Most of our students (especially at the middle and high school level) probably have some type of cell phone. They have their cell phones ALL THE TIME!
How can we keep in contact with our students WITHOUT having to make our cell phone numbers public knowledge? Remind101 is the answer!
Loads of schools are now providing their students with email accounts, or allow students and teachers to use school sponsored or affiliated Twitter accounts. However, if you are unable to communicate with your students through these channels, check out Remind101.
Here are the basics of Remind101:
- students and teachers sign up to this FREE service
- teachers are assigned a phone number…THIS IS NOT THE TEACHER’S ACTUAL PHONE NUMBER!
- teachers create groups using www.remind101.com or one of the Remind101 apps available for iOS and Android devices (Remind101 is a Chrome app, too!)
- teachers provide students with a code which they text to the assigned phone number
- when everyone has joined, teachers can create text messages of 140 characters or less (reminiscent of Twitter) and send to their students
- parents can choose to join their student’s Remind101 group as well!
For me, the best characteristics of Remind101 are…
- I can easily communicate with my students through a medium they frequently access
- My personal phone number IS NOT viewed by students or parents
Remind101 can be used in so many ways in the classroom environment!
- teachers can remind students of upcoming assignments or due dates
- teachers can remind their students to study for an upcoming test
- club sponsors can easily communicate with members
- teachers can send out a link to a specific resource for students to read or view
- teachers can contact students to encourage them to watch a particular event…like the State of the Union Address 🙂
Even if you are able to communicate with your students through email accounts or through social media, Remind101 is a great tool to use in your classroom. Students may not always check their email, but they will most definitely check their phone for a text message!
Check out these resources about using Remind101 in your classroom! Enjoy!
Thanks for reading 🙂
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