Education is a collaborative process, as it takes many stakeholders working in unison to help students succeed academically. One of the most integral parts of this collaborative team is parents, as teachers know all so well. So, if you are a teacher struggling to increase parental engagement, how do you fix this issue? In this article, we will discuss 7 ways that digital age teachers win over parents.

1. Digital age teachers are student-centered. Technology means that students are in the driver’s seat in the classroom. Digital age teachers who are successfully implementing technology are willing to take a backseat to the students’ direction, and support students in whatever ways they can.
2. Digital age teachers are patient. Not every student learns at the same rate as others, so in the teaching profession patience is key. If you don’t have patience, you cannot be an effective teacher. Digital age teachers, like their predecessors, have patience down to a science. This is impressive, as the digital revolution has made everyone so obsessed with time, and accustomed to getting things done quickly.
3. Digital age teachers use edtech to increase student engagement. When students get to use technology, they’re automatically more engaged. Kids love technology and incorporating it into lessons gets students excited about learning. Digital age teachers use edtech to boost student engagement without requiring them to do a lot of extra work.
4. Digital age teachers care. Any good teacher – especially those successfully integrating edtech into their classrooms – cares for their students. They want what’s best for them, and they’re willing to use any strategy or resource to help their students reach their true
5. Digital age teachers are humble. Digital age teachers are humble, and know that at the end of the day, their purpose in life is to educate the next generation of digital citizens. No matter how many accolades or awards they receive, they never get too high or too low.
6. Digital age teachers personalize learning for every student. Digital age teachers differentiate learning. They meet learners’ needs by providing a variety of teaching methods, including direct instruction, grouping students, and rearranging the groups as needed. To reach the individual student, they must strive to motivate each individual, involve him or her in learning, and understand how to teach everyone, not simply aim to teach the average student. They must also be an advocate for their students as individuals, ensuring that they have all the resources they need to succeed.
7. Digital age teachers flip parent-teacher conferences. Digital age teachers are obsessed with being productive, as they must get a lot done, in a short amount of time. One example is their approach to parent-teacher conferences. Instead of adhering to the traditional configuration, they allow parents to use a tool like Google Docs to send along questions or concerns before the conference. The teacher can gather all the data and information that they need to address these questions or concerns. That way, valuable time is not spent searching for scores, and assignments. The parent-teacher conference can be used to address these questions and creating a plan to help the student perform at an optimal level.

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Click here to see all of the posts in our digital age teacher series.