Reasons why schools should consider collaborating with parents

When it comes to children’s education, traditionally there usually isn’t much room for collaboration between parents and schools. Educators usually focus on daily lessons and assigning tasks, while parents decide the extent to which they want to be involved. This could be through joining the parent-teacher association to checking their child’s homework every night. However, parent involvement in the learning process can go a long way in furthering the child’s education. When it comes to working together, schools can play a part in encouraging collaboration between parents and teachers.

With a better understanding of their child’s subjects, goals and rules and regulations around their schooling, parents can act as a catalyst for better learning. This was something that posed a challenge to schools in traditional classrooms, as there was no way to allow parents to sit in on a daily basis. The only time for collaboration was through students themselves or annual parent-teacher meetings. Now, things are changing.

Online education opens up more possibilities

As a bulk of the education process shifts online, a change that was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have discovered the use of a learning management system (LMS). These platforms are used to deliver content through full online learning or hybrid-style teaching to complement the lessons in the classroom.

To ensure that no child was left behind, learning institutions had to find ways to swiftly move online, and an LMS provided ease of transition.

As eLearning tools become an integral part of children’s education, especially during the pandemic, it is the parents who tend to lag behind and feel the need to step up and get more involved. One of the goals as a school is to motivate and ensure student success. By encouraging parent involvement, it paves the way for learners to develop better attitudes and cooperation.

At the same time, there is a limit to the level of involvement from the parents. Ultimately, schools should remain the main mode of teaching and educators should nurture independent learners. The parent only plays the role of an encouragement and support system for the child. Schools can drive this concept by communicating its value clearly to parents in introductory videos or discussion boards.

Schools should also look into suitable platforms for parents to monitor their child’s progress. Platforms that allow parents to track their child’s submissions, whether they are on track with tasks and what their grades are like on assignments, will give them an idea of how engaged the learner is, making sure that the pupil is not simply leaving a video presentation running. By making this information available to parents, it will be easier for a parent to take more interest in their child’s education so that they can set a good example. In other words, parents and schools can co-educate the child for better results.

Brightspace LMS supports school-parent partnerships

With teachers, parents and students in mind, D2L built Brightspace LMS, an extensive and forward-thinking platform for students to get the best out of the virtual classroom. Not only does it allow institutions to upload content with different modalities, communicate with students in real-time and track insights, but it also encourages parent involvement with its easy-to-use interface and accessibility features.

Instructors can now conduct online lessons easily and streamline administration, thus being able to focus on delivering high-quality educational content. With its many features, such as game-based learning and a rewards system, Brightspace LMS helps boost student engagement and retention as they progress on their learning journey.

So how exactly can schools push for parents to be more involved?

Parents are given their own login details and access to features that allow them to monitor activity from computers, tablets or smartphones. All it takes is a working internet connection! This ease-of-access means that they can always check in on their child’s progress and push them to achieve their goals. Parents are often busy trying to juggle work and raising a family, and it can be overwhelming and tiring to grill their children about every aspect of their school day.

Brightspace LMS seeks to remove these barriers and basically acts as a virtual window to the classroom. By making parent involvement easy and accessible, educators can experience learners with better learning attitudes and behaviours in the classroom.

The future of education is here

The global pandemic has made apparent the need to implement robust digital learning solutions for modern learning. One takeaway from the past year is that education is always evolving, and schools need to be quick to adapt in order to future-proof education. Turning to innovative tools can ensure that learners are not disadvantaged by a disjointed curriculum. As schools continue to shut down abruptly or shift to home-based learning, children may miss out on critical stages of their education if they are not given an equal or even better alternative to the physical classroom. This also aligns with many government policies and efforts to improve education and poverty.

For online education to work, learners need at least a smartphone and a working internet connection, which is available to most households today. An LMS can help bridge the gap for less privileged demographics, levelling the playing field to quality education. Again, parental support is crucial here especially when it pertains to ensuring consistent teaching and learning in the school years of younger learners, in classes and at home.

While economies seek to recover from the impact of COVID-19, and online learning seems to be a permanent fixture in today’s education system, schools must look at how to create quality environments for their learners to derive the best results. By investing in the necessary resources, such as the right software and devices, institutions can work to ensure all learners are receiving the education they deserve.

To complete the equation, schools and parents alike must understand the need for collaboration. With the help of the right platform, schools can drive parental involvement imperative to student success, to encourage, develop and coach the learners to reach their full potential.

Written by

Jaclyn Mok

An A-Z marketer that has accumulated diverse experiences involving strategic branding, campaign & events management and leads generation through 360-channels and across various industries, Jaclyn can come full circle back to the Education sector at D2L Asia. As the Regional Marketing Manager, Jaclyn is loving every moment of driving the conversations revolving around education because this is exactly where her passion lies.