3 Tech Tips for Parent Newsletters
When it comes to communicating with families throughout the school year, what methods do you use? A parent newsletter, which you can create, will allow you to keep parents up to date on the latest happenings in your classroom. Teachers can use newsletters to share classroom stories, inform parents about upcoming events, and provide suggestions for ways in which families can support their child’s academic development at home.
It is possible for teachers to create newsletters that highlight the work done by their students in class using technology. A digital newsletter can be sent to a family’s inbox or delivered directly to their smartphone via text message. More interactive than simply writing on paper, it provides a more dynamic experience…………………….. These technology suggestions will assist you in exploring the possibilities of creating newsletters with the aid of technological tools.
1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOL
There are many ways to create newsletters with technology tools.
When creating your next newsletter, keep your objectives in mind. Have a collection of photographs taken by students that you’d like to show off? Are you looking for web addresses that parents can access? Ideally, you’d like to send updates once a month or once a week. A newsletter for parents with limited or no access to technology may be of interest to you. Would you be interested in creating one?
These questions will assist you in selecting the most appropriate tool for your newsletter. These are the three that I enjoy the most:
Spark page: This free Adobe app allows teachers to create a website for their students. It’s a visually stunning design tool that’s also incredibly simple to use. Teachers can upload photos directly from their devices, search for stock images that illustrate their ideas, and add a large amount of text to their pages using the tools provided. Spark Page enables you to embed YouTube videos and create links to other pages on the internet. This makes it simple for parents and students to share their school experiences and to gain access to online educational resources. Your finished page will have a link that you can send out to your friends and family after you have finished designing it.
WordPress – When I worked as a teacher in a classroom, WordPress was a fantastic tool for communicating with my students’ families. It’s also the programme I use to create the content for my ClassTechTips website. WordPress enables users to create a free website that they can update as often as they want without spending any money. Teachers who prefer to publish weekly updates rather than a monthly newsletter will appreciate having this option available to them. Given the fact that WordPress is mobile and web-enabled, you can post information for your families from your cell phone or tablet.
Pages is a fantastic document creation application that is available for both Mac and iOS devices. When creating newsletter templates, you can drag and drop images and information into the template. Using a page, you can easily create newsletters that are targeted to a wide range of families. When you are finished, save it as a PDF file and share it with others via email. Alternatively, you can print it and send it home.
2. CONTINUOUSLY CAPTURE MEDIA
your class website more often. It’s a great way to keep parents informed about school events and celebrate special moments. Share your newsletter link below if you have one!
Putting pen to paper and writing about your school month for a newsletter can be a daunting task. You can make the task easier by putting in place systems to collect media during the weeks leading up to the publication of your newsletter. Photos of students working on assignments can be taken with smartphones, and photos of field trips can be taken with an iPad camera.
Inviting students to participate in this process is a good idea. Stories for the newsletter as well as digital photos can be submitted by them. This will make it easier for students to capture media and stories, as well as provide them with a platform to share their work. Make certain that you have obtained all necessary permissions before sharing student work and photos outside of the classroom.
3. MAKE A PLAN TO SHARE YOUR RESULTS
After you have created your newsletter, it is critical that you ensure that it is delivered to the appropriate recipients. You can use technology tools such as Remind to send a link to a webpage, such as the one you created with Spark Page, or attach a document to a message (like you did with Pages). When teachers use Remind, they have the option of enabling communication so that parents can respond to or ask questions about what they’ve seen.
You can also use a QRcode to attach the link to your newsletter to make it more visually appealing. This graphic of the URL could be printed on sticker paper and attached to a magnet or a folder that students could take home with them. Families can use their mobile devices to scan the QR code on your newsletter to gain access to the online version. #ScannableTech and the strategies it provides for use in the classroom and beyond are two of my favourite things.
Perhaps you’d like to send out a newsletter at the beginning and end of each month to your subscribers. Alternatively, you may prefer to update.