Characteristics Of a Novice Teacher #2

The artifact I chose this week was the Scholastic Home Page I created in EDUC 401, classroom management. We created this home page as a means of communication between home and school. The home page web page allowed us to create separate pages for class news, class projects, homework assignments, contact information, suggested book lists, and recommended computer games both on the Internet and on a CD-ROM. The program allows the creator to add clip art pictures, plentiful text, and hyperlinks. I had a lot of fun creating my page! I believe this would be a great communication tool because the Internet is so widely used in our society today. Parents or guardians can check on the home page from any computer, even at work! They can see what the class will be doing for the week, make note of special occasions and announcements, and encourage their children to explore some of the supplemental materials. I think this fits with characteristic number two because it provides a great tool for communication between school and home. Many teachers are sending newsletters home or weekly progress reports. Communication through technology is fast and generally fairly reliable. This home page would also allow people such as fathers or mothers abroad or even grandparents to keep up with the day to day life of their loved ones. I think the only down side to using this home page as communication would be that the teacher is not able to send private messages to parents. To be a good communicator I think a teacher should be open to new ideas and willing to work with everyone involved. The home page project from 401 was a great tool to help achieve this.