By Dr. Sarah Thaler
If you’ve taught a student, raised a student, or been a student, you know that one of the world’s least-answered questions is, “What did you do in school today?” In fact, as a parent of teenagers myself, I just stopped asking that question.
And sure, the Internet is filled with recommendations from parenting blogs highlighting different variations of this question, promising that this question will be the one that gets the answer. In my experience, though, they never really worked.
So what does work?
Well, let’s take my elementary schooler on the other hand. She comes home weekly with a printed newsletter, or eager to tell me about the classroom activity that her teacher has already shared photos of via a school communication app. The foundation teachers give me, as a parent, by sharing what’s happening in their classrooms has fueled many nights of conversation with my children, and by association, an understanding of how I can support the efforts their teachers are making with them in the classroom.
And look, as a former teacher myself, I get it. You’re probably looking at my screen right now wondering if I’ve lost my mind and forgot how time works in the classroom. But I promise you that I’m not implying that you should spend an extra few hours a week painstakingly crafting a newsletter. What I am saying is that you should consider leveraging Khan Academy’s AI tools for teachers, Khanmigo, to automate production of a newsletter to better keep students’ families in the loop. (Pro tip: Khanmigo is free for all teachers, thanks to a partnership from Microsoft).
AI tools for teachers that transform communication with families
With the help of Khanmigo, you can quickly develop family communications using a tool called “Create a Class Newsletter.”
All it takes is the answer to six simple questions:
- What’s the name of your class?
- What did you do last week?
- What are you doing next week?
- What are this week’s class reminders?
- Do you have recommendations for how families can engage?
- Do you have any classroom shoutouts?
From there, Khanmigo writes an engaging, editable newsletter. And just like with other AI tools you may have explored, you can ask it to change specific sections (or the whole thing!) based on the feedback prompts you share.
Once you’re happy with the result, you just print or export your newsletter, and it’s off to the races! You’ll be able to accelerate your work in the classroom by giving families clear ways to engage their children outside of the classroom.
Take your time back with Khanmigo, an AI tool for teachers
Adopting teacher AI tools like Khanmigo can help make a tedious activity, such as creating a newsletter, a quick and easy way to develop engaging communications for parents. And best of all, Khanmigo is free for all educators in the United States. Make your account here!