Virtual School Communities

Educational institutions have a mission to prepare students for a changing world – but do we actually do this? While the core  curriculum is important, we need to also prepare our students for  our technologically changing world. All students should  confidently handle and compose emails, participate in online conferences and bulletin boards, navigate and create electronic  content (i.e. web sites), and use instant messaging with proper
etiquette.

A handful of schools have taken their websites beyond the basic informational format. They are developing web communities that allow students, parents and educators to communicate freely online.

Combining technology and education is the present and future of teaching and learning. Many educators and boards are intimidated and uncertain about incorporating many of these technological advances into their systems, however, incorporating technology into the classroom will not only facilitate learning but enhance it.

Below are some feature that an online community provides for educators and administrators.

1. School Calendars and upcoming events can be available online and can be easily updated by administrators.

2. Classroom teachers can post homework, project information and field trip details online.

3. Parents/Guardians and Students can access homework, project information and school notes online.

4. Teachers can securely make marks available online for individual students and their parents/guardians.

5. Clubs and Teams can post information, schedules and results.

6. Students, Parents and Teachers can communicate with each other on their classroom bulletin boards.

7. Assignments can be submitted and assessed electronically.

These are some of the common uses for online communities, the possibilities for educators are endless. Many institutions have added chat features, internal email, forums, Blogs and even audio and video lessons online.