Well my mini-cam (which also takes pictures) came back in one piece from the BC Winter Games in Kimberley/Cranbrook. Thank goodness from that because I was suffering from separation anxiety for awhile.
As all mamas should do, I am proud to report that my daughter Emily (middle) won a bronze medal in team kata (it is like synchronized karate movements). My other daughter Sarah is sitting on the left judging an athlete in the second ring. Sarah was the youngest karate judge at the event. Aren't I a proud mama!!!!!!
Anyhooooooo! I cannot believe that it is time to post our 3rd and final post already. Gee, time flies when you are having fun! Ok, so perhaps I should reiterate my research questions for the French Audio Project before I tell you how it went. Here goes....
1) "Are classroom websites an effective tool for French Immersion students to help maintain and/or expand second language skills by offering extended possibilities to use the French language after school hours?"
2) Are classroom websites an effective communication tool between the school and the home?"
I have always believed that it is important to have good communication with my students' parents. As a parent of school-aged kids, I always wondered how my daughters were doing or I wanted to know what they are doing. From time to time I got to communicate with their teachers but with my busy schedule, I did not always had the time to drop by and really have a good chat with them. As for their school work, I only knew what they had to do if they brought something home. I trusted my daughters to do their job....to be a good student (yeah I know I sound naive LOL). Other then verifying my kids' planners, there was no way for me to find out what my kids were doing right there and then (well I could have emailed their teachers 24/7 but I'm sure the cozy relationship I had would them would have lasted). Of course, just because I am a teacher, it doesn't mean that my kids are angelic......we've had our fair share of forgotten this and forgotten that.
My experience as a parent has made me think a lot about my own professional practice as a teacher. I know people have busy schedules and that they don't always have the time to communicate with me regarding their child's education. In creating my website it was my goal to solve a common communication problem with the education system.....access to the teacher or visa versa...access with the parents when we want to have access to them. In creating my website, I essentially created a tool where parents, students and I can communicate 24/7. On my website, it was important that the parents and students knew who I was; that they had accurate information about the education program (French Immersion); that they had access to video/audio learning resources; that they received regular updates from me on various matter and, that information about assignments was clearly detailed. I wanted everyone to be on the same page.
I sincerely felt that my website provided everything that a parent or a student would need. But of course that is only my perception. In order to find out what parents and students thought of my website, I created a simple survey on http://www.polldaddy.com/ that would help answer my questions. If you want to see the results, try this link http://www.polldaddy.com/Feeds/Surveys/24588qriymxpsncdejsdstxwg.xml
Some parents and some students have voted. All 90ish students will fill out the survey at school tomorrow. Parents will fill out the survey from home. Hopefully I will get lots of valuable data.
As you have noticed this post is actually not my last. I plan on posting my FINAL POST some time next week after the parents have had the chance to answer my survey.
I really enjoyed this project. It was hard at times to make sure that my site was always up to date because I was often busy with other teaching activities. I'll give more details about my view of the project in my next post.
Wishing you a very restful Spring Break :-)
Louise Jenkins
CDG Middle School
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