Review of Literature


	Review of Literature pdf format Literature Review- School Websites-Developing a Community-Based Website and Evaluating its Value Toward Communication and the Learning Process Introduction Today's schools are pressured in many ways. Not only do they need to maintain student achievement but they are also required to improve it. Many factors have been identified that can affect student success. One such factor is parental involvement (Kervin, 2005). Another is home-school communication (Ramirez, 2001). In our quest to improve public schools, technology has the potential to play a significant role in improving parental involvement through enhanced home-school communication. This paper will present a review of the Information Age and how it has affected education. It will also look at the current state of the Digital Divide, and how that affects the appropriate educational uses of the Internet. Additionally, it will also explore the ways in which technology, in the form of a school website, can affect the communication process between home and school, school and community and teacher and parent. Finally, it will study the impact that a website can have on the education process. The Information Age and Education Technology has become commonplace in our society and in our nations schools. Federal government spending initiatives for technology increased from $21 million in 1995 to $729 million in 2001. This spending decreased the student-to-computer ratio from 9:1 to 4:1 over the same period (Glennan, 1999). Most students in the United States use computers and a majority of them use the Internet. Statistical data gathered in 2003 by DeBell and Chapman shows that for children age 3 and over, in nursery school through grades 12, 91 % (53 million) use computers and 59 % (35 million) use the Internet. Use begins very early with about two-thirds of nursery school children and 80 percent of kindergartners using computers. 97 % of students in grades 9 – 12 use computers. The Internet is used by 23 percent of nursery school age children. By grade 3 that number jumps to 50 percent and jumps again to 70 percent in grades 9-12 (DeBell, 2006). Public school students and private school students do not use technology in the same ways. Public school students are more likely to use computers at school and private school students use computers at home more (66 percent compared to 76 percent). Public school students are more likely to use the Internet at school and overall (DeBell, 2006) A survey conducted for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found similar trends. During telephone interviews with 500 children ages 12 – 18 they found that nearly all those surveyed reported having access to computers and the Internet at several sites including home, school, friends' and relatives' home, and the public library. They reported being skilled in using the computer to access sites and, depending on the capabilities of the computers and the conditions at each site, being able to accomplish the work they needed to do (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003). Regarding access to the Internet, the following is from a report to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation U.S. Library Program on student access to the Internet: Nearly all children interviewed said they had used a computer (99%) and the Internet (98%) and most have at least some access to computers somewhere—home (90%); school (library [75%], computer lab [69%], or classroom [65%]); at a friend’s or relative’s (54%); or the public library (50%)—and many have access at multiple sites, in fact, at an average of 4.2 places. On average, the students reported using computers at all their access sites for a total of 435 minutes, or a little more than an hour a day, “during the past week.” (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003). Students' use the computers and the Internet primarily to look up information for school projects and work processing. The older they get and the more skilled they are, the more uses they report, such as social activities (local and online games, chatting with friends, more advanced programming and video editing). Students are comfortable teaching and learning from each other. 80 percent report they had taught adults at home (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003). Americans are using the Internet at home, at work and at other locations and the rate of growth of Internet use in the United States is two million new users per month and in households where there are children under the age of 18 they are more likely to use the Internet (Survey, 2002). Digital Divide Research has indicated a large gap between those who do and those that do not have access to technology (Sumari, 2006). "The Divide speaks to the concrete and symbolic distance between those who enjoy access to, and familiarity with, the immense potential of technology, and those who do not" (Munoz, 2002). Computer and Internet use divides two main ways, between demographic and socioeconomic lines (DeBell, 2006). The use of both technologies is higher among Whites than Blacks and Hispanics and students whose parents are highly educated or have higher incomes have greater access to technology as well (DeBell, 2006). Teachers and students report using technology at ever-increasing levels. In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey reported that American children between ages 9-17 use computers more than any other reported subgroup of the American population (92.6%) (Survey, 2002) Data from The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 85% and 78% of teachers report using a computer to create instructional materials at home and at school, respectively. Half of all teachers also report that they use computers for administrative record keeping at school as well as at home (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). Additionally, The National Center for Educational Statistics reports that about half of all teachers use email to “communicate with colleagues” and about a quarter of teachers communicate with parents via email (2000). Most parents recognize the importance of the Internet, 87 percent of parents of online teens believe that the Internet helps students with their schoolwork and 93 percent believe the Internet helps students learn new things (Lenhart, 2001). Students without home computers tend to be economically disadvantaged and they feel disadvantaged in terms of being able to complete their homework and even get good grades (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003). School systems everywhere are working toward providing access to technology to all students and teachers (DeBello, 2005). Through those efforts schools are helping to bridge the digital divide by providing access to the Internet and computers at school for those students who have no access at home (DeBell, 2006). Some progress is seen in narrowing the divide since Internet use is increasing for people regardless of income, education age, races ethnicity or gender (Survey, 2002). Benefits of Utilizing the Web While email continues to be a growing communication tool for both staff and students within the school community, school websites have the potential to improve school-wide communications (Lopez, 2005). A well designed school website can provide a wealth of information for the school community literally at everyone's fingertips (Cavanaugh, 2006). The result of this improved communication is streamlined staff meetings with more time for professional growth, fewer calls to the office, and more time for everyone to devote to teaching and learning(Cavanaugh, 2006). Roosevelt Middle School, in West Beach Palms Florida, noted an 100% increase in traffic when they updated their school website to include teacher WebPages and other pertinent communication for their school community. They found that the website streamlined communication on all levels, including administration(Cavanaugh, 2006) . Another benefit to using a school website is cost. Websites can be posted with minimum cost and they reduce paperwork and speed processes (Cavanaugh, 2006). Many private companies, such as SchoolFusion, offer cost effective school communication solutions that can be created and maintained easily by existing school staff. According to (Lopez, 2005), the SchoolFusion Calendar enables the school to share important events with the community through its Web site. This calendar is updateable by nontechnical school staff and is easy for community member to use-many of who have little or no technical knowledge. SchoolFusion Classroom, which are also incorporated into the school's Web site encourages parental involvement and improves parent-teacher communication. Implementing this solution solves the communication issues expressed by parents, enabling them to access their children's assignment, testing schedules and grades via the Internet. Since implementing the system, many parents have been able to take amore active role in their child's education and in school events (Lopez, 2005). Another benefit to using the web for improved communication is that information can be accessed at any time. This is important since many families today have long working hours and commonality of both parents working full time (Lopez, 2005). Home-School Communication Research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory concluded that everyone benefits when schools and families work together (Henderson, 2002). When students and families collaborate during a child's education, students do better in school and life, parents become empowered, teacher morale increases, schools get better, and communities grow stronger (Ferguson, 2006). According to Machen, Wilson and Notar (2005, p. 16) school communities are enhanced by, "Creating more frequent opportunities for positive communication among the school, parents, and the community". School websites, along with traditional notes home, student handbooks, and phone calls can facilitate and improve home-school communication (Cavanaugh, 2006). In 2006, more people have access to the Internet than ever before and there is more likelihood than in the past that parents will have access to the Internet either at home or at school (Cavanaugh, 2006). That said, there are still those who have limited or no access, therefore, relying on school websites alone for all home to school can be ineffective and even discriminatory (Munoz, 2002). School websites can promote communication in a number of ways. For the parents who rely on the Internet for daily information welcome online resources to keep abreast of their child's lives at school. Teachers and other staff members can create their own personal websites and a link to that site can be posted on the main school website. These class websites can be a valuable resource to students and parents. Homework, lessons and links to resources are just a few of the learning tools that can be found on these sites (Cavanaugh, 2006). One advantage to this is when students are absent they or their parents can check immediately to see what they have missed, saving both a phone call to the teacher and a visit to school topick up missed work (Lopez, 2005). Resources for parents can also be posted on the website. These resources can improve parenting skills; provide information to help parents support their students' academic achievement, plan for college and more (Lopez, 2005) . St. Barbara School, a southern California private school, implemented a school website administered by SchoolFusion in 2005. SchoolFusion is a Web-based communication provider for k-12 schools. After the first year St. Barbara reported that the school's website encouraged parental involvement and improved parent-teacher communication. It also allowed parents to take a more active role in the child's education and in school events. (Lopez, 2005) Community-School Communication Communication between home and school is important and communication between schools and their surrounding community is equally important. Schools need the support and understanding of their community in order to be successful learning communities for all who are associated with them. According to Epstein (2001, p. 163,164) community-based programs may support schools, assist families, and increase students' chances of success. And, Community-based programs that are connected to the schools, not isolated from them, are more likely to assist families and increase student learning and success (Epstein, 2001, p. 163, 164). Most school leaders agree that improvement in communication methods would enhance relationships between home and school and would lead to improvements in parental involvement. When students see that their parents are involved in their education, they tend to place more importance on it as well. Also, most students welcome their parents involvement at the school level (Ramirez, 2001). According to Ramirez (2001): School-home and home-school communication is essential in creating an understanding of school programs and children's progress. By integrating technology into communication strategies, school can quickly reach as many parent as possible (p.30). Schools can also provide supplementary services in their community. They may offer parenting, English Language learning, and computer classes, among others, during after school and evening hours. Schools that operate as a community center create goodwill with members of the community and a sense of belonging and partnership. According to Epstein (2001): Well-organized community-based programs may act as brokers, interpreters, and guides to help all parent, and particularly language minority families, negotiate with their children's school (p. 164). School websites can be used to create course web sites for classes such as parenting and English Language Learning and as a means to post course materials for students(Ramirez, 2001). Many software packages such as BlackBoard and WebCT allow for the creation of these web-based courses (Ramirez, 2001). Providing space on the school website for community services and organizations can further promote Community-School communication and relations. Students, parents, staff and community members benefit when information can be found quickly and easily on one community portal. Surrounding communities that support their schools are willing to invest in the students that attend those schools. School bond measures get approved and members of the community get involved in areas such as coaching, tutoring and sharing career information (Epstein, 2001) . Teacher-Parent Communication Most of the time the dialogue between teachers and parents is linked with reporting how the student is doing in class, usually in the form of grades, assignments not completed, or unsatisfactory discipline issues (Kervin, 2005). Parents have reported that they want more information and they want it in a more meaningful and understandable way (Kervin, 2005) : Instead, parents seem to want and need information about a range of different aspects of the child's achievement outlining both strengths and weaknesses, work samples that clearly indicate the ability for the child, helping them to create an overall picture of how their child is achieving via various information sources. Thus it appears that there is a need to make these information sources more varied, frequent and timely (p. 151). An additional way to communicate classroom information is via a class website. One example is seen with first grade teacher, Kathleen Eveleigh's classroom webpage. Kathleen communicates with parents daily by integrating her website into daily instruction. She gathers her first graders in from of her to write a summary of each school day's events. Rather than write sentences on chart paper, Kathleen's students write directly onto the wall-mounted TV screen (Brown, 2006). At Roosevelt Middle School in Palm Beach County, Florida, teachers report that their websites have improved communication between home and school and also have made it easier to enlist parental support (Cavanaugh, 2006). School Websites and the Education Process Many schools are incorporating the Web into their communication process as a way to disseminate information about the school, specific classes and activities. Beyond simply relaying news regarding school events, some schools are building class projects around the creation of Web sites and teachers are incorporating the Web into their classroom work (Lenhart, 2001). At Roosevelt, teachers post classroom lesson plans, homework assignments, upcoming reading lists, field trips, contests and more. All of this helps parents take a more active role in their students' schooling (Cavanaugh, 2006). One of Roosevelt's parents, Karen Carron, notes (Cavanaugh, 2006): I've consulted several teachers' curriculum and information like course objectives, topics covered, and assignments. There are links to great resources, too, for homework, project, and report help. It is so empowering for parents who are struggling to work, manage a household, and take care of and keep up with their kids, especially in school. I love having all these resources and information a few clicks away (p. 3). Progress reports, teacher-recommended online resources, syllabi, and, in some cases online study guides, quizzes and exams can all be posted on school websites (McKenzie, 1997). Posting reviewed online resources saves staff and students saves time by pointing students and staff to Internet locations which offer developmentally appropriate, curriculum relevant content that can also be standards-based (McKenzie, 1997). Teachers are also using websites to post and showcase student work. Publishing their work on the Internet authenticates student work, adds a sense of pride and ownership in that work and often leads to students being more committed to producing high quality work (Cavanaugh, 2006). Summary Children learn and grow in three places, at home, at school and in the community. They learn from their families, teachers, peers, relatives, part-time employers, and other adults in the community. They develop in all three of these contexts simultaneously and continuously. The three places are interconnected and students travel back and forth from these three areas for many years as they learn who they are and where they are going (Epstein, 2001). It can be further argued that to best meet the needs of children, all three areas in their lives should be supportive of each other. Good communication between all three areas can help foster this. School websites can be one vehicle to connect all three. Our students deserve the best that we can offer them. Many Americans have come to rely on the Internet and websites as a huge source of information for their everyday lives. Most workers have access to computers at their workplace and many more have access in their homes. It makes sense to tap into this popular resource as another means to enhance communication within the school community. Well-designed, accessible school websites have been proven to improve communication. Improved communication leads to improve parental and community involvement in the school, a key component to student success. Bibliography Brown, S. (2006). Using A Classroom Webpage to Communicate with Parents. from http://www.learnnc.org/articles/print/eveleigh0510-1 Cavanaugh, K. (2006). Adobe Success Story, Roosevelt Middle School. DeBell, M. C., Chris. (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003. Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2006-065. National Center for Education Statistics, 72. DeBello, L. C. (2005). Are We Addressing the Digital Divide? Issues, Access and Real Commitment. Childhood Education, 81(4), 239. Epstein, J. L. (2001). Building Bridges of Home, School, and Community: The Importance of Design. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 161-168. Ferguson, S. (2006). Building Family School Partnerships that Work [Electronic Version] from http://www.ncpie.org/. Glennan, T. K. M., Arthur. (1999). Fostering the Use of Technology: Elements of a National Strategy. Henderson, A. T. M., Karen L. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Kervin, L. (2005). Students talking about home-school communication: Can technology support this process? Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 28(2), 150-163. Lenhart, A. S., Maya; Graziano, Mike. (2001). The Internet and Education: Findings of the Pew Internet & American Life Project Lopez, C. (2005). Southern California Catholic School, Community Praise Web-Based Communication Solution [Electronic Version] from http://thejournal.com/articles/17258. Margaret T. Gordon, P. D., Elizabeth J. Moore, Ph. D., Andrew Gordon, Ph. D., Linda Heuerta, MLS. (2003). Kids Have Access, Enjoy Computers: Libraries Key for Many, Especially the Disadvantaged: University of Washington. McKenzie, J. (1997). Why in the World Wide Web? The Education Technology Journal, Vol 6 (No 6). Munoz, J. S. (2002). Disintegrating Multiculturalism with Technolgy. 19-24. Ramirez, F. (2001). Technology and Parental Involvement. Clearing House, v75 n1 30-31. Sumari, M. C., Erika; NdebeNgovo, Manjerngie. (2006). Diversity, Disability, and Geographic Digital Divide. Survey, U. S. C. B. P. (2002). A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. 99.

Review of Literature pdf format

Literature Review- School Websites-Developing a Community-Based Website and Evaluating its Value Toward Communication and the Learning Process

Introduction
Today's schools are pressured in many ways. Not only do they need to maintain student achievement but they are also required to improve it. Many factors have been identified that can affect student success. One such factor is parental involvement (Kervin, 2005). Another is home-school communication (Ramirez, 2001). In our quest to improve public schools, technology has the potential to play a significant role in improving parental involvement through enhanced home-school communication.
This paper will present a review of the Information Age and how it has affected education. It will also look at the current state of the Digital Divide, and how that affects the appropriate educational uses of the Internet. Additionally, it will also explore the ways in which technology, in the form of a school website, can affect the communication process between home and school, school and community and teacher and parent. Finally, it will study the impact that a website can have on the education process.

The Information Age and Education
            Technology has become commonplace in our society and in our nations schools. Federal government spending initiatives for technology increased from $21 million in 1995 to $729 million in 2001. This spending decreased the student-to-computer ratio from 9:1 to 4:1 over the same period (Glennan, 1999).
            Most students in the United States use computers and a majority of them use the Internet. Statistical data gathered in 2003 by DeBell and Chapman shows that for children age 3 and over, in nursery school through grades 12, 91 % (53 million) use computers and 59 % (35 million) use the Internet. Use begins very early with about two-thirds of nursery school children and 80 percent of kindergartners using computers. 97 % of students in grades 9 – 12 use computers. The Internet is used by 23 percent of nursery school age children. By grade 3 that number jumps to 50 percent and jumps again to 70 percent in grades 9-12 (DeBell, 2006).
            Public school students and private school students do not use technology in the same ways. Public school students are more likely to use computers at school and private school students use computers at home more (66 percent compared to 76 percent). Public school students are more likely to use the Internet at school and overall (DeBell, 2006)
A survey conducted for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found similar trends. During telephone interviews with 500 children ages 12 – 18 they found that nearly all those surveyed reported having access to computers and the Internet at several sites including home, school, friends' and relatives' home, and the public library. They reported being skilled in using the computer to access sites and, depending on the capabilities of the computers and the conditions at each site, being able to accomplish the work they needed to do (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003). Regarding access to the Internet, the following is from a report to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation U.S. Library Program on student access to the Internet:
Nearly all children interviewed said they had used a computer (99%) and the Internet (98%) and most have at least some access to computers somewhere—home (90%); school (library [75%], computer lab [69%], or classroom [65%]); at a friend’s or relative’s (54%); or the public library (50%)—and many have access at multiple sites, in fact, at an average of 4.2 places. On average, the students reported using computers at all their access sites for a total of 435 minutes, or a little more than an hour a day, “during the past week.” (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003).
            Students' use the computers and the Internet primarily to look up information for school projects and work processing. The older they get and the more skilled they are, the more uses they report, such as social activities (local and online games, chatting with friends, more advanced programming and video editing). Students are comfortable teaching and learning from each other. 80 percent report they had taught adults at home (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003).
            Americans are using the Internet at home, at work and at other locations and the rate of growth of Internet use in the United States is two million new users per month and in households where there are children under the age of 18 they are more likely to use the Internet (Survey, 2002).

Digital Divide
            Research has indicated a large gap between those who do and those that do not have access to technology (Sumari, 2006). "The Divide speaks to the concrete and symbolic distance between those who enjoy access to, and familiarity with, the immense potential of technology, and those who do not" (Munoz, 2002).
            Computer and Internet use divides two main ways, between demographic and socioeconomic lines (DeBell, 2006). The use of both technologies is higher among Whites than Blacks and Hispanics and students whose parents are highly educated or have higher incomes have greater access to technology as well (DeBell, 2006).
Teachers and students report using technology at ever-increasing levels. In 2001, the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey reported that American children between ages 9-17 use computers more than any other reported subgroup of the American population (92.6%) (Survey, 2002) Data from The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 85% and 78% of teachers report using a computer to create instructional materials at home and at school, respectively. Half of all teachers also report that they use computers for administrative record keeping at school as well as at home (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). Additionally, The National Center for Educational Statistics reports that about half of all teachers use email to “communicate with colleagues” and about a quarter of teachers communicate with parents via email (2000).
Most parents recognize the importance of the Internet, 87 percent of parents of online teens believe that the Internet helps students with their schoolwork and 93 percent believe the Internet helps students learn new things (Lenhart, 2001). Students without home computers tend to be economically disadvantaged and they feel disadvantaged in terms of being able to complete their homework and even get good grades (Margaret T. Gordon, 2003).
            School systems everywhere are working toward providing access to technology to all students and teachers (DeBello, 2005). Through those efforts schools are helping to bridge the digital divide by providing access to the Internet and computers at school for those students who have no access at home (DeBell, 2006). Some progress is seen in narrowing the divide since Internet use is increasing for people regardless of income, education age, races ethnicity or gender (Survey, 2002).

Benefits of Utilizing the Web
            While email continues to be a growing communication tool for both staff and students within the school community, school websites have the potential to improve school-wide communications (Lopez, 2005). A well designed school website can provide a wealth of information for the school community literally at everyone's fingertips (Cavanaugh, 2006). The result of this improved communication is streamlined staff meetings with more time for professional growth, fewer calls to the office, and more time for everyone to devote to teaching and learning(Cavanaugh, 2006). Roosevelt Middle School, in West Beach Palms Florida, noted an 100% increase in traffic when they updated their school website to include teacher WebPages and other pertinent communication for their school community. They found that the website streamlined communication on all levels, including administration(Cavanaugh, 2006) .
            Another benefit to using a school website is cost. Websites can be posted with minimum cost and they reduce paperwork and speed processes (Cavanaugh, 2006). Many private companies, such as SchoolFusion, offer cost effective school communication solutions that can be created and maintained easily by existing school staff. According to (Lopez, 2005), the SchoolFusion Calendar enables the school to share important events with the community through its Web site. This calendar is updateable by nontechnical school staff and is easy for community member to use-many of who have little or no technical knowledge. SchoolFusion Classroom, which are also incorporated into the school's Web site encourages parental involvement and improves parent-teacher communication. Implementing this solution solves the communication issues expressed by parents, enabling them to access their children's assignment, testing schedules and grades via the Internet. Since implementing the system, many parents have been able to take amore active role in their child's education and in school events (Lopez, 2005).
            Another benefit to using the web for improved communication is that information can be accessed at any time. This is important since many families today have long working hours and commonality of both parents working full time (Lopez, 2005).

Home-School Communication
Research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory concluded that everyone benefits when schools and families work together (Henderson, 2002). When students and families collaborate during a child's education, students do better in school and life, parents become empowered, teacher morale increases, schools get better, and communities grow stronger (Ferguson, 2006). According to Machen, Wilson and Notar (2005, p. 16) school communities are enhanced by, "Creating more frequent opportunities for positive communication among the school, parents, and the community". School websites, along with traditional notes home, student handbooks, and phone calls can facilitate and improve home-school communication (Cavanaugh, 2006). In 2006, more people have access to the Internet than ever before and there is more likelihood than in the past that parents will have access to the Internet either at home or at school (Cavanaugh, 2006). That said, there are still those who have limited or no access, therefore, relying on school websites alone for all home to school can be ineffective and even discriminatory (Munoz, 2002).
School websites can promote communication in a number of ways. For the parents who rely on the Internet for daily information welcome online resources to keep abreast of their child's lives at school. Teachers and other staff members can create their own personal websites and a link to that site can be posted on the main school website. These class websites can be a valuable resource to students and parents. Homework, lessons and links to resources are just a few of the learning tools that can be found on these sites (Cavanaugh, 2006). One advantage to this is when students are absent they or their parents can check immediately to see what they have missed, saving both a phone call to the teacher and a visit to school topick up missed work (Lopez, 2005). Resources for parents can also be posted on the website. These resources can improve parenting skills; provide information to help parents support their students' academic achievement, plan for college and more (Lopez, 2005) .
St. Barbara School, a southern California private school, implemented a school website administered by SchoolFusion in 2005. SchoolFusion is a Web-based communication provider for k-12 schools. After the first year St. Barbara reported that the school's website encouraged parental involvement and improved parent-teacher communication. It also allowed parents to take a more active role in the child's education and in school events. (Lopez, 2005)

Community-School Communication
            Communication between home and school is important and communication between schools and their surrounding community is equally important. Schools need the support and understanding of their community in order to be successful learning communities for all who are associated with them. According to Epstein (2001, p. 163,164) community-based programs may support schools, assist families, and increase students' chances of success. And, Community-based programs that are connected to the schools, not isolated from them, are more likely to assist families and increase student learning and success (Epstein, 2001, p. 163, 164).
            Most school leaders agree that improvement in communication methods would enhance relationships between home and school and would lead to improvements in parental involvement. When students see that their parents are involved in their education, they tend to place more importance on it as well. Also, most students welcome their parents involvement at the school level (Ramirez, 2001).
            According to Ramirez (2001):
School-home and home-school communication is essential in creating an understanding of school programs and children's progress. By integrating technology into communication strategies, school can quickly reach as many parent as possible (p.30).
Schools can also provide supplementary services in their community. They may offer parenting, English Language learning, and computer classes, among others, during after school and evening hours. Schools that operate as a community center create goodwill with members of the community and a sense of belonging and partnership. According to Epstein (2001):
Well-organized community-based programs may act as brokers, interpreters, and guides to help all parent, and particularly language minority families, negotiate with their children's school (p. 164).
            School websites can be used to create course web sites for classes such as parenting and English Language Learning and as a means to post course materials for students(Ramirez, 2001). Many software packages such as BlackBoard and WebCT allow for the creation of these web-based courses (Ramirez, 2001).
Providing space on the school website for community services and organizations can further promote Community-School communication and relations. Students, parents, staff and community members benefit when information can be found quickly and easily on one community portal. Surrounding communities that support their schools are willing to invest in the students that attend those schools. School bond measures get approved and members of the community get involved in areas such as coaching, tutoring and sharing career information (Epstein, 2001) .

Teacher-Parent Communication
Most of the time the dialogue between teachers and parents is linked with reporting how the student is doing in class, usually in the form of grades, assignments not completed, or unsatisfactory discipline issues (Kervin, 2005). Parents have reported that they want more information and they want it in a more meaningful and understandable way (Kervin, 2005) :
Instead, parents seem to want and need information about a range of different aspects of the child's achievement outlining both strengths and weaknesses, work samples that clearly indicate the ability for the child, helping them to create an overall picture of how their child is achieving via various information sources. Thus it appears that there is a need to make these information sources more varied, frequent and timely (p. 151).
An additional way to communicate classroom information is via a class website. One example is seen with first grade teacher, Kathleen Eveleigh's classroom webpage. Kathleen communicates with parents daily by integrating her website into daily instruction. She gathers her first graders in from of her to write a summary of each school day's events. Rather than write sentences on chart paper, Kathleen's students write directly onto the wall-mounted TV screen (Brown, 2006). At Roosevelt Middle School in Palm Beach County, Florida, teachers report that their websites have improved communication between home and school and also have made it easier to enlist parental support (Cavanaugh, 2006).

School Websites and the Education Process
Many schools are incorporating the Web into their communication process as a way to disseminate information about the school, specific classes and activities. Beyond simply relaying news regarding school events, some schools are building class projects around the creation of Web sites and teachers are incorporating the Web into their classroom work (Lenhart, 2001). At Roosevelt, teachers post classroom lesson plans, homework assignments, upcoming reading lists, field trips, contests and more. All of this helps parents take a more active role in their students' schooling (Cavanaugh, 2006). One of Roosevelt's parents, Karen Carron, notes (Cavanaugh, 2006):
I've consulted several teachers' curriculum and information like course objectives, topics covered, and assignments. There are links to great resources, too, for homework, project, and report help. It is so empowering for parents who are struggling to work, manage a household, and take care of and keep up with their kids, especially in school. I love having all these resources and information a few clicks away (p. 3).
Progress reports, teacher-recommended online resources, syllabi, and, in some cases online study guides, quizzes and exams can all be posted on school websites (McKenzie, 1997). Posting reviewed online resources saves staff and students saves time by pointing students and staff to Internet locations which offer developmentally appropriate, curriculum relevant content that can also be standards-based (McKenzie, 1997).
Teachers are also using websites to post and showcase student work. Publishing their work on the Internet authenticates student work, adds a sense of pride and ownership in that work and often leads to students being more committed to producing high quality work (Cavanaugh, 2006).

Summary
Children learn and grow in three places, at home, at school and in the community. They learn from their families, teachers, peers, relatives, part-time employers, and other adults in the community. They develop in all three of these contexts simultaneously and continuously. The three places are interconnected and students travel back and forth from these three areas for many years as they learn who they are and where they are going (Epstein, 2001). It can be further argued that to best meet the needs of children, all three areas in their lives should be supportive of each other. Good communication between all three areas can help foster this. School websites can be one vehicle to connect all three.
Our students deserve the best that we can offer them. Many Americans have come to rely on the Internet and websites as a huge source of information for their everyday lives. Most workers have access to computers at their workplace and many more have access in their homes. It makes sense to tap into this popular resource as another means to enhance communication within the school community. Well-designed, accessible school websites have been proven to improve communication. Improved communication leads to improve parental and community involvement in the school, a key component to student success.

Bibliography
Brown, S. (2006). Using A Classroom Webpage to Communicate with Parents. from http://www.learnnc.org/articles/print/eveleigh0510-1
Cavanaugh, K. (2006). Adobe Success Story, Roosevelt Middle School.
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