Rhonda T. White
California State University, East Bay
EDUI 6707
April 30, 2006
Wired: “How Online Parents Increase Student Learning”
Introduction
Imagine being a high school or junior high student again. Your class has thirty-five students and you sit in the middle of the class. At times there is a lot of communication and laughter, while at other times, you hear nothing more than the scratching of a lead pencil across paper. You are a student with below average study skills, and although you are attentive in class, you have trouble expressing your thoughts and knowledge on paper. At times you struggle to remember content, despite the fun and antidotal stories provided by your teacher; however, this is not what really worries you. The real problem has become personal and is starting to discourage you from school. As you try to improve, the material keeps moving along and you find yourself further behind than before. For many American children, this description has become a reality.
Why is it that at a time of such great innovations and new technologies, our children struggle with learning and fall behind as compared to academic achievements of children in other nations? Of course cultural differences do exist in America, our fast-pace life style suggests we need to utilize new technologies and current existing methods of communication to increase student learning; not only to reach different learning types, but to build a strong supportive community for the success of our children. According to John Seely Brown’s (2002) article “Growing Up Digital” in the USDLA Journal, teachers now have the ability to reach and engage students and their different learning styles in a new medium “the Web” something our students would greatly benefit from as Brown states, “literacy today involves not only text, but also image and screen literacy”. The online community can be valuable to students, because over the years, literacy has become a problem across the nation with fewer and fewer students reading and writing at grade level.
In today’s society, many working parents spend countless business hours on cell phones and the web, while many students have other obligations and many extra curricular activities; creating an online community for parents and struggling students would be a great start towards helping these students, and in building teacher/parent support, while providing the students with more opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. Such a cooperative communication tool could benefit the whole community and help students stay in school. As the online community grows and becomes a success for the students, local business would support more high school graduates, and encourage students to stay in school. In turn, these graduates would become role models within the community. Before examining how an online community can work and bring support to our students and benefit the educational community, let’s consider some of the other attempts made to help our students.
Students Falling Behind
Many students have found themselves seeking outside help from the ever-popular crop of tutoring centers around the state. The students I have encountered need help with learning good study habits and learning how to learn. The traditional face-to-face (f2f) teaching practices are not enough to help these students. In some cities parents are paying more money to support their local schools and keep programs running like music and sports. In other states, corporate America are supporting schools, for example, Bill Gates donated $21 million to Chicago high schools to prepare students for success in college (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2006). When so many students are falling behind, not passing the High School Exit Exam, and failing classes; lessening the graduation requirements is not the ideal way to solve the problem. Creating an online environment is one proactive way to dealing with the issue of struggling students, while getting the help and support of the local community. Considering the beneficial aspect of the online community, let’s examine how this community would work.
The Online Community (A Closer Look)
Since so many of us spend countless hours in front of the computer and away from family members, it only makes sense to set up an online community for parents and teachers to expand the means of communication in order to help students. This online community would extend to students, administrators, counselors, and tutors. The online community would be hosted through a Course Management System (CMS). All the members of the online community would have access to the board, while only adults would have access to E-mail capabilities. Parents and children would have separate online accounts. This would allow parents to feel connected to their child’s learning, while placing some of the responsibility of learning at the hands of the students.
Students would be capable of viewing class assignments and handouts online at their convenience, for example, after a sporting event. They would have a designated assignment discussion board to use and make comments, answer, or ask questions. The board would also contain important information pertaining to school rules and other school activities, as well as, access to all their teachers. Such an online environment would offer unlimited access to learning and information the students need for completing assignments, getting help, and asking questions.
Even though the infrastructure (CMS) exists, the question still remains, how does an online community promote student learning?
Today many students struggle with reading, yet give them an online project and they are all systems go. Brown suggests individuals of the millennium generation are younger, and have experienced a literacy evolution. Brown terms this “screen literacy”, which involves a person’s ability to navigate and find information in order to learn. For too many of us, this may seem like quite a hassle; however, many young people connect with navigation skills as a form of learning as they are actively involved in the process; rather than sitting and listening to lectures or being distracted by other intrusions that exist in normal face-to-face (f2f) environments. Providing students with the opportunity to type their assignments allows them to actively think in a kinesthetic way, using both hands. For some students this makes all the difference, personally find it easier to type my thoughts than handwrite them.
Parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, and tutors will also benefit from the online CMS as well. Each individual will be provided with identification credentials to the system. Individuals will be able to communicate, setup appointments, stay in touch with student progress, and keep a close connection with their own students work. The CMS will save time for all individuals when students become sick, take leave to observe religious holidays, or even bereavement arrangements with the teachers will be convenient for all. Parents will have instant access from any internet location, whether at work or at home; thus, making it easier to say in contact day or night, something many parents are in favor of.
Conclusion: Benefits the Community
The online CMS for the K-12 system would be beneficial for all the members in the educational community. Success stories of high school students would be shared at churches, parties, holiday gatherings, and community social events. Such support can have a positive impact on students as they rise up to the expectations of the community. Students’ performance will have a trickle down effect for those students in early grades; community support means a difference for students and their positive role models; they too can serve in the community. Please suggest an online community to your local school district; get your community involved and take interest in supporting the learning needs of America’s children.
References
Brown, John. S. (2002) Growing up Digital. USDLA Journal 16(2). Retrieved on 4/17/06 from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/FEB02_Issue/article01.html
Gates, Bill. & Melinda. (April 16, 2006). Investment to Transform 50 Chicago high Schools to ensure Students are Prepared for Success. Retrieved on 4/30/06 from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Website:
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/Districts
Thornburgh, Nathan. (April 17, 2006). Dropout Nation. Time Magazine