wk 3_Response_to_Aimee_Holcombe

Topic #1: Briefly share any experiences you’ve had when you’ve had a part in introducing a new program or a new way to do things at your job site. Please share any triumphs or frustrations you’ve had trying to improve the system or when you’ve pioneered or piloted some outside the norm.


There are several new programs that I have wanted to implement, such as Quest Atlantis and student film production, but have not yet been given the opportunity in my school system. However, I am hopeful for the future and will not give up on the tools I know are useful. I have been a bit of an outsider though in my use of ‘new’ technologies on my job site.


With working in a school system where technology is not the priority yet, I have had a few instances worth discussing here. The first would be that my website is used for everything I do in the classroom for as much as I can do with it. Most teachers where I am only use their site for posting their syllabus and random homework, or they don’t utilize it at all. Another thing that I do is email parents... a lot. I send out classroom newsletters, as well as email individuals the moment a kid is out of hand (usually I have the kid read it first and be the one to press send). My colleges have not appreciated both of these all that much. Sometimes they are seen as over-communication and team members are upset that parents are asking why they do not keep up their website or email them as much (or at all); while other times my methods return negatively (mostly in behavior situations) because parents don’t understand the tone or the care I have for their child as a person instead of just a student. I have learned that you always should be personable, which doesn’t always come through well in text.


Another large technology element that I have tried and tried to implement is Twitter in the classroom. Last year, with it set as my original ARP/ Thesis topic, I created a page and started from day 1 of the school year trying to get parent and students to “follow” me. After explaining it at open house, sending home a letter and an email, discussing it in class, and showing the students what Twitter was- I only got 1 student and 1 parent our of over 100 to join me! It was very disappointing to know that 1) every student in there had a cell phone that they were texting in class already with, 2) that the Twitter tool was so powerful to classroom instruction, and 3) that parents were unable to relate what they were using their phones for to what students could use theirs for. They could not see beyond their child’s “toy” being a tool for educational use. I guess it is a venture for another year in the future, but for this year I had to pack up my ideas for instantaneous assessment and brief communication reminders and move on tweetless.

(See my AR Blog’s initial entries from the fall of 2009 for more information on this topic.)

Wk 3 Discussion Board: My New Program Experience

Friday, June 18, 2010
1 Comment Manage Comments for this Entry
Monday, June 21, 2010 - 01:58 AM
Lynne Koles
Aimee, I really admire your determination to communicate with parents and especially like the concept of having the student read the tweet sent to the parent, then sending it him or her self. I think we have to keep trying to communicate with parents, w=even when met with little or no positive feedback, both because you never know when the parent will wake up to the importance of teachers' concern for their child's future, and because it is the thing that will ultimately make a difference to the student. How many teachers in your school care enough to even try to engage parents in dialogue about their children? In so many cases, parents have thanked me for calling about their children the moment a "good" child gives me the first problem. I also make sure to send positive information home about the specific children when I can. It is a part of our job that is sorely lacking on the part of teachers who have become complacent. Keep it up! You make a difference, one child at a time, and one parent at a time.