How Technology can Help Build Community

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Technology has already proven useful in connecting parents with parents, and parents with schools. Email alone has made possible direct communication with parents that failed when phone calls and notes home did not reach the parent.

A Portal is a technology that adds much more functionality than simple email.

Think of a Portal as a place to meet online with the principals, teachers and parents at your school. Think of a Portal as a place to post and view homework, and children’s learning. Think of a Portal as a place to buy lunch or bus passes. Think of a Portal as a place to get information about children’s learning or ask questions. Think of a Portal as a place to work together online in support of schools and learning.

If the Portal is just another way to push information to parents, it will only be as current as those who are posting. But if a Portal supports the parent-school community, that is a different story. We need to change the landscape of school to engage parents differently. When parents are engaged, the portal extends that engagement beyond the physical walls of school.

Technologies on the Internet today provide tools designed to support community. You may find that not all of these tools provide the security that you want in a Parent Portal. You may want to consider using some of these to supplement what you are able to provide in the Parent Portal provided by the District.