Reflection:
I have learned so much about my topic, "How can technology improve parent involvement in a K-12 child's education?" throughout the 20% project. According to many sources, parents who are actively involved in their child's education correlates with higher grades and scores, and go on to post-secondary education. Computer and internet are great tools that hold great promise for overcoming distance, time, communication, language, and access barriers to educational resources however, many low-income families do not have home computers and high-speed internet access. There is a strong correlation with families who do not have access to these resources and whose children struggle academically. A recommendation would be for creating home-school technology connections for undeserved families and ensuring low-income families have affordable access to technological devices. Before doing research about my topic, the correlation between families who do not have access to advanced technologies and those children that struggle in schools never crossed my mind, unfortunately. I also learned the many ways technology can build the gap between home and K12 education. For one, parents can view their child's grades online and see what their schedule looks like week to week. Instant messaging or online chatting allows parents and teachers to communicate while their students are working in the classroom. I have learned so much about my topic and I cannot wait to share all my knowledge with the class.
Even though I have gathered a lot of information, I would still like to learn ways to get students as interested and excited in this as I will for the adult population. After lots of thinking, I have come up with an idea that I think students K12 will like! Regulated, selective, and partial access will be available for students in grades 9-12, so parents will not be able to see everything their high school students are doing in school through technology because I believe some privacy is critical for students at this age. Also, I want parents to continue to have a strong involvement with their child's education in high school because, studies have shown that parental involvement in middle school is as important as involvement in high school. In high school, encouragement from the parents can influence whether a student drops out or graduates. That is why I am offering limited access in those grades.
I am excited to integrate a new, free app that came out in August of 2015 called "Learning Potential" into my 20% project. According to the article, New App to get Busy Parents Active in their Child's Education, "Parents can customize the app for themselves by plugging in the ages of their children, so it offers age-appropriate learning games, helpful hints like the questions parents should be asking at parent-teacher nights, and articles about how to engage kids in reading and homework" (http://www.news.com). This app comes with so many useful tools and tips including reading techniques and what to ask at parent-teacher conferences. I am excited to share all of my research on a poster board for the class to see!
Research On My Topic:
The article, "Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication Technology" is an informative and educational journal that discusses parental involvement having a tremendous effect on student's academic achievements and how new technologies provide new ways of communicating. New technologies have the power to improve parent-teacher relationships by providing easy and efficient methods to communicate about the student. For example, over the past few years, online grade books have been integrated in many school districts, giving parents and students 24-hour access to their grades and upcoming assignments. The results of this study found that through access from this online grade book, most parents will use this opportunity to communicate with their child about grades, and will also initiate communication with their child's teachers. According to Bronfenbrenner (1979), "The school has become, over the past two decades, one of the most potent breeding grounds of alienation in American society. In my view, it is the alienation that underlies the progressive decline in achievement test scores that has been recorded over the past dozen years both for the college bound and for the general population of students at the elementary and secondary levels" (p.848). I thought this was a very interesting and knowledgeable fact in this article. Since communication initiated by teachers in the past usually occurred when the teacher felt there was difficulty with the student, technology has the ability to change this mindset! Technology opens door to open communication between parents and teachers regarding progress, successes, and struggles with students!
Citation:
Zieger, L. B., & Tan, J. (2012). Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication Technology. Journal Of Literacy & Technology, 13(2), 30-54.
Draft for Final Project:
For my 20% project, I will make a poster board. I will add pictures, make it colorful, and hopefully this will engage my audience! There will be more information added when it is time for the final product. This is a rough outline on how I will categorize my information.
I have learned so much about my topic, "How can technology improve parent involvement in a K-12 child's education?" throughout the 20% project. According to many sources, parents who are actively involved in their child's education correlates with higher grades and scores, and go on to post-secondary education. Computer and internet are great tools that hold great promise for overcoming distance, time, communication, language, and access barriers to educational resources however, many low-income families do not have home computers and high-speed internet access. There is a strong correlation with families who do not have access to these resources and whose children struggle academically. A recommendation would be for creating home-school technology connections for undeserved families and ensuring low-income families have affordable access to technological devices. Before doing research about my topic, the correlation between families who do not have access to advanced technologies and those children that struggle in schools never crossed my mind, unfortunately. I also learned the many ways technology can build the gap between home and K12 education. For one, parents can view their child's grades online and see what their schedule looks like week to week. Instant messaging or online chatting allows parents and teachers to communicate while their students are working in the classroom. I have learned so much about my topic and I cannot wait to share all my knowledge with the class.
Even though I have gathered a lot of information, I would still like to learn ways to get students as interested and excited in this as I will for the adult population. After lots of thinking, I have come up with an idea that I think students K12 will like! Regulated, selective, and partial access will be available for students in grades 9-12, so parents will not be able to see everything their high school students are doing in school through technology because I believe some privacy is critical for students at this age. Also, I want parents to continue to have a strong involvement with their child's education in high school because, studies have shown that parental involvement in middle school is as important as involvement in high school. In high school, encouragement from the parents can influence whether a student drops out or graduates. That is why I am offering limited access in those grades.
I am excited to integrate a new, free app that came out in August of 2015 called "Learning Potential" into my 20% project. According to the article, New App to get Busy Parents Active in their Child's Education, "Parents can customize the app for themselves by plugging in the ages of their children, so it offers age-appropriate learning games, helpful hints like the questions parents should be asking at parent-teacher nights, and articles about how to engage kids in reading and homework" (http://www.news.com). This app comes with so many useful tools and tips including reading techniques and what to ask at parent-teacher conferences. I am excited to share all of my research on a poster board for the class to see!
Research On My Topic:
The article, "Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication Technology" is an informative and educational journal that discusses parental involvement having a tremendous effect on student's academic achievements and how new technologies provide new ways of communicating. New technologies have the power to improve parent-teacher relationships by providing easy and efficient methods to communicate about the student. For example, over the past few years, online grade books have been integrated in many school districts, giving parents and students 24-hour access to their grades and upcoming assignments. The results of this study found that through access from this online grade book, most parents will use this opportunity to communicate with their child about grades, and will also initiate communication with their child's teachers. According to Bronfenbrenner (1979), "The school has become, over the past two decades, one of the most potent breeding grounds of alienation in American society. In my view, it is the alienation that underlies the progressive decline in achievement test scores that has been recorded over the past dozen years both for the college bound and for the general population of students at the elementary and secondary levels" (p.848). I thought this was a very interesting and knowledgeable fact in this article. Since communication initiated by teachers in the past usually occurred when the teacher felt there was difficulty with the student, technology has the ability to change this mindset! Technology opens door to open communication between parents and teachers regarding progress, successes, and struggles with students!
Citation:
Zieger, L. B., & Tan, J. (2012). Improving Parent Involvement in Secondary Schools through Communication Technology. Journal Of Literacy & Technology, 13(2), 30-54.
Draft for Final Project:
For my 20% project, I will make a poster board. I will add pictures, make it colorful, and hopefully this will engage my audience! There will be more information added when it is time for the final product. This is a rough outline on how I will categorize my information.