IT 442

Technology can serve as a facilitor or a barrier to family engagement

 

        Technology has its ups and downs. One of the upsides that technology presents is bridging many barriers that stand between families and the involvement in their student's education.

        Through many applications and other technological tools that are available now a day, language is no longer a barrier. Tools like Google Translate, have made it possible for teachers to access any language they need in order to relay information to families of another language. This has allowed these families to feel accepted and involved within that particular school.

        Every parent/gaurdian deserves to be informed about their student's education. Technology provides access to tools like Remind. Remind is an app that can take a message that is in email format and send it to parents that may not have access to a computer or internet outside of their cell phone. Another resource that technology provides is access to survey tools, newsletters, or even an interactive social media site that can keep families up to date. For example, Google Forms for surveys, Weebly for a simple class website, or Facebook for a class group for updates.

        A few downsides to using technology to encourage family engagement is that all of these tools come with potential accessibility issues. Families may not be able to afford the technology devices that can be used to access these tools, they many not be able to afford internet at home or be in an area of access to internet. Also, there may be a lack of knowledge behind how to use such tools and technologies even when access is available.

        For the most part, these applications and technology tools create easy and effective approaches to include families in what is happening within the classroom of their student. As teachers, it is important to know the issues that stand in the way of technology access, and find effective ways to get around them.