Student Led Conferences

Parent-student communication is a vital part of educational success for students as young as pre-k.  Most conferences we hear of are parent-teacher conferences or even student-teacher meetings. However, student-parent conferences are becoming more common in today’s society.  Student led conferences allow students to discuss their academic goals, struggles, progress, and accomplishments with their parents, with teachers facilitating. Digital portfolios allow students to prepare for these conferences and display their work and progress for their parents.  Digital Portfolios are actually quite simple to create and do an excellent job of displaying student work.

There are multiple websites that make the process a breeze. One great app is called Sesame. On this app, students can snap a photo of their work and upload it to their portfolio.  Parents and teachers are able to view the portfolio anytime they wish. Teachers can assess students directly on the app, making it easy for students to view their feedback. However, this app is not available for android and does not have a corresponding website, which could hinder parents from being able to view their child’s work.  Another popular website for student portfolios is Seesaw. I have heard nothing but great things about this app. Students are able to post photos of their work and videos explaining their assignments, reviewing books, etc… Up to ten family members and the teacher are able to view the students work, making it easy for family to stay informed on the student’s progress.  This website is free for teachers and has a corresponding app for apple and android. While these tools are extremely helpful, they are not the only option! Students could easily create a Nearpod (see next blog), Google Slides, or Emaze to display their student work. These presentation tools make it easy for students to communicate exactly what they want their parents to know.  When preparing for student led conferences, it is important to prepare the students. They can present their portfolios to their classmates or the teacher. It is also important that the teacher explains to the students how the conference will work so the students can prepare themselves and their parents. The video below is from Edutopia, my favorite educational website. It shows an example of a student-led conference and discusses the benefits of it.