Unit 1: One-Way Communication

Unit Objectives - By the end of this unit, you will:

Understand what one-way communication is
Understand why one-way communication is useful
Create a system for using one-way communication

Lesson 1

What is it?

One-way communication is communication that you send to parents/guardians. It can be to an individual family, or to all of the families of your students. The communication is one-way because it's only designed to provide information, not to accept responses.

Why do it?

Sending one-way communication is a great way to foster connections with parents/guardians. Though the student in your course has information about assignments and deadlines, it helps for the parents/guardians to have the same information so that they can support their child's learning. One-way communication is an easy way to let parents/guardians know about upcoming assignments, important dates (vacation breaks, etc.), and class or school policies. These communications let families know you recognize the key role they play in their child's education.

Here's a short video about enhancing communication with parents. As you watch it, think about the implications for one-way communication. Power Up Your Parent Communication

Lesson 2

How do I do It?

Decide what you want to communicate with parents. Common elements are information about upcoming assignments and deadlines, things to praise (last week, everyone contributed to our online discussion!), and general information about the course. List the elements you've chosen in your log. TIP: If your school uses a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows parents to see student grades, be sure to let parents know how to access it.

Collect parent email addresses and/or phone numbers for text messaging. You can do this by sending a brief invitation to join the class email list through your students. The LMS your school uses may have parental email addresses and/or phone numbers already that you can access.

Create a simple template for sending one-way communication like the template above from Canva. The template should have a title and design so that parents know immediately that it is from you. You may want to include sections for regular features as well. Keep in mind that parents are busy (just like you are!) so be clear, concise, and consistent. Be sure to include a way for parents to opt out if they don't want to receive one-way communication from you.

Try a resource for creating newsletters.Mailchimp or Constant Contact have free tools to create newsletters that can be sent to parents by email. Seesaw can also be used to send announcements to parents, and the Ringya app can be use to send texts as well as email. Simply Circle can be used in broadcast mode for one-way communication. When you create a circle for your class, it also generates a code you can send out to invite parents to join.

Evaluation

Decide how you could send one-way communication to parents, and write your thoughts down in your log with pros and cons. A sample is below. Once you have written out the pros and cons, circle the method that seems most doable to you.

Be sure to create a template for your communication, and use one of the resources above or a different one if you prefer. Canva offers many choices of templates you can customize to fit your needs. Many LMSs have tools that can be used for one-way communication with parents - check to see whether the LMS your school uses has this feature.

If you choose to write a newsletter, use the rubric below to self-assess your template and schedule.

| File:One Way Communication Rubric.pdf

You've completed Unit 1!

Time to move on to the next part of the course.

Go to Unit 2: Two-Way Communication Unit 3: Tips for Parents Unit 4: Putting It All Together Course Homepage