Page 63 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

CHAPTER 11 • Leveraging Technology for Teacher Efficiency and Effectivenes

Wrapping Things Up
Since we begin school in September, we get out much later in June than other
districts. June can be a long month! In late May I invite students to create
six-word memoirs (See sixwordmemoirs.com/about/#story-of-six-words for
an explanation) about their year in which they sum up events, give advice to
incoming students, or share something positive about the school and their
classroom. Teachers create one Google Slides presentation and give each
student one slide to complete (they are able to design their own slide so long as
they use their first name only). When classrooms have finished, I compile all of the
presentations into one giant slideshow, usually more than 600 slides long, with
six-word memoirs from kindergarten through eighth grade! To continue building
community, each day in June I select three random six-word memoirs to tweet
out. Many have witty captions that are added to build excitement. I schedule
these ahead of time using Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) so I never forget to send one
out and schedule them to be released at the same three times daily so parents
and students know when to expect them. Our school community loves them!
If you would like to see a finished product, view one of our slideshows here:
tiny.cc/gvziwy

Follow Coonley School @CoonleyES and Nicole Zumpano @nmzumpano

Some schools have found social media to be a good way to communicate with
parents and, possibly, older students. One teacher set up a Facebook account for
her grade level, only to find it confused parents who had already been directed to
both a school account and a parent organization account. Collaboration across
the school consolidated all the separate accounts into one general account where a
few key leaders could monitor what was posted. Investigate how parents are already
being informed before adding a new social media account, whether that account
is a school website, wiki, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. Parents want one news
outlet, if possible. Multiple logons and multiple places to look means some parents
will miss the information altogether. Also, be conscious that not all parents have
access to accounts, even if the application is free. Facebook (or Twitter or Pinterest,
etc.) is not for everyone.

252 Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Integrating Technology in the Classroom: Tools to Meet the Needs of Every Student 63