Homepages should be simple with important information for the students. After looking at other examples posted in the discussion forum this is the example I created using Smore.
Continuous communication can help everyone involved in e-learning to stay on track with due dates, synchronous sessions, schedule changes, and upcoming events. It is important for the teacher to update the grade book in a timely manner. If you expect students to turn in assignments on time, students expect to know their grade within a reasonable amount of time. Students will tend to slack off as the semester progresses, become discouraged when they can't master a concept, and become distracted (holidays, prom, sports). Effective communication can be a great way to keep students and parents motivated. Friendly reminders and updates show that the teacher is invested in the success of each student.
Zena Dickerson shared this Smore flyer on her blog that she created for her class to encourage and inform her students of exam week. I think it's a creative tool of communication that is also appealing to the eyes. :) Teacher:
I don't think parents in reality provide guide and assistance in coursework. Most parents of students in the physical classroom do not show concern when their child is failing or struggling with the coursework so I don't think a parent of a student enrolled in a virtual classroom will provide support or encouragement. Several parents have told me they chose not to create a Parent Portal because it is their child's responsibility to do the work and earn the grade. It's available to those parents who want to use it and do use it. Those students generally have a higher grade than the students with parents who opted out of using Parent Portal. I can't think of a stakeholder that was not included on this list. After more years of teaching experience I'll have a different perspective on this topic, but for now I think it only involves the four listed above. FERPA: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Basic Guidelines:
Digital Citizenship: norms of appropriate, responsible technology use Plagiarism: to use without permission or passing off as one's own ideas Intellectual Property: creations of the mind Copyright: legal right to reproduce, publish, sell or distribute What methods could be employed to verify that copyright is not being violated? When in doubt, ask for permission! Consult with your administrator, supervisor, or department head if you are unsure if you are in violation of copyright laws. Or, refer to your faculty handbook for details on the copyright guidelines the school has in place. Does copyright require that all work, images, words, and graphics must be original? No, it requires that all work that is not original gives credit to the person(s) who created it.
Technology controls the way humans interact and communicate with each other. Students will write their Instagram and twitter account on teacher's whiteboards asking others to follow them on the internet. A student asked me to follow them on Instagram because his goal was to reach 100 followers. I do not have an Instagram account (I do not own a smartphone, still using the boring flip phone) and even if I did have an account I would not follow my student on social media. I have learned female students are guilty of stalking boys on the internet. It's quite easy, they only need to know the the person's full name and they can conduct a simple Google search. A few students did a Google search on me in class and thankfully only my Google account picture showed up in the results.
Most teenagers communicate through text messages or social media. When I ask a student to send me an email they confess they don't know how to send an email or how to attach a document to an email. Even though there are more ways to communicate with each other because of technology, the current generation of students do not know how to efficiently communicate through technology, especially when they need to ask the teacher for help. My husband and I used to eat dinner in front of the television together. We were together but we were not connecting because we were focused on watching whatever show we selected on Hulu. We now eat dinner at the table and talk about our day and our plans for the week. Last night we talked about our favorite comfort foods. That conversation would not have happened during the latest episode of SNL. As humans, we rely on technology, which is great because technology has its benefits, but we can't let the machines dictate our lives. We need to keep everything in moderation and create balance in our lives. |
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