I’ve been using Twitter for a few years now, using it to connect with other teachers and share ideas / resources with them. Lots of schools are now using Twitter too, as a way of communicating with parents and their communities, as well as posting updates about school events.

Image – Twitter website screenshot

As I recently set up a Twitter account for my own school, I asked for suggestions from other teachers about ways of using it. These were shared with PrimaryPad. Here are some of the ideas:

• Celebrating children’s work, with links to examples of work online.
• Asking for feedback… so followers can add comments and share valuable feedback with the pupils. Tweet a sentence from a ‘Big Write’ and get instant feedback for the pupil,
• Posting school news,
• Posting live updates about school events (e.g. sports matches),
• Post updates from an educational visit (e.g. residential),
• Reporting school closure information,
• Send reminders about events in school or homework,
• Use to pose questions for children to debate/answer.

There are many more ideas on the PrimaryPad document, along with a list of schools who have their own Twitter account. There is also a Twitter list of tweeting schools at http://twitter.com/SchoolDuggery/uk-schools.

Do you use Twitter at school? Feel free to add a comment to share your experiences, or add your thoughts to the PrimaryPad.

The Teenage Cancer Trust have just launched an online resource for schools, which can be used for PSHE lessons and general assembly. It’s an interactive resource with lesson plans, discussion topics, video, and fits with syllabus guidelines. It touches on topics revolving around teenage cancer, looking at health, communication, relationships, bullying, and seeks to promote understanding and education about health issues.

The resource is available at www.teenagecancertrust.org/learningresource

New research from Becta (the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning) reveals that misunderstandings, a lack of confidence and unclear communication channels are putting children’s education at risk.

The study of 2,000 parents and 1,000 teachers across the country revealed over half of parents are in contact with their child’s teacher just once a term or less and for various reasons are taking a back seat in their child’s education.

Four key issues in the parent-teacher dynamic have also emerged:

• ‘Invisible’ parents: Of the parents who admitted they rarely made contact with their child’s teacher, nearly a quarter (22%) said they did not see the benefit for their child. The majority (67%) of school staff said that these parents simply do not realise how important their support is in their child’s development. And 60% said that these parents often feel their job stops at the school gates.
• Confidence issues: 42% of teachers said the reason so-called ‘invisible’ parents have so little contact with the school is that they lack the confidence to discuss their child with teachers – 43% of school staff admit parents might find them ’difficult to approach sometimes.’ One in five (19%) parents are worried about bothering teachers and more than a fifth (22%) say they don’t want to add to the teacher’s workload, resulting in many taking a back seat in their child’s education.
• Lack of information: More than one in ten (11%) of the parents who do initiate communication said they felt dismissed by teachers as an ‘overly demanding’ parent and a further 11% commented they often feel they are imposing on the teacher’s time. More than a third (36%) of school staff encounter parents who want ‘constant reassurance’ and others (19%) who try to ‘influence everything that goes on in the classroom.’
• Lack of effective communication channels: 89% of parents say technology could help them become better informed about their child’s education so that they can then have more focused face-to-face discussions with teachers. However, despite all schools having electronic communication tools, 46% of parents say their schools don’t communicate with them in this way.

As part of its Next Generation Learning campaign, Becta is leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning. The benefits of technology in schools are twofold: making lessons and learning more enjoyable and rewarding, whilst also keeping parents better informed and involved with their child’s learning.

Becta is urging parents to talk to their child’s school to find out how and if technology is already being used, and how it can help improve regular communications between them and the school in future. For more information on the research and how you can get involved in the campaign, explore the site. The ‘Parents as Partners‘ section also has some useful advice and case studies exploring how technology can help schools, parents and learners to work together.

How do you involve parents in their children’s learning? Do you use new forms of technology? Do you see positive changes as a result of these strategies? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments…

Image – Becta

If someone said ‘cool beans’ to you, how might you respond? If you were described as ‘teek’ would you be pleased or offended? Do you know what ‘CBA’ or ‘SDW’ stand for?

These terms are, according to this article from Guardian Education, some of the latest terms that teenagers used as part of their everyday conversation. As a teacher, are you aware of what they mean, and could you understand your students if they were to use these words in a class?

Take a look at the article to expand your vocabulary even further!

Image: ‘Not quite Sophie Beer‘