TECH THOUGHT

Apps to foster parent-teacher communication

Technology, particularly smartphones, has changed the way we sleep, eat, read and watch TV. So why should teachers still regularly relay information to parents by sending a piece of paper home with their child? Conversations with their child’s teacher tend to consist largely of paper-based notices and a few parent-teacher conferences a year. Now, a number of apps have cropped up aimed at harnessing this attentiveness into parent-teacher communication. Ranging from Facebook-like social formats to simple SMS reminders, these apps provide safe messaging options and communication tools to create a stronger relationship between teachers and parents. Here are a few worth checking out

CLASS MESSENGER

Class messenger is another form of direct, two-way messaging that strengthens the connection between parents and teachers and allows both parties to communicate about a student’s potential, progress, strengths, struggles and so forth. It can be used on a phone, computer or table. Parents can join a class and engage in a dialogue with teachers who can send test results, reminders, photos and even videos.

EDMODO

With the slogan “where education meets innovation,” Edmodo is an application with many uses. Teachers can use it to track student’s progress, swiftly access their knowledge on a topic, export classroom data and create games based on learning standards, which can be shared with parents. It provides them with easy-to-decipher charts that depict which students have surpassed their goals, which have met their goals and which have yet to meet them. Schools can also use Edmodo to track progress and create professional communities.

BLOOMZ

With the vibe of a social networking site, Bloomz has teachers invite parents to join the class group. Once there, parents have access to class schedules, photo albums, private messaging with teachers and other parents, and interactive sign-up sheets.

CLASSDOJO

This app, perfect for younger students, enables kids to regularly share is picture messages and achievements with their parents. With similar photo sharing and messaging, the app lets teachers report, long before the parent-teacher conference, the skills their students are excelling at and the areas they need to work on.

REMIND

The simplest of these apps, Remind is aimed at parents of high school students. Teachers can use Remind to send schedule reminders, homework updates or even encouragement. The biggest difference with Remind is the flexibility of messaging. Communication can be done in app or through a simple SMS to a parent who doesn’t have the app.

MAILCHIMP

Mailchimp is an e-mailing service that can be tailored for educational needs. It can send automated e-mails based on each parent, so if you only want one email a day, you’ll get only one, but if you enjoy seeing that little red number on your phone you can get as many as you want. It allows teachers to design the layout of the e-mails and send them anywhere, from any device.