Communication Plan

The perfect Communications Plan for the first year of teaching is an important part of a
comprehensive classroom technology plan. It should facilitate communication with all engaged
groups in the educational community; including parents, students and global community. Various
alternative and inventive methods of communication using Technology should be introduced and
used in a classroom setting. The importance of internet security and safety should be clearly and
thoroughly addressed. A class website, e-pals, student websites and alternative methods of
communication like email, Facebook and Skype are great technology tools that can be used to
enhance communication with students, teachers, the community and the global community.
A Class Website: By incorporating a Class Website to communicate with parents, teachers,
the community and the global community you can eliminate stress, running around, making
phone calls, and costly paper/postage communication. You can message, blog and address parent
concerns. By posting ahead of time the weekly classroom curriculum and homework, you can
avoid excuses for unfinished homework, and can facilitate makeup work for those students who
are absent. The Class Website is safe and private for parents would need login codes to access the
classroom. The global community would have access at the time the teacher allows access to
schools nationwide during particular classroom activities; for example getting together with
another classroom from another country to teach a specific topic through the website by using
tools like video chats. Class Websites are easy to update to keep parents in the loop of their
students activities. This tool not only enhances communication through technology, but it also
enhances communication at the dinner table. . Before, a typical conversation between parent
and student might have consisted of the parent asking, What did you do in school today? and
the child responding, Nothing or Played., says Brown a Kentucky reporter. Since the parents

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are aware of what the student learned in school that day, their conversation can go straight to the
point eliminating lengthy explanation and welcoming positive interaction. According to Dunn,
L. S. (2011).There is five categories of websites. For an instructor teaching k-12 websites level
2-4 are appropriate depending on the amount of interaction and online communication desired.
Level 4. Integral Curricular seems allows students to interact and respond to posts. Allowing
thirty minutes a day to blog, gives students the opportunity to develop typing, comprehension,
reading, spelling and punctuation and strengthen technology skills.
e-pals: e-pals is a great and fun tool to use to incorporate technology in the classroom
facilitating communication through the global community. According to an article from the
technology teacher in 2000, (IN THE NEWS & CALENDAR, 2000). A free, safe and very
popular site used by students, teachers and parents worldwide is www.epals.com. Through a
global classroom students can connect with students across the world to study and work on class
projects together. Within the website, Toolsforschool.com is available for teachers to access
lesson plans and other materials useful for incorporating in the classroom curriculum. Parents
can use this tool from home and access poems, stories, songs and other digital media useful for
androids, ipads and other electronic devices. Using e-pals also gives students the opportunity to
write books in any language, publish and share them with other students nationwide. The best
quality of e-pals is Parents, teachers and other administrators are able to monitor the content that
students access and who try communicate with. ePals Technology platforms comply with
COPPA (Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act) according to (epals.com).

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Alternative methods of communication: Tools like email Google, Facebook and Skype are
now being used to facilitate shared information like classroom fundraisers, classroom events, and
student of the month, meeting, conferences, calendar, homework assignments and test reminders.
It can not only be used to communicate with the student and parent, but also to interact with
other schools, districts, and students in other countries. It is safe and easy to use and utilize
privacy settings to limit the audience to only those whom the information is intended for. Skype
is also a great tool to use to facilitate parent /teacher conferences for those who are unable to
meet at certain hours due to a busy work schedule.
Student Websites: In today's growing technological age of educational software and
interactive Internet teaching, learning websites, school districts and teachers need to ensure
that the educational software and websites being used as part of their classroom instruction are
appropriate and effective in their intended outcomes and goals. Furner, J. M., & Daigle, D.
(2004). A proper way to ensure you are using the correct websites is to make sure they meet
common core standards, process the website via creative commons and run it by your principal
and or school district administrator. There are many sites available for students to grow on.
Recommended are reading eggs.com, ThinkCentral.com, mindmeister.com brainpopjr.com, and
seeds.sciencelinks.com. All sites bring used by teachers and known school districts. All of these
sites are listed under creative common and have copyright licenses. These websites are safe and
can be incorporated in a classroom curriculum according to the subject, and content needed in
the classroom curriculum. Most websites include fun learning games, activities and printable
study guides and materials. All sites are available to students, parents, teachers and the global
community at a low price or no cost at all.

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The most obvious safety message is fear (La Rose, R., Rifon, N. J., & Enbody, R.
2008). By informing students about the dangers, internet security and safety issues of technology,
students will become aware and prepared to avoid and prevent such matters. At a K-12 grade
level it is important to teach students about what information not to share with others, password
security and bullying. Having an informative internet safety speech during welcome night and
assigning parents and students a password is a great way to instill the importance of internet
safety. infinitelearninglab.org/ is a website specifically for k-4; it focuses on internet safety and
recognizing online bullying and how to prevent it. http://www.copyrightkids.org/ and
http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/public-domain/copyright-law.html are cites intended for 5th
graders to learn copyright Laws and Internet safety. The most important factor to conveying
internet security and safety to students is to take your time to inform them about the risks.
A Teacher first year of instruction communication plan facilitates communication. It is an
important part of a comprehensive classroom technology plan. Tools that should be used to
enhance communication with parents, students, community and global community by using
technology are the use of a class website, e-pals, student websites, other communication methods
like Tango, Skype, and Facebook as well as internet security and safety practices. These are
important factors in our childrens education, for our children are our future and the future is
technology.
AIPTC

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References
Bobbitt, R., Inman, R., & Bertrand, E. (2013). Using Remind 101 as a Classroom:
Communication Tool. NACTA Journal, 57(4), 77-78.

IN THE NEWS & CALENDAR. (2000). Technology Teacher, 60(2), 3.

Epals. Where learners connect website. Retrieved from; http://www.epals.com/#!/main

Brown, S.Using a classroom webpage to communicate with parents. UNC School of Education.
Retrieved from; http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/689

Dunn, L. S. (2011). Making the Most of Your Class Website. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 6062 retrieved from;
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=305afc8fa317-45b8-84c2-e527805a3495@sessionmgr110&vid=3&hid=104
Furner, J. M., & Daigle, D. (2004). The Educational Software/Website Effectiveness Survey.
International Journal Of Instructional Media, 31(1), 61-77. Retrieved from;
http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=305afc8f-a317-45b8-84c2e527805a3495%40sessionmgr110&vid=8&hid=4105

LaRose, R., Rifon, N. J., & Enbody, R. (2008). PROMOTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
for INTERNET SAFETY. Communications of the ACM, 51(3), 71-76.
doi:10.1145/1325555.1325569.Retrieved

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from;http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=305afc8f-a317-45b8-84c2e527805a3495%40sessionmgr110&vid=11&hid=4105