Monday, February 9, 2015

Communication 2.0

As I think about the actions I will employ in this action research study, more and more articles surface on web 2.0 tools.  Communication is one of the areas I will target because I feel survey results will indicate a disparity in this area.  Of course, if results indicate otherwise, I will have to change my plan of action.  Most recently, I discovered Joe Mazza and his blog on technology strategies to engage families.  Wow.  He's a wealth of knowledge and resources... Below is a webinar he included on his blog identifying high and low tech strategies to use with parents.  Quite informative...



Joe Mazza was the principal at Knapp Elementary before working at the University of Pennsylvania and used many tools which may be beneficial in my setting.  His idea of developing an app for the school was innovative and made me think about how I could make one for Swansboro Middle.  There are many platforms that can be used; Mazza used eJucomm to make his.  His article in SmartBlog on Education outlines the many features and tabs on his app:  parents, events, students, news, contact us, email teacher, and bullying reporting to name a few.  The only drawback, the price.  Five hundred dollars is a steep price.  Now I'm on a mission to see which companies are available and which are the most cost effective so that Swansboro Middle may have its own app next year.  Thanks Joe.
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 14, 2015 at 4:11 PM

    Crystal,
    Great find! That application seems like it would increase communication and, perhaps, family engagement. How does this resource help you in forming your plan for action research?
    Thanks,
    Emily

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    1. CrystalFebruary 16, 2015 at 5:02 PM

      Initially, I thought it would be great to make an app for the school; a one-stop-shop for everything having to do with Swansboro Middle. But the more I thought about it, I remembered we have a school website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account. As a parent, would I want one more thing to look at to find information? Probably not. So I need to think about mainstreaming all of our communication tools and ensure that parents know where to look to stay informed. The app reminds me of all of the areas we need to keep parents informed and I'll need to focus on those on our website and then share it through Facebook to reach all of our parents.

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