Application Highlights

All three applications have massive potential to connect school and home, and are just beginning to get noticed by those in charge of school systems, as Halifax Regional Center for Education has their TILT (Technology Integration Lead Team) promoting their use to teachers, especially during Covid-19. The three digital tools allow students to video record teacher lessons or student learning experiences, to voice record student learning, to interact with parents and teachers over the app, and to discuss their learning in real time as it occurs. All three digital tools will then notify parents, and parents will be able to leave a comment or voice note of their own directly to their child. All three digital tools have the capability of changing the language in the application to that of the first language spoken in family households, that way students are discussing their learning as if they were home, further connecting school to home. The applications have further benefits, not discussed, to creating classroom space for communication. The applications also allow students to post their comments on the class wall so that other students can add constructive comments. The ability to have students comment on other student work is geared towards upper elementary but creates a positive learning environment where students can actively discuss and communicate their learning with their peers, parents, and teachers. It is important to emphasize that these applications are only used as communication tools by creating a digital portfolio that parents and students can comment on and not as classroom management tools or assessment tools.

My experience has demonstrated that the applications are extremely popular overall, and have possibilities in other aspects of students' lives, especially with fathers, who have been required to work away from home for weeks or months at a time. They are able to engage on a consistent basis with the student and, at the same time, the student benefits from the daily contact with the absentee parent. Further research is needed to understand the missed potential of these applications, especially to see the benefits when creating a positive online space where communication occurs that includes parents, students, and teachers, and actively engages all three parties in the learning process.