Draft of Section Two: Communications Plan

Name

Institution

Draft of Section Two: Communications Plan

Introduction

Introduction of technology in the classroom has many advantages. One of the major advantages is that it enhances productivity and efficiency in communication between teachers and students and among the students themselves. It is therefore important for the teacher to come up with a plan to outline how technology in the classroom will be used for communication (Czubaj, 2002). The communication plan will incorporate the students, parents and the community.

A class website will be created where parents can access information about events and programs that are relevant to their children. The parents will also be able to access information about their child’s performance. Students can use the website to get information on assignments and subjects that they are doing. The teacher can use the website to publish some of the best works done by the students. This will also motivate the students to work harder for recognition. This website can be set up within the school website so that members of the community who would like to send their children to the school can gauge the performance of the class before making the decision.

Students should submit their contacts of their parents or guardians which will include their addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and any other relevant information that can be used when the need arises (Czubaj, 2002). Parents will also access contacts of the teachers and therefore able to contact them when necessary. However, the physical meetings between teachers and parents should still be made to discuss the progress of the students and how best to help them improve in school. Students should also be involved in these meetings. Telephone calls should also be made immediately in case of emergencies affecting the students.

Students will have emails to access resources on the websites and use in communicating with the teachers. These emails can also be used in sending assignments to the teachers when required and to ask any questions regarding the assignments. This will ease communication on assignments between the two parties. Within the school district, there should be partnership between the schools so that students from different schools can interact and exchange ideas (Butzin, 2001). The teachers will also give assignments where the students will need to research from the internet.

Finally, there are issues of internet safety and security (Bauer & Kenton, 2005). There should be security and safety measures put in place to protect them from issues such as cyber bullying. Students should be educated on online safety issues like internet predators. They should also be trained on plagiarism and copyright issues while carrying out research for schoolwork. Ways in which students can be protected include requiring students to have parental permission before uploading personal information and photos on the internet and restricting access to certain sites by filtering them based on key words used. Equipment such as computers are protected from viruses by installing anti- virus software in them and ensuring all downloads are scanned first.

References

Bauer, J., & Kenton, J. (2005). Toward technology integration in the schools: Why it isn’t happening. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 13(4), 519–546.

Czubaj, C. A. (2002). Planning for technology. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 29(1), 11–21.

Butzin, Sarah M. (2001). Using instructional technology in transformed learning environments: An evaluation of Project CHILD. Journal of Research on Technology in Education 33 (4): 362-73.