ReThinking: Home-School Communication

Parent: "How was your day?"
Student: "Boring." 
Parent: "What did you do?"
Student: "Nothing."

 In the spirit of rethinking a variety of school practices, it is time to revisit the traditional home-school communication method in special education - the home-school communication notebook (HSCN). It is not uncommon for special educators to use a home/school communication notebook to provide information to parents about their child's day.

Before we consider alternatives, let's first explore the importance and benefits of effective home-school communication from Home-School Communication: What's All the Commotion?):

• Parents and teachers consider communication the number one factor to increase trust (Adams & Christenson, 2000).
• Strong communication can also encourage higher and realistic parental expectations. When teachers and parents are on the “same page” they can engage in more individual and concrete discussion around student progress and develop realistic goals and plans of action that are linked to student achievement (Drake 2000; James, Jurich & Estes, 2001).
• Parents who receive more consistent information about their children's school performance report a higher degree of commitment to helping children improve (Helling, 1996).
• Parents view effective communication by a new school as a quality that makes the transition from preschool to kindergarten positive (Rimm-Kauffman, 1999).
• Communication serves as the first step to other types of parent involvement to follow (Elman, 1999).
• Parents seek good communication skills in their children's teachers, citing it as one of the most desirable characteristics a new teacher could have (Lupi, 2001; McDermott, 2001).

Why is it important to consider alternatives to the traditional communication methods?

1. The home/school communication notebook is adult focused and adult driven.

2. The notebook can be lost or misplaced in the school or home.

3. Documenting in the HSCN is time consuming; there is often a separate notebook for each student in the special education classroom or special education program.

4. Too often, the HSCN focuses on reporting about behaviors and not what the students actually did in school that day. The documentation does not necessarily promote constructive dialogue at home.

5. New technologies allow for greater flexibility and promote innovative practices.

Interested in learning about alternatives? Start with Sound Recordings. Why use sound recordings? 
Sound recordings can be time savers, You create one recording about the day and share it with all the parents in the program. An adult is not necessary with sound recordings, once students understand how to use the online resources. Every day, a different "historian" can record the highlights of the day. It becomes a student driven process.

Vocaroo - Web-based, free audio recorder. Simplest method for voice recordings. Click Record, record your voice and share.

Add, digital photos.

Voisse - Free, very easy online method to record your voice, share with parents. The recordings are dated and saved when you sign up for an account.Keep a running record of your daily School Reports in your personal library. Also possible to upload photos and attach voice recordings. EASY!

Fotobabble- Easily create talking photo records of the school day. Share with parents. Free online tool. Also available as an app for iOS devices. EASY, EASY!

Voicethread - Upload multiple photos and record your voice describing each photo separately. Involve multiple students in the process of documenting the day. A free online resource - To Create - Upload, Comment, Share. Read the Educator's Guide to VoiceThread.

Use these options as teachable moments. "What do we believe are the most important parts of the day? What do we want to share with our families? What pictures should we take about our day?" Share, share, share. Parents love to know about the school day!

Do you have other ideas that work in your classroom? Would love to learn from you as well. Please leave your ideas that work in the comment section.

ReThinking: "He Doesn't Want to be Seen as Different"

I've heard that refrain numerous times.

"But... he doesn't want to be seen as different."

It's usually uttered in response to specific technology recommendations offered during the IEP team process. The team typically nods their head in agreement; after all, it is a priority that the student completes school tasks in the same manner as their peers, or uses the same school tools as their friends.(Or is it?)

Unfortunately, I realize another team is unaware of Universal Design for Learning principles.  If they understood UDL, they would appreciate the importance of offering MULTIPLE methods of engagement, presentation and expression. Instead, they are sticking to the "one size fits all" approach, an approach which fails to meet the needs of all learners. It's an approach that allows teams to agree, "He doesn't want to be seen as different."

My challenge to the team is to change the culture, don't let the student be seen as different. Offer multiple methods of expression. Give choices. Offer alternatives to the traditional methods which fail many kids.

Sometimes students need a different method.

A classic example is the Poster Board.

Think of all the poster boards that have been assigned over the years. For some students, the fine motor or visual processing skills required to complete that task are nearly impossible without significant help from home. Paper can be the disability. Two alternatives are Glogster or VoiceThread, free online multimedia tools which minimize the potential output challenges. In addition, these tools can be more engaging.

But don't just change the expectation to ALL students will now create a Glog. Introduce them to the tools. Then let students choose the tool which will help them accomplish the task in the way that works best for them. Promote an environment where they are not seen as different. Every one chooses the method which promotes success. Some students will opt for the paper poster board, others will choose another option.

The essential point is the availability of choice. When there is choice, no one is seen as different. Every student gets what they need. 

Easily accomplished in an age of numerous tool choices. Need a starting place? Refer to the UDL Tech Toolkit wiki to get you going.