Inside the #ptchat — Top 10 websites schools would bookmark on students’ home computers

On December 7th at 9EST, #ptchat (Parent-Teacher) returned to the schedule of much anticipated weekly education chats. Teachers, principals, parents, directors and others around…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 30, 2011

Principals need to be the bridge for parents-teachers.

School principals have been around for a long time. Among other things, you might hear the leader of a school referred to as headmaster, lead teacher, head of school or even dean of students. I’m sure there are plenty more depending on…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 25, 2011

Leveling the language playing field for parents. Isn’t it about time?

Earlier this year, David Andrade blogged about the a PLC for Parents and the importance of a comprehensive school website- one that was constantly updated with links, resources, news, information, and contacts…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 23, 2011

Key to Teaching Twitter — Lean On Your PLN

At 7PM on Monday night, a district technology director and I hosted our first Twitter Townhall for Parents. We began by showing a couple videos shared by Kathy Schrock, who graciously shared with me her comprehensive site of edtech resources. (Yes she…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 20, 2011

Create free SMS alerts for your school

Do you receive any text alerts that come into your cell phone from time to time? Currently, I receive them from a local TV station telling me when my school is closed, and also from ESPN when my favorite sports teams have won or lost. As more people become…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 13, 2011

Engage Parents with a School Twitterfeed

Image by Erin Crew

As more parents and educators join Twitter each day, use of the fastest growing social media becomes more applicable for all of us in the educational community, and more possibilities to harness this tool come to…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 10, 2011

Tiny Decision Huge Impact

All of us have situations arise in our communities that affect our respective settings. Working in a large elementary building outside of Philadelphia, you have a good chance of having someone affiliated in some way with Penn State University (PSU). The University has over 20…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 6, 2011

How do Finnish schools engage their parents?

I’d like to begin by thanking two Finnish leaders I connected with on Twitter using the hashtag #finnedchat -Aki Puusteinen and Timo Ilomäki. Mr. Ilomäki (@Ilotimo) is a teacher, school counselor and Coordinator of Entrepreneurship in Jyväskylä…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Nov 2, 2011

Parents & Educators: Do You Follow Proper Netiquette Rules?

It seems like everyday, I witness a conversation online between two people that makes me cringe. Sometimes it involves family and sometimes you can tell there is an “elephant” on the page. DID YOU KNOW THAT WRITING IN ALL CAPS…

Joe Mazza, EdD

Oct 29, 2011

Start a volunteer tutoring program at your school with eVolunteer options

Last school year, we made a call to our local United Way and inquired about any available volunteers to help with an after-school tutoring program. Pennsylvania’s Accountability Block Grant (ABG) had…