Now that the UFT-DOE contract sets aside dedicated time for parent outreach each week, it’s an opportune moment to explore online resources that can increase communication with parents. These digital methods maintain records of parent contact and allow everyone to communicate at times and places most convenient for all.

Your first task is to obtain as many parent email addresses as possible. Some schools are very proactive, requesting emails at parent-teacher conferences or parent meetings, while some aren’t. You can send home a paper request, but then your job becomes more difficult: typing emails by hand, trying to decipher hard-to-read handwriting.

Instead, consider making a Google form to collect parent email addresses. Post it on your school’s website and alert parents to its presence there. The form can be filled out from a mobile device, too. See the WikiHow page for step-by-step instructions on how to create one.

Once you have parent emails, you can communicate using any number of options, depending on student age, what you want to share and your subject matter. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Create a Google Group. Google offers online discussion groups without distracting ads or pop-ups (unlike Yahoo). You will need to create a Gmail account, but parents do not need to have a Google account to join. Just invite them via email, and you can send out alerts or reminders and even solicit responses (e.g., “Who can volunteer for our class holiday party?” or “Chaperones needed for class trip!”). See instructions on how to set up a Google Group.

2. Share photos with Shutterfly. Shutterfly lets you create online photo albums and then share them via email with parents — school trips, student presentations, assemblies, scanned student work ... any image you want. Shutterfly, besides being free, also has the advantage of being password-protected; you can choose whether or not to require a password before viewing any album. This is an option you definitely want when sharing any images of students online, for their safety and to meet DOE requirements. Shutterfly also has a simple template for creating a classroom website geared to parents. Check out Shutterfly’s instructions for getting started.

3. Send out digital newsletters. Many teachers already create newsletters for parent outreach and physically send them home; with parent email addresses, you can send them digitally. Microsoft Office and Google Docs both have good newsletter templates that produce files you can email to parents. Or, if you want to try something more Web-based, check out Read-Write-Think’s Printing Press. Designed for student newspapers, it’s easy to use. There are different styles of templates available, and sharing is easy.

4. Make a class calendar. Many of us send home class calendars, but plans change all the time. An online calendar, either with a link that parents know or one posted on a school site, can help parents keep up with classroom events, assignment due dates and holidays. Google Calendar is probably the best free tool for this purpose. You can keep it simple, posting important dates and reminders, or you can be more interactive, sending alerts and inviting parents to school events. Check out a guide to getting started with Google Calendar for Teachers.

Don’t expect these systems to get rolling immediately. As with any change, adoption of something new takes time. Maintaining contact with parents can be a daunting task, but with patience and persistence, these online methods can help increase parent engagement.