Parents Matter

Posted By: Mitch Benson | Mar 1st, 2007 @ 3:36 PM

I frequently think about virtual learning environments, what they are, why they matter, what impact they may have on teaching, learning... and the administration of schools and universities. There's a great deal of debate about their (as if there's a category of product called "VLE" to which we can all agree) utility given the effort and cost often required to implement and adopt.

I recently had an opportunity to spend the day with some senior education leaders and policy makers from Europe. One of the common threads they shared was an unyielding belief (one they intuitively knew but also had research to support) that PARENTS (and their aspirational involvement) are critical to the success of all students. Their position wasn't so much centered on how VLE's may augment the formal or informal learning process... but on how we draw parents into the relationship, leverage their innate aspirations for their children and engage them in a productive, proactive and positive community.

I'm encouraged by insight like the following from an Independent article published today:

"Teachers use the gateway to plan lessons, contact parents and each other and mark school work from home. Pupils can upload their homework for marking and benefit from an e-portfolio of all their computer work, while parents can access their children's work, check on their attendance and behaviour and even look at pictures of school trips. Unless you invited parents in every week there's no way they'd have such a window into the life of the school..."

Tags: education

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supersteve3000

This is a new way to involve the parents in an efficient manner. I think its great. This way the parents can stay on top of their kids education without the leg work of playing phone tag with a teacher.

Here is an excellent resource for career and education information that I found: http://www.careersandeducation.com

lajones

This may be the key to resolving our educational crisis. Parents throughout our society, regardless of cultural influences, want to be included in their child's education and desire the best for their child.

I'm cautious about exclusively virtual environments because children need personal relationships in order to learn valuable social skills. With this in mind, technology can be used in many ways to improve our educational system. There are several distance learning situations that have been used to benefit students in rural communities where otherwise, particular courses could not be offered.

The tablet idea could be a valuable resource for learners and parents in transitioning between home and school. Parents that may not be able to afford a computer at home could view their child's tablet (classroom presentations, student notes, links, etc.) and truly connect with and reinforce their experiences at school. This may "raise the bar" a bit on the quality of our curriculum and instruction, and could possibly be an educational venue for parents as well regarding their child's progress, plans for the future, etc.

Some fundamental questions need to be addressed: Do we truly believe that all parents matter, or is it just those who can afford private education? Do our policies and practices support our beliefs? Can we make technology accessible to all students? At what age are certainly technologies appropriate? Do we have systems in place to ensure that it is a safe learning environment for the children? (the list goes on...)