- Web 2.0 tools and wikis are being used more and more in education. They provide ways for students and teachers to communicate ideas, store work, generate unique products, and streamline the educational process. There is a whole world of Web 2.0 tools available for use by teachers and students; and one of the best things about them is that their free!
~You can find a list of Web 2.0 tools here: Educational Technology by Michelle Childress.
- Techsoup. org, a technology place for nonprofits, says:
"Web 2.0 is a category of new Internet tools and technologies created around the idea that the people who consume media, access the Internet, and use the Web shouldn't passively absorb what's available; rather, they should be active contributors, helping customize media and technology for their own purposes, as well as those of their communities."
and
"These new tools include, but are by no means limited to, blogs, social networking applications, RSS, social networking tools, and wikis. On this page, you'll find articles on a variety of Web 2.0 tools and technologies."
Visit techsoup.org and learn more about Web 2.0
An Overview of Parent Portals
Catherine Vaughan
ETSU
October 17, 2010
Parent portals exist as a way for parents to stay more informed and involved with their child’s education. They give parents and insight into their child’s classroom, and allow parents to stay up to date with what is happening in their child’s education. Parent Portals are web-based, and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. Through a Parent Portal, parents may see information about their child’s (Walsh, 2010):
- Attendance
- Grades
- Past report cards
- Student schedules
- Assignments and due dates
- Contact info for all the student’s teachers and other school contacts
- Reports filed on their child (academic, discipline, counseling, etc)
- State-level assessment results
- Sports schedules and other school calendars
Parent portals may exist as a module of a more comprehensive Student Information System (SIS), or they may be independent of a SIS. Student Information Systems have been in use in higher education for quite some time, but have more recently been adopted and adapted by K-12 schools. SIS information is more comprehensive than the function of Parent Portals and is utilized more by teachers and administrative personnel for streamlining records keeping throughout a campus or district. Applications of an SIS are (MMS for Schools):
· Registration and Enrollment
· Scheduling - Automated and Interactive Master Schedule Builders
· District-Wide Attendance Tracking
· Integrated Teacher Grade Book
· Report Cards - Traditional, Skills or Standards Based
· Emergency Contact Services
· Graduation Requirements, Transcripts, GPA
· State Department of Education Reports
· School Nurse System
· Assessment Reporting
· Discipline Monitoring
· Cafeteria Management
· Fees and Tuition Billing
· PDA Access
There are many companies specializing in designing SIS containing Parent Portal functions for independent school and school system use. Some companies offer customized programs specific to the desires of their client, and some offer programs that are pre-designed and have been refined in light of the needs experience of schools that are already using the program. Many of these companies offer similar services to colleges and universities, community colleges, and businesses.
The following is a short list of software specifically designed for Parent Portals (Walsh, 2010):
- SchoolTool: http://www.schooltool.com/
- ParentVUE (part of Genesis SIS for K-12): http://www.edupoint.com/Products/ParentVUEStudentVUE.aspx
- QuickSchools: http://www.quickschools.com/
- Schoolnet: http://www.schoolnet.com/corporate/Products/Products.aspx?product=dpp
- ParentAssist (part of eSIS from aal): http://www.aalsolutions.com/web/node/19
There are many other providers of Parent Portal services and SIS programs.
Parent Portals specific to special needs are also in use -GENESEA Special Ed is an example of this. Student’s IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) can be stored and even generated by programs like this one. Related documentation can also be stored on this type of portal. IEP team members can contribute and communicate through it as well. Having this type of information consolidated and streamlined is being used to help track the progress of students with IEPs, reportedly cutting time spent and increasing accuracy (Edupoint/GENESEA).
To use a Parent Portal, a parent creates, or is assigned a user name and password that will allow them to access information within their school’s Parent Portal program. Parents may be asked to fill out a Security Request Form (Parent Portal; A place to connect parent and student’s achievement.), adhere to acceptable use guidelines and Data Privacy laws, and to keep passwords and other information private (Baltic School District 49-1). After accessing their school’s Parent Portal via password, a parent may view personal information for their own child only, and may need separate passwords for additional children in their family. School-wide information is of course available to all parents. Parents may, in some cases, use the portal to communicate directly with their child’s teacher and with school administrators. Parent Portals may also contain Student Portals, which allow students to use portal services with their own user name and password. The format, layout, and design of Parent Portals vary depending on the software used, and from system to system.
Parent Portals have become widely used among K-12 schools in recent years. A Google search for Parent Portals will turn up hundreds, if not thousands, of results. Many of the results are links to specific Parent Portals of schools and school systems. The number of results is a good indicator that Parent Portals have been widely adopted. The growth of the popularity of parent portals within the past decade implies that Parent Portals may become commonplace, or even standard, as technology continues to be integrated into education.
Parental response to the concept of Parent Portals seems to be positive. Many web pages have positive comments posted by parents; although, it should be noted that many of these sites are in the business of marketing Parent Portal software. The following is a sample of parent commentary on Parent Portals:
"I track my son's assignments and grades on a daily basis so I can be sure he stays on track. We even have access to online instructional resources if he needs extra help with a particular assignment. And I appreciate the communication features with teachers. All in all, the ParentVUE system has allowed me to contribute to my son’s success in ways I never thought were possible”. (Edupoint/GENESEA)
A search for student opinion on Parent Portals turned up an interesting FaceBook page entitled “. This page has 929 “friends” but is generally lacking of student comment on how much they actually hate Parent Portals. Most student posts really don’t seem that bitter about the subject, making the page seem somewhat tongue-in-cheek (I HATE GCPS PARENT PORTAL, 2010).
Common parent concerns regarding Parent Portals seem to center on how often their Portals are updated, and how often their system is “down” for maintenance. The cost and logistics of creating and maintaining a Parent Portal system is also present in discussion boards among parents and other concerned individuals (Dallas News/Education Front/Achieved Comments).
What do I think of Parent Portals?
I like the concept of Parent Portals. I think that the goal of increased partnership between parents and teachers is valuable, and could improve communication between parents and students as well. The parents, by having information about what is happening in their child’s classroom each day will have a starting point for conversations with their children about school work and school experiences.
As a college student, I have used programs related to Parent Portals. It is nice to be able to keep up with teacher expectations online, instead of having to have a paper copy of every syllabus and schedule. D2L and Goldlink rolled into one might be comparable to a SIS with a Parent Portal application. From a teacher or a student perspective I like that all system information can be organized into one place, eliminating the time spent on organizing records from different sources and keeping track of multiple venues of communication. It just makes sense to utilize this technology to simplify and improve education and teacher time management.
Sources:
Walsh, K. (October 3, 2010) EmergingEdTech: SchoolTool and other Parent Portals in K-12 Education. Retrieved from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/10/schooltool-and-other-parent-portals-in-k-12-education/. (October 17, 2010).
MMS for Schools: Student Information Management System. Retrieved from http://www.cri-mms.com/. (October 17, 2010).
Edupoint/GENESEA: Comprehensive Special Education and IEP Management System. Retrieved from http://www.edupoint.com/Products/GENESEASpecialEd.aspx. (October 17, 2010).
Parent Portal; A place to connect parent and student’s achievement. Retrieved from http://parentportal.mpls.k12.mn.us/. (October 17, 2010)
Baltic School District 49-1 Parent Portal User Policy. Retrieved from http://baltic.k12.sd.us/Campus/portal_signup.pdf. (October 17, 2010).
I HATE GCPS PARENT PORTAL (January 1, 2010-October 10, 2010) Retrieved fromhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/I-HATE-GCPS-PARENT-PORTAL/264114488498 (October 17, 2010).
