering thoughts on this approach.

Great opportunityfor some really positive feedback.

Wallwisher• Wallwisher can be a great option for

homework.

• Used it last year in class, and then had students post sticky notes for a math homework activity. Parents helped. Great way to get the whole family involved.

Crocodoc• Crocodoc is great for a homework activity.

• Students worked with their parents to post sticky notes on a variety of subjects.

Evernote• I use Evernote to keep anecdotal records

on my students.

• Some Notebooks I keep for myself, but others I will share with parents.

• Evernote is great because I can upload audio comments too that are good to share with both the parent and the student.

Today’s Meet• Today’sMeet is really easy to use, and is a great way to

get students to collaborate.• It also works well as a backchannel.• For homework, I gave parents the address for the

Today’sMeet Chatroom, and they added more comments with their child. Continued the conversation.

VoiceThread• VoiceThread is a great alternative to

writing.

• Many options on how to post comments.

• Allows parents to get involved in the classroom by commenting on work.

PhotoPeach

• In class, we make a PhotoPeach Slideshow.

• Parents add comments to this slideshow. Helps motivate the students.

PhotoPeach Slideshow

Twitter: Where It All Began• Would never have started using Web 2.0

tools in my classroom, if it wasn’t for Twitter.

• Started following amazing educators that discussed what tools they used in their classroom, and then started modifying them for home and school use.

• My incredible Twitter PLN are the people that I need to thank for this!

Tweeting In The Classroom

• Tweet regularly in the classroom.• Individual students tweet on the iPod Touches.• Upload videos and pictures using Twitvid and

Twitpic.• Have even tweeted on the SMART Board. Used

Twitlonger for this too. Sent some tweets to parents.

• For the 100th Day of School, students worked together to try and send out 100 tweets.

Writing A Letter On Twitlonger During Literacy Centres – Addressed To A Parent

Tweeting on the iPod Touch: Parents Follow Our Tweets

Parents Get Involved In The Classroom Thanks To Tweeting

Final Thoughts …• There are so many Web 2.0 tools out there,

and it can seem overwhelming at times.• Start slow, and let the children teach you

about some of these tools too. Learn together.