May 3, 2011Danielle Lowe

Classroom teachers become the liaison among many groups of people:◦ Administrators◦ Parents◦ Students◦ Other teachers◦ Community members

Strong, organized strategies are a must Email is the mode of choice but… Paper-based communication forms remain a

necessary component Teachers can not assume that all the people

that make up the classroom community have capabilities to communicate electronically

Student Contact Information◦ Create a database record for each student in class

Letters◦ Using word processors can speed up the process

Newsletters◦ Have students help create the newsletters using

word processing and clip-art graphics Official Correspondence

◦ Lend themselves to consistent and professional-looking records

Productivity software can aid in planning activities by saving teachers’ time and making high quality, functional, final products (Bitter 382)

Hand written lessons can become messy, unorganized, and lengthy

Word processing or spreadsheet software can make some of the headache of writing lesson plans much easier

Teachers can map out a generic weekly or daily schedule

No more messy hand written planning books Planning for days when a substitute is going

to be in becomes simplified Monthly calendars can be created using

software tools and easily readable without flipping page to page

Online tools also allow teachers to post assignments to web-based calendars so students can view them from anywhere◦ “Assign-A-Day” at http//assignaday.4teachers.org

-Visually aided planning can also be done by use of technology

-Using web-type graphical representations teachers can plan for various related curriculum areas

-Drawing programs can help teachers map out whole thematic units or entire semester plans (see page 383)

-Concept mapping software: www.inspiration.com

Teachers can refer to a database of individual student concerns

Teachers can add to a main database of student information or create separate files of learning characteristics

Databases built on these premises can maximize planning and teaching time by helping manage all the students and their needs

Use graphics programs to design a classroom floor plan

With certain graphics software a teacher can actually label and record the students names at the desks where they have sat and can assist the teacher when rearranging seats

Seating charts that are electronically available can also be helpful for substitute teachers to become familiar with students◦ See page 385

Budgeting Money◦ Spreadsheets are best because they are made for

budgeting money with organizing the columns and rows to calculate total amounts

Booking Classroom Guests◦ Students can type the letters inviting the guests

and databases can be used to keep the guests information

Generating Documents◦ Word-processed documents are professional,

neat, and customizable over scribbled down tests or quizzes

Collegial Communication◦ See page 389, Figure 16.5

Professional Associations◦ See page 391, Figure 16.6

Educational Funding Opportunities◦ See page 392, Figure 16.7

Professional Development◦ See page 393, Figure 16.8

Technology provides teachers with convenient access to remote professional resources, colleagues, and experts not readily accessible otherwise.

Professional education websites offer virtual communication areas wherein teachers can discuss educational trends, share innovations, and get advice for challenging situations at any time of the day or night