Blog Post 5

Why should teachers use technology to communicate with students, parents, and peers?
Technological advances are growing each year and children are becoming more and more high-tech. If technology is not incorporating into the classroom, either with just the teacher or both the teacher and student, the parents and teachers may fall behind of the students. Technology is also a faster, more efficient way to communicate with other people, if used correctly. Sending important information online is a necessary resource to take advantage of. It helps save paper, which is useful because many young children lose a lot of the paper handouts that are given to them in class. A child’s backpack can be a mess of homework and other crumpled papers; therefore, by the time the important piece of paper reaches the parent, it may not be readable. By using computers to post paperwork and important dates, the parents can be connected to their child’s educational life without needing the child to remember everything that happened in class. Young children’s memories do not know what information is important to remember. Therefore, if the teacher tries to save paper by just writing the essential dates on the whiteboard and expecting the children to go home and tell their parents, this is a very ineffective way. Communicating with friends via technology can also save time. In the past, trying to talk to a peer could take days because the only way to communicate was snail mail. Nowadays, texting and online messaging takes a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Overall, technology is a faster, more environmental way to communicate with students, parents, and peers.


Which technology tools have the greatest potential to improve communication between teachers and others, and how do these tools improve communication?
Originally, I thought that there were only a few technological ways for teachers and others to communicate; however, after taking in the new information and programs that I learned through this EDST 220 class, I now believe that there are many other potential options including blogging, Voicethread, and Word clouds. I think that blogging has great potential to improve communication because anyone who has a computer and the link from all over the world can view the details of the blog. The blogger can also post numerous links to various websites and videos that tie into the topic. Blogs can be used for both educational and social purposes. I think that Voicethread has very good potential to improve communication. It is a good way to receive input from students or peers on a topic related to the curriculum or just pictures that one is unsure about posting online. It is available for people who have the link and can be taken down at any point. Word clouds have similar potential to that of Voicethread. For students, it can be a good way for them to come up with multiple ideas and key words for topics. It is also a useful tool for brainstorming for a project and/or paper. Word clouds can also be used for employers to help collaborate with other employees about an important pitch.