Saturday, January 19, 2008

Intro Blog: The Class Newsletter

As a grade one classroom teacher, I would like to begin using a blog instead of writing a monthly newletter to parents. I like the fact that I can post pictures, update the information and respond to parent questions all in one place. I think parents would appreciate an archive of the newletters. I am wondering about concerns parents might have about their child's photos on the internet. (No names, of course!) Comments?
Some software like http://manila.userland.com/ allows you create a personal listserv that will send email notices of new additions to the to parents/students who join.
Of course the first step would need to be determining the access to the internet of individual families. Teaching most parents how to find and use the blog would be necessary. Perhaps a parent night introducing the blog and how to use it would be helpful. Any comments or suggestions on using blogs for class newletters?

1 comment:

Tracy said...

Hi Elizabeth,

You do have to be careful using children's photos on the Internet - even without names. I've seen people create avatars with their students for use on blogs, and others who have had their students create self-portraits which were then scanned and used as their avatar. An example of this is Gordon Brune's grade five class on Classblogmeister: http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=103419
I think he's used collage as a medium for the portraits this year - last year they did drawings.

I think using a blog as a class newsletter is absolutely brilliant! I've been working with several of my own staff members as well as other teachers in our district to start using blogs for that purpose. It's too early to tell what parents think of it, but as a parent of 8 and 11 year old boys, I think it's a wonderful, environmentally friendly way of communicating!