Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Email in the Classroom
I think email is a great tool, if used properly. It can be beneficial if a student needs to contact a teacher after school hours or a question comes up on an assignment. I think it could also really help shy students have a forum to talk with the teacher in a more comfortable environment. Of course with this technology comes the issue of the blurred line of professionalism. I think setting up a folder to keep track of email correspondence is extremely important. Setting up ground rules at the beginning of the year probably helps too. You could tell a classroom that they shouldn't expect a response to anything non-school related, or any questions after 10pm or something along those lines. Overall, I think the use of email is a great tool.
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Yes...I keep a folder of parent emails and it is absolutely critical. It documents all communication. (like the old fashioned paper trail) This is important if issues come up that require conferences and/or intervention with guidance, and administrator, etc.
ReplyDeleteOn the positive side, it is also wonderful to share positive feedback emails from parents with your administrator at evaluation time! Our principal is big on documenting all efforts at establishing and maintaining home-school communication. I always tell parents that email is the absolute best way to reach me. Many of my stuents do not have computers/internet at home, but often their parents have access at work.
That's a good point. It would be very difficult to make email a staple of the classroom if the students don't have internet access out of the classroom.
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