During these final two weeks of the term, we have held two parents nights that were meant to be a continuation of our support for parenting in a digital age. Last term we had held afternoon workshops before the conclusion of the school day and we had had quite a few requests for a different time slot. So this we did! We invited students in as the experts and they chose key apps that we had been using as part of their learning and took control of ‘stations’ around which parents rotated.
The key apps we covered included Keynote, Explain Everything, Book Creator and Inspiration. Matthew in 4G proved himself to be very adaptable and chose to look at iBooks in one session and then ran a very popular session on Showbie in another.
I think it is always amazing to watch students in situations like this – when they are allowed to be in control and to dictate the action. They reveal things about themselves that it is not always easy to see in a classroom environment. They spoke with such confidence and exhibited a fabulous level of skill. I really think that situations like this are as valuable for the students themselves as for the parents for whom the nights were intended.