Kawa of Care...Getting parents involved in elearning.

Tonight we had a "Kawa of Care" session for parents in the staffroom.  These sessions are run by a Manaiakalani tutor who works with the parents in developing their understanding of how we use netbooks at school, how to use and take care of netbooks and the expectations of care needed in order for netbooks to stay in good working order.

It was wonderful to see parents using the netbooks to access their child's learning and write comments to them.  Some of the parents present had a little experience on the devices, but there was new learning for all involved around their child's blogs, class sites and the school website.
Courtney ran the workshop and talked to parents about encouraging discussion with their children around the sites they access, the learning they share with the world and how to use a netbook responsibly.
The questions parents asked were around "How long do I let my child work on the netbook?"  "Where is the best place for children to work on their devices?"  "What do we do if there's a breakage at home?"  "How can I see what my children have been doing?"
The advice that we passed on regarding these very relevant questions were....

• Length of time on the computer would depend on how old the students are and what work they have to complete.  Most teachers wouldn't recommend more than an hour for 9-10 year olds and maybe one and half to two hours for older students.
• It's best that children work on their netbooks in an open room.  Not their bedroom.  That way parents can see what their children are doing and have piece of mind that their children are using the netbook for the purpose they expect them to be used.
• When netbook financing is arranged parents signed a contract that included insurance and processes to go through in case of breakages.  If a netbook is broken, parents should contact the school for details on insurance and repair.  For further details, parents can access the Manaiakalani site for information.
• Courtney took parents through, step by step, 'how to access students blogs' and also gave them a list of questions they can use to ask children about their learning.  
  

To complete the session, parents were then shown how to post a comment on their child's blog.  This is always wonderful to watch, as many of the parents can become quite emotional about the work their child is producing...often, it's unexpected and parents are impressed with what they see.
This is such a great way to build stronger relationships with our parents, and I think they appreciate the insight that these workshops give.  We will be having a few more Kawa of Care sessions before the end of the year. 
Thanks Courtney for a great service!