Date of Award

12-2017

Document Type

Action Research Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Kristy Cook

Second Advisor

Siri Anderson

Department/School

Education

Abstract

This comparative action research study examined the effects of using three different digital communication tools in early elementary and middle school classrooms. Seesaw, Facebook, and Remind were compared to answer the following questions: To what extent does each digital tool facilitate: Parent-teacher communication? Quality information sharing? Active parent engagement? Teachers collected qualitative and quantitative data over four weeks. Participating parents received and responded quickly to teacher posts in all three tools at both grade levels. Parents used the information as conversation starters at home and to help their children succeed. Notably, parents whose first language is not English appreciated that Facebook and Remind translated teacher messages for them automatically. Parents responded the most to posts with personal information such as pictures, awards, or student work. Although Seesaw had much greater efficacy at the early elementary than middle school level, this may have been related to institutional factors. Parents who did not participate cited privacy concerns, lack of access, and limited availability. Tools did have distinguishing attributes/limitations for some sorts of communication and interactions. Overall, parents and teachers were highly satisfied with the use of digital parent-teacher communication methods and recommend to others. Appendixes include parent instructions, guidelines, and assessments that may be useful for implementation.

Included in

Education Commons

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