M6: Blog Post 5, Digital Platforms in K-12 Settings

There are many digital platforms and tools available for teachers to use in the classroom.  I utilize a variety, but two in particular are my go-tos for communicating with families and students when they are away from school:  TalkingPoints is a communication app, and Padlet is an app to share content with others.  While TalkingPoints is geared toward families, Padlet can be useful for students, looping in other educators, and families.
TalkingPoints (TP) is used by my district to communicate with families in the form of texting.  

As a teacher, I log into Clever (an app that contains all of our district apps and student information) to access TP.  I can look up students individually to text their family alone, combine different students into one text, or I can contact an entire class to make a mass announcement.  Since I teach every student in the school, this tool is indispensable!  I am able to text most families to send home a positive note, inquire after questionable behaviours, share links and information about performances and field trips, and to set up times to speak with them over the phone.  

Most people text today, even those who have fought it (like myself), so families can respond to us easily.  They can use the online version like I do, just use their regular texting app, or download the TP app for their mobile device.  If you can text, then this app is very simple to use.   If they prefer, they can type into the online version just like typing an email.  

The best feature is that families can determine the language they wish to read, and TP will translate from English into their home language and back again when they text us using their language.  As a teacher, I can see the language settings and have reached out to specific families regarding their music culture to find ways to incorporate it into my lessons with their children.  Families feel confident in their communication with the school and we can trust that families understand what we send to them.  

Student success increases when families are more involved with their child’s education, which includes engaging with their teachers.  Attendance rises, homework is completed more often, and students and their families become a vital component of the school culture through the use of this app.  

Another great feature is that when I text a group, the families don’t see who else the text was sent to, just to themselves.  This provides privacy for every family and ensures messages only go to the intended party, not someone else in the texting thread.  
This year is the only year that I have had difficulty using it; my students are not all entered into Clever properly for me so many are missing (see the pic below).  This has caused communication breakdowns with particular families, but it is not because of TP, it is due to an error between the information put into my rosters, which are often incorrect.  I also gave up trying to label classes properly since mass text recipients weren’t going to be accurate this school year.  There are other methods that I use but TP is truly the easiest platform for family communications.

Padlet is a online content sharing platform.  I create a space that has interactive tabs for particular purposes.  The district uses Padlet widely, and teachers have used them to share information within the district with one another.  Some Padlets that have been created are for the Fine Arts Department, the Diversity Equity and Belonging (DEB) committee to share the focus for each month and resources for teachers, as well as for professional development.  We’ve even used them during meetings to build a Padlet together, from multiple devices and educators.  You can create one from scratch or use AI templates to help create instant content and formats.  

Families and students are sent links to access Padlets, like text using TP, so that families have access to upcoming concerts, performance information, links an videos for practising at home, files where lyrics are found, and warm-ups.  In order to use the platform, one needs to use a touchscreen or a mouse to move the content in the columns up and down, and to click on it.  I can add, edit, and change the Padlet without having to change the link so I can update it in real time and families can still access it using the link I originally sent.  Should students and/or families reach out to me with concerns about the Padlet information, I can adjust it accordingly as a live document.  Since I am not collaborating with them, they can not change the Padlet themselves, but I can collaborate with others who have access to make changes to the Padlet, effectively giving it more than one author.  

 

I also use the Padlets during class time, not only to demonstrate to my students how to use it but for them to also practise manipulating it on my SMARTBoard.  This way they understand how they can use it at home, and show their families as well.  This has helped my students immensely!  When we have a Padlet for the All-City Choral Festival, my students have access to all of the materials and information that I can supplement as needed.  My chorus tends to meet during my planning and lunch times, so any additional practise is so beneficial!  All-City students have to do a lot of prep at home since my time is extremely limited; when they arrive for the festival, they feel prepared and excited about their performance.  Should students miss a rehearsal, they can practise at home and find updates for anything that was missed.  

Communicating with students and families is vital for the support and growth of our students.  Texting families immediately during an incident shows students that I do indeed contact their families, and that I will be speaking with them later.  They have the ability to turn their behaviour around so that I have a better report, at times turning a call for support into a call praising their student and their choices.  Students don’t interact directly with TP, but family expectations affect how the student continues with their day.  Padlets allow for all to have access to information, including students, and to interact with the materials presented.  This allows for collaboration when the Padlet has more than one author or simply the ability for us to disseminate information vital to our students’ success.  Students can easily navigate the platform in and outside of school.  Teaching hundreds of students weekly can make communication with families a trying task, but these two platforms have made it much easier and more feasible to do so, and for it to be truly effective.  



Helpful links:

https://padlet.com/
https://padlet.com/site/templates?audience=education
https://scsdpl.padlet.org/jhallb03/spring-concert-2025-choir-resources-a6kq3e4a8avv7ita
https://talkingpts.org/