Recent articles
3 Tips for Hosting a School Digital Parenting Event
01/20/2021
Topics: Parent engagement
Parents can be a school’s biggest supporter or biggest obstacle when it comes to technology for learning. Getting parents to understand the value that technology adds to learning is essential. But how do…
Earn buy-in by sharing what digital age learning looks like
12/19/2018
Topics: Parent engagement
Previous experience routinely colors our expectations, and that was certainly the case for us when 60 iPads arrived in our small village school in Purley on Thames, United Kingdom. These wonderful devices were presented to us by the JDO Foundation in response to our application to engage in its…
Family tech nights can narrow the digital divide
10/17/2018
Topics: Education leadership, Parent engagement
When we talk about digital equity, the conversation often focuses on providing opportunities for all students to learn in an increasingly connected world. We talk about devices and home connectivity. We talk the importance of parental support. We talk about training all educators to …
Building parent capacity to support student success
02/07/2018
Topics: Education leadership, Parent engagement
When parents fill out registration forms for Sigler Elementary, they sometimes write in “Sigler Nation” instead. Students print it across the tops of their papers. Teachers hashtag it on Twitter.
In just a year,…
Leverage Student Cell Phones To Engage, Assess and Communicate
09/29/2021
Topics: Assessment, Parent engagement
When we talk about school devices, we usually mean laptops or tablets. But there is another device the most teenagers own and are adept at using that can also come in handy in the classroom — student…
Jack Gallagher: Embrace every student's strengths
11/09/2015
Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Parent engagement, Personalized Learning
The concept of student-centered learning isn’t new. Parents of children who are not neurotypical have long been on the lookout for ways to accommodate individual learning styles and help their students relate…
Better (and easy) ways to connect to parents
09/23/2015
Topics: Parent engagement, Tools
You hear it all the time: Kids are often more tech-savvy than their teachers. And these days, it’s not uncommon for their parents to be just as comfortable using new communications technologies. That’s why, if you want to stay connected with your extended classroom family, it’s…
Should we limit kids' screen time? No
07/21/2015
Topics: 1:1, BYOD, Digital Citizenship, Mobile learning, Online learning, Parent engagement
I'm a mom of two and an educator. And I have to admit something right here, right now: I get bored easily when playing with my kids.
I try to engage with the little ponies, the fairies and the Tonka trucks, and for a while, it all works out. Give me 20 minutes and I am super…
Should we limit kids' screen time? Yes
07/21/2015
Topics: 1:1, Digital Citizenship, Mobile learning, Online learning, Parent engagement
We should limit children’s screen time but do so in a thoughtful, rather than reactive, way. The "right" amount of screen time can fall anywhere on a spectrum, depending on a number of factors, including the purpose and use of technology as well as the child's ability to use it in a mindful and…
Don't Ban Technology; Help Kids Strive for Balance
03/01/2021
Topics: #DigCitCommit, Balance, Parent engagement
We seem to be living in an all-or-nothing, black-and-white world without any acknowledgment that there can be a middle ground. Our attitudes toward technology and our children are hardening into these types of fixed mindsets.
Figuring out how to integrate technology into our lives is not…