~ Kim Wang
Curriculum Coordinator, International Department
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the fields of teaching and communication have changed drastically. Luckily, we only experienced distance learning for a short period of time in Taiwan. However, it was during that brief period of time when we realized how important it is to integrate technology without delay. As students returned to classrooms for face-to-face education, the school rethought the role technology plays in parent-teacher communication and student learning.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the fields of teaching and communication have changed drastically. Luckily, we only experienced distance learning for a short period of time in Taiwan. However, it was during that brief period of time when we realized how important it is to integrate technology without delay. As students returned to classrooms for face-to-face education, the school rethought the role technology plays in parent-teacher communication and student learning.
● Promptly Checking Your Child’s Learning
Children receive education from two equally important sources: school and home. We firmly believe that maintaining an open channel of communication between parents and teachers contributes to children’s educational success. With this in mind, we employed the beneficial features of technology by creating an e-communication book to create a bridge between parents and teachers. The e-communication book allows parents to check their children’s daily homework and teacher’s comments using digital devices. Unlike the traditional paperback communication book, parents can now track their children’s academic progress without needing to wait for communication books to be brought back home. The homework is typed and assigned directly by the teacher, which can help everyone avoid any misunderstandings that sometimes occurred in the past.
Have you ever wondered what your child has been learning recently? The ID Announcement section in the e-communication book also provides detailed reports, called ID Review, revealing the latest projects your child has been working on in both their Foreign English and Chinese English Teachers’ classes. The KCFS Bulletin section explains what interesting STEM project students are exploring, and the English Village Newsletter shows you the daily living skills they’ve learned in English Village. In addition to these reports, you can also find our test announcements and semester reminders. All of these features give you a more complete picture of your child’s school life.
● Effective Communication
Perhaps you need to have a conversation with your child’s teacher but find it difficult to coordinate your schedule with theirs. Using the "comment” function in the Parent section of the e-communication book can help you conduct an effective dialogue without taking you away from your other responsibilities. This function provides a secure space for teachers to answer any inquiries you might have about your child’s learning. Not only can you message the teacher without worrying about their schedule, it also lets you write more detailed messages and have clearer communication. And again, you don’t have to wait for your child to deliver the message back to the teacher, like they had to when we were using paper communication books.
In addition to the e-communication book, the Line Official group set up by our Chinese English teacher can also be an auxiliary method to carry out convenient and fast communication. According to the result of our survey, we are pleased to see that nearly 80% of our parents are utilizing Line Official as a way to stay involved in their children’s education.
Technology has changed our lives dramatically. New devices and systems are not just trends of the future, but are tools encouraging better communication. In the future, we hope that all our students’ parents will utilize those aforementioned technologies with us. Together we can establish more open channels of communication for the benefit of our students’ education.
From the Editor
Educational Partnership
國際處主任 賴國宜
For over two years, the COVID pandemic has had a huge impact on our lives and work and the rapidly changing situations have constantly tested our resilience. It made us realize that parent-teacher connectedness not only helps improve children's learning and parents' understanding but most importantly also reduces stress and anxiety levels of teachers, students, and parents. Last semester, the International Department converted paper communication books to an electronic platform and at the same time, the ID announcements and newsletters were digitized as well. In addition, Chinese English teachers also set up official Line groups for English classes to make sure the busy parents would not miss any important information in the e-communication book. We really appreciate all of our parents for their cooperation and support, so that this major change could be completed smoothly. I would recommend you read the article by Ms. Kim, our curriculum coordinator, to become familiar with the various functions of our e-communication book.
持續兩年的疫情對我們的生活和工作都帶來巨大影響，瞬息變化的疫情時時考驗我們的應變能力，也讓我們體會到親師連繫要能更便利且更密切，才能即時提供家長正確的訊息和適時的協助。上學期國際處開始以電子聯絡簿取代傳統的紙本聯絡簿，連帶國際處的公告和各學年通訊也都電子化。此外，中籍英師也成立各英文班Line官方群組，提醒忙碌的家長不要漏掉電子聯絡簿上的重要訊息。非常感謝所有家長的配合與支持，讓這項重大的轉變能順利推動，推薦您閱讀課研組長Ms. Kim的文章，善加利用電子聯絡簿以及Line官方群組的功能。
嚴峻的疫情帶來諸多的不確定性，容易讓人產生焦慮不安，這段期間更需要親師密切的配合。讓我們一本「教育合夥人」的初衷，即使在這段艱難的時刻，在兼顧學生的安全之下，仍致力於促進孩子穩定且有效的學習。在此祝福所有康橋家庭都能平安、健康。