Learn With Me: Literature Review

Literature Review: Empowering Parents Through Technology To Improve the Odds for Children

With the exponential growth in technology since the early days of the internet, parents have a greater opportunity to become involved in their child's’ learning than ever before. In this article, the author talks about how technology can be used to connect teachers and parents and how it “can effectively enhance the communication between home and school, engage families in learning with their children, inform parents about student academic performance and attendance… and connect families to resources that can improve their life prospects.”

The author explains that by having an open dialog between the teacher and parent, together they can customize a learning experience for that particular child, as well as educate the parent on how to use today’s technologies in their own life!1

In theory, this is a perfect partnership, but the author also explores the barriers involved with connecting teachers and parents through technology. Not only is there a cost to the parents in buying the hardware ( iPad, cell phone, personal computer ), but obtaining the broadband access to utilize the hardware is an added cost. There must be a way to aid low income houses so that they are not at a disadvantage compared to homes with access to these technologies. “Very often, it is the same parents who do not have computers and broadband at home whose children struggle academically.”1 Another barrier is educating the parent on how to use the technology. I think this is the bigger issue because you can give the technology to the parent, but they have to have the drive to want to learn how to use it.

Once the students’ families have access to these technologies, the author explores some of the ways the “Internet can aid parent engagement to improve outcomes for students.”1 These include:

E-mail, chatting and teleconfrencing (MeetingBurner, Yugma, GoToMeeting)

These allow for real time communication
Allows for communication between different languages

Student Information systems (SIS)

Shares grade’s and other performance based information with parents

Classroom Blogs and Vlogs (Kidblog)

Finally, the author emphasizes how “technology breaks down the school walls and enables students to learn whenever they’d like, wherever they are. During classroom time and out-of-school time, students can learn with teachers, parents, and peers across the world.”1 Parents play a large role in encouraging their children to use technology as a learning tool, and not just as a way to play games.

Conclusion

As a future educator, I think it is important to include the families of our students, and technology allows parents the opportunity to become a second “teacher” at home. With the fast pace life most of us lead, using the ideas presented in this article can promote more family time and allow us to build better relationships with our children. One application that caught my eye that can be applied here is Google Class. With most students having access to handheld mobile devices, particularly cell phones and iPads, this will help bridge the first barrier to bringing the classroom home. An article on Lifehack.org talks about how mobile technology is changing the way students learn, using Google Class as a platform to create a 24 hour classroom. Google Class is a one stop shop for implementing some of the ideas in this article and is a tool I think I will use in the future.

With new learning applications being developed everyday, it seems that more and more are being designed as games, which I think is encouraging because this will help engage the student and the parent. Both will see bringing work home as less of a chore and more of a fun way to learn together.