I haven't posted in awhile, been busy getting everything ready for tonight. I thought what can I share?! As I was talking to my parents some were unfamiliar with the Remind service that I use which is FREE. I thought maybe there are teachers out there who still haven't been exposed to Remind.
Remind, formerly known as Remind 101, is an amazing application that allows teachers to communicate with parents via text message. Before you panic, they don't get your cell number and they can't reply to text messages (you know those annoying group texts that go wrong, very, very wrong). However, some wacky teachers (like me) do give families, in time, my cell number. However, Remind gives me a way to send one big group text to parents to TA-DA Remind them of things. You can even write up the messages and schedule them to send out. This is great for upcoming events!
There are two ways to sign up: online or with the app. Yep, there's an app for that. Just sign up for an account, all you need is an email address. Once you sign up, you'll name your class and Remind sets up the code for you. You can either print the PDF they supply or take a screen shot of the visual directions to put in your welcome back letters! This is very much like when you sign up for Payless Shoe discount or Redbox deals to come straight to your phone.
Parents will text the unique code Remind gives you to a phone number (not your cell) and they are added to the group. Once added, any message you send they will receive. I mainly use the app to send messages; however, you can do it online at Remind.com too.
Here are some ways to use the Remind in your class:
- remind parents of upcoming tests
- remind parents of upcoming events like field trips
- remind parents of holidays or early release days
- send links to your spelling lists or newsletters
- send probing questions to ask their students (ex: Ask your student to tell you what they remember about Thurgood Marshall tonight.)
- send a math problem for them to solve together
- send a string of letters for a boggle type challenge
Communication is so very important between home and the classroom and this is an easy way to make that happen. Also, it's FREE so what are you waiting for?!
Okay, so I know you had a question like 4 paragraphs back that was HOW DO YOU TAKE A SCREEN SHOT?! Well, on a PC you can just press the screen shot button. It will take a picture of your entire screen. It goes directly to the clipboard. Open the document you want to insert the Remind information. Paste it in your document and then crop the picture to the important information. On a Mac, press both the command + shift keys and tap on the #4 key. Your cursor turns into a target looking symbol. You can let go of the keys and then drag the target symbol to the area you want to capture. This will create a file on your desktop called ScreenshotXXXX (the X's are the date and time of the screen shot). Insert this file into your document and resize to fit.
I'll share more soon! Get pumped up and enjoy the last few days of summer vacation!
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