This post is about what becomes the most important interface for
digital educator. A digital educator must be experts in effective
communications: sharing detailed student and staff accomplishments, especially
with parents and other key stakeholders. All the tools that are mentioned in
this post can be used also to key stakeholders which should be selected
carefully.
There are four principles that a digital educator should use
in order to engage the parents and the key stakeholders:
· Clarity: direct communication
without hidden zones.
· Honesty: trust and integrity
based on collaboration.
· Flexibility: awareness to needs
and replay changes.
· Accessibility: friendly contact and
reasonable availability.
The Digital Educator Checklist of actions for communicating
effectively with parents:
1. Start a blog. Invite all the parents to read and
comment on the posts. This tool is the best one for sharing detailed student
and staff accomplishments and create clarity atmosphere. You can share your
educational life and let them become more familiar with the culture of the
school. This is also a way to convey to the parents your philosophy on
education. The blog allows for detailed descriptions of classroom innovations,
summaries of school events and projects. Encourage the parents to comment on your
posts.
2. Create your own website. Include in it contact
information, your availability to meet with or speak to parents, student
assignments, press, etc. Share with them also your professional accomplishment,
and the vision for helping students succeed.
3. Publish a monthly newsletter. Make a summary of
achievements and advancements that have a positive impact on parents. It can be
a part of your website or a post in your blog. The advantage of having it in a
blog is that it encourages parent's engagement, since they can comment on the
post.
4. Develop a school Facebook page to share events and
up-to-date school information. The advantage of this tool is that most of the
parents use Facebook on a daily basis. It is extremely important to response to
Facebook comments to foster two-way communications and to increase parent's
engagement. A link to the Face book page can be placed on your website.
5. Create a Twitter account. Daily updates on news,
student achievements, staff innovations, etc. It is a powerful tool of
improving the relationship with the parents: they receive pictures, video and
text as the events happen, at home or on the go through mobile devices. It is
extremely important to response to all the tweets to increase parent's
engagement.
6. Make a professional e-mail. Parents can contact you at
their convenience. Inform all the parents with your e-mail address. It allows
parents to receive updates on their own terms. Always return parents e-mails in
a reasonable time.
When a digital
educator becomes an expert in all these effective communication tools, he encourages
parent's engagement since they feel involved. The four principles: Clarity,
Honesty, Flexibility and Accessibility become a part of his vision, and parent's
satisfaction rise as they become partners to the educational life.
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