A PTSA armed with PCs

Besides teachers, other school groups are realizing the power of Web 2.0.

This year, for example, the Arbor Heights Elementary School PTSA hosts a traditional Web site; blog; e-mail list; and wiki (a collaborative Web page members can edit), providing meeting minutes, announcements and calendar items.

"A number of people, like myself, are on the computer during the day," said Tammy Wooley, the PTSA's secretary, who spends about four hours a week maintaining the sites. "For me, online information about activities coming up is a lot more helpful than paper bulletins."

That said, she expects the PTSA to pare electronic options down once it finds which avenues work best for parents. "We're trying to reach parents in multiple ways to get everyone involved," she said.

— Stephanie Dunnewind, Seattle Times staff reporter