What a Great invention!

Image used under CC licence.

What a great invention, the internet. Not only a great teaching and learning resource for students but a fantastic way to bridge the gap between home and school. My weapon on choice is email (slightly antiquated these days I know). Email is my lifeline to families, and with 80% of my students families on email, I love the ability to send them a quick note.
I can tell them what we are up to, remind them of upcoming things, ask for resources or just chat about their child, all at the touch of a button. Unlike a phone call - e-mail does not require the family to be home and I don't need to ring 28 times to reach everyone. I send out notes to check the new updates in the children's e-portfolios and encourage participation. Of course the uptake by parents to email is varied depending on their daily use of the tool. But still I find this invaluable.
Other teachers though can see this resource through very different eyes. They question - you give out your email address? Won't the parents bug you all the time.... I don't want to be able to be contacted outside of school hours....
My answer to them is OF COURSE! I have been giving out my email information for 4 years now - I have never had a negative email from parents, nor been bombarded. In my experience parents very rarely contact teachers on purpose to bug them. They often don't have the time. Parents do bring up concerns they are having - and they are often very genuine for them - but wouldn't you rather the parent be able to email you about them first rather than just turning up in your classroom on Monday morning and wanting to make an appointment to see you.
I have found that by opening up the lines of communication through email in positive and supportive ways first, means that often small concerns can also be dealt with this way, which is time saving and timely - no waiting to meet with the teacher till next Thursday. I can think before responding, reword what I want to say, attach information and sometimes even respond instantly. I feel sorry for the 20% who aren't on email, as I really do talk with them less as I only have texting or official 'written notes' with them, which is used quite sparingly.
And as an added bonus parents are starting to participate in school more. They email in photos of family trips, videos about bullying to share, pictures to help with current topics...
The internet truely makes my connections with parents stronger...well worth spending 5 minutes at night checking, and well worth the risk of bombardment...