How might the use of digital communication tools affect the engagement of millennial parents?

Seminar Title

How might the use of digital communication tools affect the engagement of millennial parents?

Digital communication/Seesaw/Parental Engagement

3rd Grade

Elementary

Other

All Disciplines

Teachers are continually in the business of engaging children, but what about engaging the parents and families of these tiny humans? Is the effort with families worthwhile? What does engagement of parents in the 21st century look like? I am excited about my research because I am witnessing first hand how the use of digital technology can create a dynamic platform for communication and interaction, all while keeping the child’s work and learning at the center of the conversation. Through the use of Seesaw, a digital portfolio tool, students in my elementary classroom are posting about their learning and the parents are responding! If you are interested in being part of the conversation on communication, parental engagement, or digital technology then this session may be for you.

How might the use of digital communication tools affect the engagement of millennial parents? After initially setting out to better understand the influences of parental/family engagement in schools, this was the question which evolved and became the narrowed focus of my research. A review of literature suggested that parental engagement which is focused on the learning of the student and that encompasses a two-way field of communication can positively influence a student’s perception of their work and education. Further reading on millennial culture lent itself to the understanding that many families today are responsive and accustomed to the use of technology for communication and interaction. The intersection of these understandings sparked my curiosity as to whether the use of digital communication tools could bridge a gap between home and school in such way that would influence the engagement parents have with their elementary student and his/her learning. Through my research, I discovered a digital platform called Seesaw. Seesaw is an application which allows students to keep a digital portfolio of their learning (as aided in design by the classroom teacher). My research supports the idea that student's learning should be the focal point of parental engagement. Seesaw supports this and also allows parents to use the language of digital technology such as likes, hearts, and comments to respond to the posts students make about their learning. Orchestrating the use of Seesaw in a format that included weekly student reflection on their work created an exchange of digital dialog between student, teacher, and parents. As a lasting result of this research, I am seeing that parental engagement is a timeless and worthy pursuit. The means of engagement; however, continue to require responsiveness. I will continue to look for ways to develop this trifecta of conversation and aim to centralize it around the learning of each student.