Page 73 - The Inquiry into the Development and Implementation of a Multimedia Resource to Help Improve Parental Involvement in Their Child’s Reading Literacy During the Primary School Years.

5.3 Organisational Transformation

This research multimedia resource has also changed the way we can interact with our

school community; developing accessible eLearning resources for our pupils, parents
and teachers will transform how parents can potentially become more involved more

in their child’s education. It demonstrates how the school, parents and school
communities can work together in order to create a positive learning environment for

the pupils (Mattingly et al. 2002). Since the implementation of the ‘Parent Learning

Zone’, I have interviewed members of staff to gauge their initial reaction and
insights. Their feedback has been positive and the resource has been well received.

The teachers are promoting the resource as a tool to support reading homework and
are directing the parents of their pupils towards the website.

As one of my educational values is collaboration, I am grateful to be able to share

my newly acquired technical skills with the rest of my colleagues. Approximately

two years ago, I gained support from the headmaster to implement ICT staff training
sessions (Figure 5.3). The workshops, or as they have become commonly known as

‘The ICT Breakfast Club’ are weekly, 25 minute sessions where we explore various

eLearning applications. The staff can pick and choose which meeting they wish to
attend and it is completely optional (Photo 5.1). As Rosenberg says, “forcing people

to partake in training may create a resentful culture rather than a learning culture”
(Rosenberg, 2001, p.185).

Figure 5.3 Screenshot of an email about ICT training sessions

The training sessions have a relaxed atmosphere, where technical jargon is used

sparsely and explained where necessary. I demonstrate to my colleagues how to use
the various eLearning apps and we discuss how we can incorporate the technology

into our lessons. The teachers also share success stories with the group and this has a

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