Developing a Classroom Website to Improve Parent/Teacher Communication and Parental Involvement

With the advancement of technology and the widespread use of the internet, it is becoming crucial for teachers to utilize technology in a variety of ways. Through action research, a kindergarten teacher documents her process of developing a classroom website to improve parent/teacher communication and increase parental involvement in student learning. Mills found that the benefits to creating and maintaining a classroom website far outweighed the challenges. She found that while having a classroom website may not be directly linked to student achievement, student test scores remained constant through the process indicating that maintaining a classroom website does not adversely affect student achievement. Parental response to the website was both positive and encouraging. Website analytics showed that Mills' classroom website received the most traffic on the Blog/News section. This indicated that the website's primary function was to communicate information to parents. Surveys and interviews with parents showed that the classroom website was valuable and appreciated. The data gathered during the process indicated that communication with parents was enhanced through the classroom website along with a group e-mail system that would drive parents to the website when new information was added.