Good education is one of the greatest gifts a parent can pass onto the child. Imbuing a child with a great education gives them a platform for life and some essential skills.
In simple words, Parental engagement Is a difference maker. Hence, parental involvement in their child’s education is crucial as it helps to nurture the feeling of a love towards learning in that child. This involvement may encompass becoming an active participant in a school parent-teacher group as well as provide support and encouragement for the child at home. Parental involvement may take the form of –
- Setting goals with children and fostering the child’s achievement of those goals;
- Accessing and using children’s academic scores to ensure they’re on track;
- Frequently accessing the school’s parent portal;
- Developing a relationship with the teachers and staying in touch with them constantly
- Advocating for improvements in the school infrastructure and with local school boards, state and federal government to ensure that the educational institutions have the necessary resources to provide a world-class education to the students.
The most significant type of involvement is how parents engage with their children when at home. Monitoring and supporting their child’s progress at home enable parents to engage in ways that ensure their children enjoy every opportunity so that they are set for success.
Enabling Parental Involvement
The Coleman Report on Education published in 1966 highlighted the difference that external factors outside the school could have on test scores and student achievement. The report identified the importance of parental involvement in improving academic success.
It is increasingly becoming clearer that family engagement in schools improve student achievement, reduces absenteeism and restores parents’ confidence in their children’s education. Students with involved parents or other caregivers earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills and show improved behavior.
This is one of the reasons why educators, academics and parents have been exploring ways of improving parental access to school information to enable them to support the school and their children.
Enters School LMS
The electronic grade book (EGB) containing Parent Portal has been introduced in the educational marketplace as an addition to Student Information Systems. This recent feature allows teachers to manage their grade books electronically by entering data about assessment results onto a web-based format. Parents then log into a web-based application and access in real-time their children’s grades and attendance.
Since its initial introduction, the EGB has morphed into a Learning Management System (LMS), which delivers a richer flow of content including coursework images and video.
5 Benefits of a School LMS
eLearning has many advantages in today’s fast paced world. Here are five reasons why a school LMS is revolutionizing the existing world of education and encouraging greater parental involvement in their child’s education.
- Easy and quick access
Today’s students have access to innumerable devices – mobile phones, tablets, laptops etc. In other words, they’re connected all the time. A learning management system for schools facilitate classroom discussions, encourages student feedback and increases lesson retention. The system enables parents to monitor their child’s progress and helps understand the content their children are engaging with as they study.
- Content And Knowledge Are Free
These days, people usually update their knowledge about the world through online sources and also use it for staying in touch with friends and family. Education is going down a similar path as cloud-based LMS software provides instant access to a wealth of content which parents are now able to access and gain a better understanding of the important concepts in their child’s education.
- Skills Are Taught Using ‘Screens’
The answer to many people’s information needs is to just “Google it” and increasingly schools are following the same path albeit with more scrutiny around information sources and content. Today, skills and concepts are taught using ‘screens’ as whiteboards have morphed into smartboards in tomorrow’s classrooms.
- Disruptive Technology Is Reshaping Textbooks
Textbook publishers have harnessed the power of the Internet to revolutionize their business model and deliver their published content for a fraction of the price of traditional publishing. Colleges have picked up on the trend and students are happy now that they no longer have to carry heavy books around. Increasingly books are being delivered via iPads and group discussions are migrating to online forums as schools bridge the geographical boundary between campuses.
- Teachers Are overcoming Geographical barriers
You have something to teach. There’s a domain you’re an expert in. These two demand and supply forces are reshaping the teaching landscape. The Internet connects not just teachers to students but also teachers to parents. Whether it’s knowledge, resources or amusing videos, learning management systems for schools are able to connect the learning ecosystem effectively.
A win-win situation for all
A recent study of eLearning in Saudi Arabia revealed high levels of teacher satisfaction with their cloud-based LMS software. Some of the benefits of their learning management system for schools included:
- Easy delivery of content facilitated student learning
- Encouraging peer collaboration
- Greater teacher-parent communication
Most cloud-based LMS software has set a defined role. A learning management system for schools integrates the parent’s role into their child’s education rather than treating it as a perfunctory external challenge for the teachers to deal with.
Apart from enabling parents to track grades, it’s communication functionality allows parents to connect with the educators and create more effective relationships, achieve improved communication exchanges and remove some of the barriers to parental involvement in their child’s education.
A Final Observation
The Internet has taken over learning. All subjects starting from mathematics and science to history and economics, it’s all migrating online. Students are embracing digital delivery and everything from content to teachers are no longer restricted by geographical barriers. New teaching methods, continuous assessment of student comprehension and administration are adopting online tools such as an LMS for greater efficiency.
Parents are benefiting from these changes. With the Internet comes greater access and with greater access, more insight into the quality of education their children are receiving. In fact, with elearning parents are now better positioned to assist their children in their learning endeavors.