5 Ways to Engage Parents Using Google Drive

Guest post by April Smith

One of my goals at the beginning of this school year was parent engagement. In the past, our school has sent home between 3-5 flyers every week trying to get parents involved, with little success. I was frustrated with how much work I was putting into communicating with the parents, only to not hear anything back.

I needed something revolutionary to engage the parents. Many of our parents work long hours and often don't even see their kids in the evening to gather all of the flyers we're sending home. I needed a solution that was easier for them to access, and easier for me to prepare.

After attending a workshop on using Google Drive in the classroom, it dawned on me that I could use this completely free service to collaborate with parents in a way that was much more accessible than sending home a ton of paper with a forgetful 4th grader.

Benefits of Google Drive 

• Parents don't have to pay for Microsoft Office in order to read what you send them digitally.
• Parents use the same username and password they use for their Gmail account.
• Google Drive can be downloaded on smart phones and tablets, so parents can access every document without having to own a computer or pay for internet at their house.
• Google saves everything you're working on, so you won't have to start from scratch when your computer restarts for updates half way into creating your monthly newsletter.

5 Ways to Use Google Drive for Parent Engagement 

1. Collecting Contact Data - I used to spend a great deal of time trying to read parent handwriting as I typed up individual contact information into a spreadsheet. From your Google Drive, you can create a Google Form with as many questions as you'd like. I setup a computer station for parents to visit when they come in for Open House before school starts, and I post the form link on my class website for the parents who weren't able to make it. For parents who still haven't filled out the form, I print and send home a paper copy, then input the information it myself.

With a couple of clicks, you can set up your form to organize the data into a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is stored in your Google Drive and is completely private unless you change the settings to share it. If you share students with other teachers, this is a great way to share contact information - just be view-able by you and the teacher you send it to! Check out this simple tutorial.

2. Sharing a Presentation - Easily upload your Back to School (or other) PowerPoint to your Google Drive or create one using Google Drive's Presentation app. Next, change the sharing settings so that anyone with a link can view it. You can then copy the link and e-mail it to your list of parent e-mails (that you collected from your Google form I hope), and also post it to your class website. If parents missed your live presentation, or want to refer back to it, they can access it at their convenience.

3. Sending a Class Newsletter - Your class newsletter can be created and sent to parents using Google Docs. Check out this great newsletter template that you can edit for your own class newsletter. Make sure you change it so that parents with the link can only view.

When you create your newsletter, you can add photos from your classroom to it and link to resources you want to share.

4. Communicating About Behavior - Every year I have a couple of students who end up needing parent communication about behavior on a daily basis. Instead of coloring in a smiley face every day or sending home multiple notes, why not share a Google Spreadsheet with their parents? Not only is this a wonderful resource for divorced parents and busy families, but it simplifies the process for you. You can add information to the spreadsheet directly from your own device (I use the Google Drive app on my I-pad). I can immediately add an anecdotal note about the student without having to dash across the classroom looking for a pen, or waiting until the end of the day when I've already forgotten what behaviors happened when.

I personally set up a Google Form that I can fill out quickly, with the particular problem behaviors for that student as check-boxes. I then share the spreadsheet where the data goes with the parents.

*Remember to change the share settings so that only the people you invite can view. This definitely shouldn't be live to the entire internet due to privacy issues. I never include the student's name just to be safe. I save the document and form as the student's class number (i.e. "Student 23") just in case.

5. Conference Sign-ups - This year I sent home paper forms for parents to sign up for a parent-teacher conference slot. They had the option to fill out the paper form with their top 3 choices, or log into the Google Doc to add their name to a guaranteed slot. The parents who turned in the paper form were given one of their appointments depending on the availability, but the parents filling it out online immediately knew when their conference slot was. I only received 4 paper forms, leaving a lot less work for me. I also had 100% attendance this year, which means the parents knew when their time slots were and there was no lost paper between me and their family.

Implementation Tips 

During Open House, Back to School, and even Parent-teacher Conferences, I personally show parents how to create an account and download the Google Drive app to their phone. For parents without e-mail addresses, I also help them sign up for Gmail, and download the app on their phone with notifications turned on. I was surprised to see how many of them were using Gmail and Google Drive for other things once I introduced it to them!

For those parents who do not have smart phones, devices, or computers, all of these files can be easily printed just like any other file on your computer. I've even had parents fill out a Google form using paper and pencil, then I filled it out digitally for them. You can also have a computer available in your classroom where parents can log in and participate.

Get started now at http://drive.google.com!

April is an upper grade teacher that loves creating fun and interesting activities for her students. She shares technology, Math, and Language Arts lessons on her website PerforminginEducation.com.

What Makes a Parent Love a Teacher

Guest post by Jennifer Gonzalez

The note from Mrs. F. came home two weeks into the school year:
I’d like to talk with you about how we can make reading time more challenging for Ruby. When can we meet?

Although I knew my daughter was an advanced reader, I had accepted that it would always be up to me to ask for this kind of differentiation. The conversation had never been initiated by the teacher.

Thus began my year of absolutely loving Mrs. F.

I know a lot of teachers, and I know that a lot of their energy goes into things like setting up classrooms, finding new materials and activities, learning new technology, and downloading beautifully designed templates and worksheets. All of that is good and important: The more efficiently your class is run, the more hands-on your activities are, the more welcoming your classroom is, the better the year will be.

But all of that pales in comparison to this one thing. The thing you could do in a bare cinderblock room with no electricity and no more technology than a stick for writing in the dirt floor. The one thing a teacher can do that makes a bigger difference than all those other things combined:

Know my child.

That’s it. This knowledge can manifest itself in so many ways: You can know their academic skills, their allergies, their family, their moods, their quirks, any and all of these things. Just know my child, and a lot of other stuff just falls into place.

It Makes a Difference

My kids are currently in grades 2, 3, and 5. As a family, we have experienced a combined total of twenty different teachers, including preschool teachers and those who teach their “specials.” So far, what has made a few stand out far above the others is how well they get to know my child.

Do other parents feel the same way? When I ask my friends with kids what makes them really love certain teachers, their responses vary in some ways, but one element is always present; “know my child” is always at the core. Here are just a few examples:

From a mother of two: Some of my favorite teachers have been those who were interested in my children and made them feel important. The best one made me feel like my kids were the only kids in her class – she knew them so well – but every parent thought that. The kids wrote in journals every day and she'd read them all – every entry – by reading four or five a day – and respond to what the kids had written. To this day, those journals are among my most treasured keepsakes from their elementary years. 

From a mother of four: Over the years the teachers that stood out were the ones that really put forth the effort to get to know not only my kids but all their students. Those are the teachers my kids still talk about.

From a mother of three: I love it when a teacher "gets" my kid.

Putting in extra effort to really know your students also benefits the teacher. When I taught middle school, knowing my students well helped prevent a lot of behavior issues. If Melissa shared her recent family issues with me, I was gentler with her when she got off-task. If I learned that Joseph had a hard time reading in a crowded room, I could let him read in the hall, avoiding the problems that would have come from forcing him to remain in class.

Creating a System for Getting to Know Students 

Knowing your students on a deeper level doesn’t happen quickly, and it takes a bit of work. Many teachers use some kind of questionnaire at the beginning of the school year to help them learn more about students. As a parent, I look forward to completing these, because I assume the teacher will read every word. If the year moves along and I never see any evidence that they have, it’s kind of a letdown.

If you send those questionnaires out, do something with the information. One way to get systematic with this process is to maintain a chart of the “deep data” that makes each kid unique. By keeping everyone’s information in one living document, you’re more likely to learn that information well.

Click here to download a free customizable copy of the Deep Data at a Glance chart.

Once you've filled out the first round of facts, keep going. Put a shortcut to this document on your desktop and update it as you pick up more information about your students, because kids change and grow. Family configurations change. New passions develop. Who they are at the start of the year is not the same as who they are at the end.

Then, use the chart as a reference tool: Before surprising the class with a special treat, check out the “Food & Drink” column to remind yourself of special preferences. When shopping for new books for your class library, scan the “passions” column to remind yourself of the topics students are interested in. And regularly search for holes: With all the data in one place, you can keep students from fading into the woodwork. Using my chart below, I can see that I need to spend a little more time with Tim Christopher. 

Finally, you can use it to reconnect with students. If Jaylen and I haven’t had any non-academic interactions lately, I can study the chart in the morning, then later that day ask him what he’s been building in Minecraft lately, or how his dog Reggie is doing. He’ll probably be shocked that I know these things, but it will mean a whole lot to him. We all want to be seen.

By now it should be clear that this post isn't about getting parents to love you. Building relationships with your students just makes you a better teacher. It helps you meet each child where she is academically. It reduces discipline problems. It makes your work more satisfying. And more than anything, it makes a difference to your students. Having the support of parents is just an added bonus.

So the next time you’re stressed because you haven’t posted to your class blog or changed your bulletin boards lately, choose to put your energy into making personal connections with your students. You will only have these children for this period of time, only this one chance to know them. So make it a priority.

I promise, it will be appreciated.

Jennifer Gonzalez is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescence/English Language Arts. Before starting her website, Cult of Pedagogy, she taught middle school language arts for eight years and college-level education courses for four. She lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.