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Theresa A.

Barba
EDU-225
Ronald Clutter
6-14-15
Communications Plan

Technology has supported communication by teachers and parents in helpful ways.


Technology has become like a home to schools. A device that is used to instruct students in a
more efficient way than the old conventional voice teaching. Genia Connell, a third grade teacher
in Michigan, said, Having my own class website has been a game changer in home-to-school
communication, and that, in my opinion, is the best reason for a teacher to create one (2013).
One of the greatest benefits of classroom websites and blogs is that they provide outlets for fun
homework activities and helpful connections for teaching after school. Especially in my case
as a future special needs teacher, providing clear instructions that are easily accessible will help
the students understand and keep up with my expectations. Having a classroom website
provides students with special needs from Autism to hearing and vision difficulty access to
notes, clear instructions, review materials, and specific assignment details (McCallum).
From the very beginning of the school year, I want to ensure that both students and
parents are very aware of the potential risks involved with technology-based learning on the
Internet. While many children are aware of real life strangers and have learned the popular
lessons involving stranger danger, those rules and logics do not always apply to the situations
regarding strangers online. Obviously, there is no way for a child to scream and run away from a
stranger that seems threatening online; therefore, we MUST teach children how to adapt and

apply these lessons for online learning as they may encounter strangers on the Internet (Hertz).
Within the first week of school, will require all students and parents to sign a form stating all the
rules and regulations of Internet safety. They will also be given an Internet safety course at the
beginning of the year that must be completed together by both parents and students. They will
walk through all the safety and concerns about the Internet, and they will become well informed
of the potential dangers of allowing children to access the Internet unattended. I feel that
communication is key in forming relationships between parents, teachers, and students. This will
set a strong foundation and initiate a process for guided communication for the whole year long.
I will use a weekly newsletter sent to my parents by email. Parents will be informed of all
of the items in upcoming events, exciting happenings in the classroom, and important dates. I
will use Edmodo in my classroom. This is a student and parent based communication website. It
helps students, teachers, and parents communicate together on educational assignments,
information and weekly lessons. It allows everyone to work together as a collaborative team to
finish and accomplish student goals. I will provide my own Edmodo account that will be linked
to the students and parents accounts which will allow students and parents to chat with me
about information that they may have missed, assignments that are due, etc.
I have an additional plan to make e-pals with a class at a sister charter school in Florida.
Each week the students will send a pen-pal (e-pal) letter to their pals. They will incorporate any
learning information that we have learned that week and share ideas between each other.
Students will have to forward myself a copy of each letter sent, and I will give parents the option
to receive the emails as well. This will allow students to be more independent and work with
other students from other schools. This will provide a safe and highly supervised opportunity for

students at both schools to learn what information should and should not be shared with others
online. For instance, there is no reason for them to share their home addresses, phone numbers,
or any other personal information. This is the prime time to correct these issues before they share
that information with an outside stranger/website that may be a potential threat to students and/or
their families (Internet Safety for Kids, 2014). With a guided learning experience, the children
will be set up for safer online interaction in the future.
Here is the link to my blog: http://theviewfromtheteachersdesk.weebly.com/

References
Connell, G., (2013). Create an Impressive Class Website in Under an Hour. Retrieved June 11,
2015 from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2013/06/create-impressiveclass-website-under-hour.
Hertz, M.B., (2012). How to Teach Internet Safety to Younger Elementary Students. Retrieved
June 12, 2015 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/Internet-safety-younger-elementarymary-beth-hertz.
McCallum, R. (2010). Ten Reasons Every Teacher Should Want a Website. Retrieved June 11,
2015 from http://www.cleanapple.com/?p=165.
n.a., (2014). Internet Safety for Kids. Guidelines for Keeping Your Kids Safe. Goodwill
Community Foundation, Inc. Retrieved June 10, 2015 from http://www.gcflearnfree.org/
internetsafetyforkids/1.4.

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