Tami Rodda

Instructional Technology
February 8, 2015
Instructor Biba John

Technology to Support Communication

http://roddaclass.weebly.com
The teacher will be using different forms of technology for communication purposes
which gives the students and their parents opportunities to experiment with different types of
informational communication technology (ICT). The three types that will be used are email,
blogging, wiki pages. Each form will be described in detail on how it gets used and who it will
influence.
Technology to Enhance Communication
E-mail: Email will be used as a form of communication when the teacher is not readily
available. This method is useful for all parties involved as it is the most convenient method.
Messages can be typed up and sent, the email account will be checked numerous times during
the day. In 1996, L.M. Manning found that through the use of e-mail to facilitate studentteacher communication, the instructor is no longer a scarce resource for students. This is
beneficial because if a question or situation arose after school hours, a simple email can be sent,
and the situation can be dealt with accordingly in a timely manner.
Blog: A blog will be used to summarize the activities that the class as a whole have achieved
throughout the school week. This blog will be written by a group of students that gets rotated so

that everyone gets a chance to practice their grammar and writing skills. As Zhang (2013) wrote,
Educational blogs support both personal constructivist and social constructivist learning
activities. The students will also gain a sense of achievement and be able to take pride in their
work. Parents will be able to view the blog and keep up with the activities that their children are
doing and the learning experiences that the children have. The blog will be open to be viewed
and shared with other classes or students to collaborate on different ideas and gain useful
feedback that can be used for future improvement.
Wiki: Caverly and Ward (2008) say that a wiki is a web page that allow a group to
collaboratively construct a document online by subscribing and then editing multimedia using
simple text editors. By using a class wiki the teacher can help the students build the page using
information that is found and checked for accuracy. Students can use this page as a study guide
and/or learning tool for a particular lesson and it can also be used to showcase what the class has
learned during a lesson. Parents will be able to look at the page and see what their children are
learning and what, if any, improvement is needed. The page can be shared with other classes
around the world and can be used to compare and contrast facts with the page creators.
As with all of these technologies, internet safety will be addressed by using user
agreements that clearly state the rules that are needed to ensure a safe experience. These
agreements will be sent home so that parents can go over these rules with their student(s) to
ensure that they are understood. If there are any concerns with these rules parents and students
alike can contact the teacher through email, phone, or in person.
Using these types of ICT in the classroom helps the students gain skills that will be used
and built upon throughout their educational careers. Parents will be able to keep up with
classroom activities when they look at the different techniques used for their childrens class and

will be able to carry on conversations or continue learning at home. The global community can
use these samples for a reference point to start their own classroom technologies or as a way to
communicate with another class and discuss their differences. Not only will these ICTs benefit
the students but they will benefit other individuals in the students lives as well.
References
Caverly, D. C., & Ward, A. (2008). Techtalk: wikis and collaborative knowledge construction.
Journal of Developmental Education, 32(2), 36-37.
Lee, L. (2012). "A learning journey for all": american elementary teachers' use of classroom
wikis. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 11(3), 90-102.
Manning, L. M. (1996). Economics on the internet: electronic mail in the classroom. Journal of
Economic Education, 27201-204.
Tingen, J., Philbeck, L., & Holcomb, L. B. (2011). Developing classroom web sites for 21st
century learning. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 47(2), 88-90.
Zhang, S. (2013). An empirical study of the factors affecting weblog success in higher education.
Journal Of Information Systems Education, 24(4), 267-279.