Through the use of information alerts, e-Newsletters, & RSS feeds teachers are able to keep themselves in contact on a regular basis with their students. Making it easier for their classes to stay on track and up to date on anything important that is going on with the class. Things like test dates, project due dates, dates for exam reviews, field trips etc. While all three of these things are important, it is also vital that the teacher let the students know to expect them cause if a student is unaware that the teacher is sending them one of those then the student runs the risk of being misinformed and either failing the class or being left behind.
Interactive video conferencing, is another way to keep the students up to date on important events. As well as one way for the students to attend class without having to be in the classroom. However, if a student uses videoconferencing instead of attending the actual class, they again run the risk of being misinformed or not understanding the course materials as well as their classmates can. One important factor for teachers to take into consideration when deciding whether to allow video conferencing to their students is that their students may in fact choose that instead of going to the actual classroom on the required days. While admittedly not all that bad, students may end up forgetting important dates for their class and end up missing test days, homework assignments, and any thing else that the teacher may assign to them (that includes due dates for extra credit assignments).
Educational Websites, are another good way for teachers to help their students understand the lesson or section of a chapter that they are studying. These particular websites have their own awards that are given to them by organizations founded specifically to recognize teachers and other school staff for their hard work and determination to helping their students understand and follow the lesson plans with little or no issues. These particular websites are also useful when students have questions about the lesson plan when the teacher is unavailable to answer.
You might be amazed at how successful students are with video conferencing - especially when it is usually recorded and then students have access to it again and again if they missed something. These tools really offer much more opportunity for students and it also helps them learn to take accountability for their own learning, as well (which is so vital for learning, especially after high school).
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