We’re always looking for innovative ways for schools to engage with their parent communities, especially schools with widely scattered communities such as those in remote areas, where travel to school may be difficult for parents and carers. Virtual School Victoria (VSV) is at the extreme end of ‘scattered communities’, with students from all over the state – so how do they manage family engagement?
We got this tip from Jordan Anderson, who is the Leading Teacher – Family & Community Partnerships at VSV. Jordan showed us one method they use – an online message-board called Padlet. It’s a little like a chat group, where you can ask a question or invite ideas, send out an invitation and people can respond. But Padlet is far more graphically engaging, with users able to post images and options on how to display the results, including a slideshow. It can be used to share ideas, for members of a group to introduce themselves, for discussions and just for fun.
The basic version is free and allows only a limited number of ‘padlets’, but even the paid version should be affordable for a school or Parent Club.
