The art of using digital communication in schools

Teachers at my children’s school cannot be accused of suffering from technophobia: On the contrary, they are on the front lines of IT. It’s a subject from Kindergarden, and from 5th grade virtually all communication (outside the classroom) between teachers, students, and parents takes places electronically. The school’s website contains a wealth of information and is updated daily, and each student have his/her own MacBook from 6th grade. This is all well and good: When used wisely, IT is a great tool to make life easier and offer new learning opportunities: Like when students in music classes use their computers to put their own music pieces together as soundtrack for a movie; or when students work in groups via digital chat rooms; or when students check out homework in a digital forum.

Problems arise when enthusiasm for new technology gets out of hand, and more and more digital tools are used, without considering consequences for  students. Each school year, paper agendas are handed out for students to write down homework during class hours. In addition, they need to check homework on up to FIVE different digital sites: Moodle, Google Classroom, Homework Link, Google email, Google Drive. Moreover, there is PowerSchool, a site showing grades and any missing assignments. This range of IT tools is convenient for teachers, each selecting the tool that suits them best. But for students it’s time consuming, and they risk overlooking assignments or homework.  Of course it’s good to be able to check homework online if you’ve been absent or if you didn’t have time to write everything down in class, but FIVE digital places seem bit over the top.

I often hear teachers speak about the importance of students learning to be ‘organized’ and to manage their homework and deadlines. Maybe it’s about time that teachers take their own medicine by coordinating among themselves the use of IT tools for communication with students!

More posts on education and school system here

By Kirsten Bukager

I am a Danish writer and visual artist. After several years in The Netherlands, I am back in my home country. M.Sc. in International Business Administration and Modern Languages fra Copenhagen Business School, Communication and Online Journalism studies at Webster University and London School of Journalism. Bachelor in Education. I have worked with communications and marketing for many years, and recently changed path to teaching (Danish language, Art, Social Studies). I have always had a creative mind and filled many drawing blocks and canvases. I write for pleasure. Most of my stories are about places and people I encounter on journeys around the world. I have an eye for cultural and social subtleties, and I am especially interested in travel and the arts. Drop me a line if you are interested in my art, my teaching, or if you have a question or comment. And feel free to follow me on Instagram.