WORDPRESSLINKING PARENTS AND STUDENTS TO THE CLASSROOM 24/7

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The intent of personalized learning is to "meet each child where he is and help him meet his potential" and to "educate the whole child."

(Wolf, 2010) Taken from Hanover Research p. 4

WORDPRESS is a free blog that can be used to share information with students and parents. It is a way to meet individual students needs by providing study helps, inclement weather assignments, and resources that parents may use to help their child's specific needs.

WORDPRESS HAS MANY BENEFITShttps://en.wordpress.com/features/

Click icon to add picture

USING WORDPRESS

MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO SUCCEED

ENCOURAGE PARENTS ENHANCE LEARNING INTRODUCE INTERESTING

TOPICS BUILD COMMUNICATION SKILLS DEVELOP RAPPORT BETWEEN

TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS

VIDEOS

WORDPRESS VIDEO LINKSVIDEOS ARE VERY HELPFUL AND USING WORDPRESS ALLOWS THE TEACHER TO POST VIDEOS THAT THE PARENTS CAN ACCESS AT HOME TO REINFORCE THE LESSON. BRAIN BREAKS, SCIENCE CLIPS, SONGS, OR STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS ALL AVAILABLE ANY TIME OF DAY.

Click to add textVIDEOS ARE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO

SUPPLEMENT LESSONS

THE PRACTICAL BENEFITS OF USING WORDPRESS

CONVENIENCE COMMUNICATION COLLABORATION CREATIVITY

WORDPRESS ALLOWS TEACHERS TO WORK

TOGETHER TO CREATE A VARIETY OF FUN AND

INTERESTING ACTIVITIES.TEACHERS AND PARENTS MAY

COMMUNICATE USING THE BLOG AND REPLIES

TEACHERS ARE ABLE TO SHARE ALL OF THEIR

RESOURCES IN ONE PLACE

SECURITYTHE PRIVACY OF YOUNG STUDENTS IS A CONCERN.WORDPRESS HAS A PRIVACY SETTING THAT ALLOWS ONLY INVITED GUEST TO VIEW THE PAGE. COMMENTS ARE MODERATED OR MAY BE DISABLED TO PREVENT INAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL OR INFORMATION FROM BEING POSTED.

PART 2 CHALLENGESALTHOUGH WORDPRESS HAS MANY HELPFUL FEATURES THERE ARE SOME LIMITATIONS TO HOW IT CAN BE USED IN A SCHOOL SETTING.

LIMITATIONS

LIMITED STORAGE TIME CONSUMING MONITORING IS REQUIRED LIMITED VIEWING CHOICES REQUIRES PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT/SUPERVISION MAY VIOLATE SCHOOL POLICIES

LIMITED STORAGETHE FREE VERSION OF WORDPRESS HAS LIMITED STORAGE FOR VIDEOS AND PHOTOS. THE TEACHER WOULD NEED TO REGULARLY REMOVE MATERIAL OR PAY FOR AN UPGRADE.

TIME CONSUMING FOR THE TEACHER

TEACHERS MAY NEED TUTORIALS TO LEARN

HOW TO USE WORDPRESS. THE

WEBPAGE MUST THEN BE DEVELOPED WHICH ALSO TAKES TIME. ONCE THE

SITE IS MADE TEACHERS MUST MONITOR ACTIVITY AND CAREFULLY REVIEW CONTENT BEFORE IT IS ADDED TO THE PAGE.

THERE ARE TWO VIEWING CHOICES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

PUBLIC VIEWING ALLOWS ANYONE TO READ THE CONTENT. THIS MAY POSE PRIVACY ISSUES IF STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO POST COMMENTS.

PRIVATE VIEWING IS MORE SECURE BECAUSE USERS NEED AN INVITATION TO VIEW, BUT IS MORE DIFFICULT FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS TO ACCESS

WORDPRESS REQUIRES PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS.

STUDENTS MUST HAVE ACCESS TO A COMPUTER OR DEVICE TO VIEW MATERIAL

PARENTS MUST BE COMFORTABLE WITH ALLOWING THEIR CHILDREN TO USE A PUBLIC FORUM TO COMMUNICATE

SCHOOL POLICY VIOLATION

DISCRETION IS REQUIREDTEACHERS MUST REVIEW THEIR PARTICULAR SCHOOL POLICY BEFORE USING WORDPRESS. POSTING MATERIAL THAT REVEALS STUDENT AGES OR IDENTITIES MAY VIOLATE THE SCHOOL'S OR DISTRICT'S PRIVACY POLICIES

CONCLUSION

EFFECTIVE MEDIA RESOURCE HELPS DEVELOP COMMUNICATION

SKILLS CREATIVE OUTLET FOR TEACHERS

AND STUDENTS BUILDS RAPPORT BETWEEN

USERS LINKS ONLINE AND COMMUNITY

RESOURCES

WORDPRESS IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL THAT PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEACHERS TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER TEACHERS, PARENTS AND THEIR STUDENTS OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM. IF USED IN A CAREFUL WAY WORDPRESS GIVES THE TEACHER THE ABILITY TO CONSOLIDATE MATERIAL SO THAT THE PARENTS ONLY NEED TO VISIT ONE PLACE TO ACCESS MANY ONLINE AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES.

REFERENCES

Elf Learning. 2010. Learn to blend video. Accessed December 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYmwStHMezc

Hanover Research. 2012. Best practices in personalized learning environments (grades 4-9). Page 4.

Pixabay. 2015. Free Vector Graphic. Accessed December 2015. https://pixabay.com/en/disk-storage-computer-info-floppy-160525/

Plants Designing Books Illustrations Typographic Art. 2013. Accessed December 2015. https://plantsdesigningbooks.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/inspiration/

Public Domain Pictures.net. 2015. Security badge. Accessed December 2015. http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=24764&picture=security-badge

Wolf, M.A. 2010. "Innovate to Educate: System [Re]Design for Personalized Learning. A Report from the 2010 Symposium." Edited by Partoyan, E., Schneiderman, & Seltz, J. ACSD. P. 21.

WordPress. 2015. Features. Accessed December 2015. https://en.wordpress.com/features/

WPforall. 2014. How to use wordpress dashboard-learn to use wordpress part 3 of 12. Access December 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpQ9F17Tmg