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Keeping parents in the loop with edtech

Using edtech can help teachers access tests, set objectives, and create lesson plans for students. Technology isn’t just helpful for teachers, though. Technology in a school can play a significant role to keep parents up to date and informed about their children’s education.

All parents and carers want is for their children to receive the best education possible. By keeping them engaged with their child’s learning is crucial for building on the relationships between teachers, parents and students. For many kids, in today’s world, this encompasses education technology in the classroom and at home to encourage continual learning.

Parents today want to feel like they’re fully included in the process and prefer regular but quick updates that will help them encourage and support their child’s development in line with their abilities and potential. Not only does communication help parents feel informed, but if they feel engaged, they’re also more likely to participate in home learning to encourage continual learning beyond the classroom.

Schools are subsequently looking for ways that will enable them to communicate each child’s performance, weaknesses, behavior and future goals, without significantly detracting from their teachers’ day-to-day work.

So, how can schools ensure that they find the right balance between effective communication with parents and a cost-effective method?

Put parents at the heart of the decision

Some parents may want to be updated through text messages, apps on their phones, their smart speakers, or even more intricate technology such as learning management platforms.


Read more: Tapping into the potential of AI smart speakers to boost parental engagement


Allowing parents to have a say in what technology the school will invest in to communicate with them is a great way to give them a voice in what they favor. Of course, when schools have an average of over 300 children, it can be difficult to find one tool for communication that everyone agrees with.

However, opening this discussion gives parents the opportunity to voice their concerns about various methods and the technology with a majority vote can be the chosen resource.

Keeping parents involved

Keeping parents involved in the process will also make them feel more comfortable with the technology and they are more likely to be aware of what is expected from them in terms of their involvement with the school and their child’s learning.

It can be difficult for parents to support children with their learning at home if they don’t feel aware of what is happening during the school day or have a lack of understanding for what teachers are trying to achieve in the classroom.


Read more: Addressing the most common parent concerns about BYOD in schools


Another top tip would be to help parents to be in the know with what is happening and what activities are being carried out. Technology is obviously a great tool which helps aid this process, and as long as you’re there to guide the process, parents will become more confident over time to use the technology to communicate and be kept up to date.

Provide edtech support

If the school has just implemented new communication technology or installed a new learning management system for parental access, it would be useful to host a tutorial for parents to attend so they are able to understand the technology’s role fully. It could also be useful to create an online leaflet which explains how to access the technology too so parents can reflect on this at any point.


Read more: Should parents also know how to use e-learning platforms?


Also, communicating with parents provides teachers with an opportunity to set tasks and activities which can be carried out at home. If parents are informed and up to date with these activities, it will add further encouragement for students to complete the activities and feel supported both in the classroom and at home.

All in all

Keeping parents in the loop of all school communications is essential to encourage students’ learning at home as well as in the classroom. Parents like to be informed about their child’s learning and this can be through a multitude of technology options.

This flexibility is not only relieving teachers of the responsibility of arranging in-person or telephone updates with every parent, allowing them to spend more time planning and teaching their classes, but it also benefits students, who receive much more informed, tailored support from their parents. Last but not least, it enables parents to play a more active role in their child’s learning development.

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