Harry and Rosemary Wong’s new book, The Classroom Management Book, lays out step-by-step directions on how to teach, rehearse, and reinforce procedures in the classroom. Our SMSU teacher candidates just finished reading about these procedures and then taught their peers about many of the procedures using the jigsaw method.

One procedure discussed was the Home School Connection chapter and how to stay in contact with parents. As parents and as a teachers, we concur that it is vital to keep the parent communication lines open. Involving stakeholders is critical for the success of the student…for the success of the school.

One way to stay in contact with parents is through a weekly newsletter. This newsletter can take on many forms…a note sent home in the backpack, a blog post, a tweet, or a Facebook update just to name a few. The form is not so critical; the important piece is to stay connected.

Thanks to second grade teacher @Webers2ndGrade for sharing a brand new way to send a newsletter to parents using an iPad app called Shadow Puppet Edu. Mrs. Weber’s second graders used this medium to share their weekly activities with their parents. First, they chose pictures of what they had done in their classroom that week, and then they used the voice over to narrate each picture. Once the process was complete, Mrs. Weber’s second graders tweeted it out for the parents to read. Check it out here: @Webers2ndGrade Newsletter.

Teachers can use this app to stay connected to their parents. These newsletters could be tweeted, put on the class webpage, or the class Facebook page. Principals could use this app to stay connected to their teachers. Shadow Puppet Edu could be used to make announcements in the morning, or to showcase teacher accomplishment. The possibilities are endless.

What are ways that you could use this iPad app? How do you stay connected with your stakeholders – parents or teachers or students?

Stay Calm & Lead On!
Profs Dr. C. & Dr. V.