Blog Entry 4: Emerging Technology that Supports Communication and Collaboration

Technology is a great way to communicate and collaborate.  I use technology on a daily basis to email other teachers, administrators, parents, etc.  I send out weekly emails to my parents to keep them up to date on what is going on in class.  I also use email to communicate with parents if their child is struggling or I have concerns.  It is a very convienient and quick way to keep in touch.  Schoolnotes is also a great tool for communicating with parents and students.  I post important class information, lesson plans, practice tests, surveys and other useful resources for my parents and students.
At my school we have a private wiki which the administrators make posts to on a daily basis so that they do not have to use the intercom or mass emails.  They have also created seperate wikis for each department, sports, etc.  I use the Math 1 Wiki to post notes, worksheets, tests, etc, so that all of the Math 1 teachers have direct and easy access.  It has proven to be a great communication and collaborative tool. 
I have also created a blog for my Math 1 Support students to use at home.  I have created it so that my students can communicate with each other from home if they have questions about that days content or homework.  Unfortunately, the students nor I can access it from the school since anything with the word blog is blocked.  So far, the Math 1 Support blog has not been a success. 
There are so many different technology tools and resources available that are great for communicating and collaborating.  However, many of these resources are unknown to most teachers.  It is imperative that teachers are made aware of these tools.  Once more teachers are more aware of these, these tools will become even more effective and begin to serve their original purpose.