4 May 2012

The iPhone app is here!

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9 Apr 2012

6:00 minute tutorial by Dan Klumper

 

danklumper

 

28 Mar 2012

Teacher use case #1 Craig Nobiling (Chadron High School)

Craig

I use Remind101 for keeping students and parents up-to-date on assignment due dates, exams, senior visitations by college representatives, and community meetings. It has made a HUGE difference for many students in getting homework in on time as well as taking materials home at the end of the day.  

It has also kept ME more organized in that I am taking more time in preparing and planning. It has NOT been more work utilizing Remind101 - it's actually been less in the long run. SO happy that I ran across this last fall - thanks Remind101...and I know my kids would thank you as well.

Read more stories here.

15 Mar 2012

How Greg Schwanbeck runs trivia contests for his physics class

Greg Schwanbeck teaches physics at Westwood High School, you can follow him on twitter here

I use Remind101 for all sorts of useful things, like letting students know online grades have just been updated, or getting the word out to astronomy students that observation night has been cancelled due to clouds.

But one of the more fun things I've been doing with Remind101 is running bonus trivia contests for my classes. It works like this; students get a message to the effect of "A new physics bonus challenge has just been posted to class website, first two to email me the correct answer win homework passes!"

When they visit the website, they get a physics or astronomy related trivia challenge like identifying these disguised physicists, or figuring out what unusual distinction is shared by these eight schools and no others.
Greg
At first glance such contests may seem to simply be trivial fun, but they do serve a practical purpose.

First, these contests get students to sign up for Remind101. I didn't want to make using Remind101 mandatory for my students--not all of them have unlimited text plans and a small number were skeptical about giving out their phone numbers. Getting students to sign up purely on the basis of being able to have me "nag" them about study reminders and the like would have been a hard sell. But by pitching Remind101 with the promise that there would be fun bonus opportunities involved, I got a very high response rate--more than 90% of students in my physics classes signed up.

Second, and more important educationally, the contests are an engaging and fun way to extend science beyond the classroom. Sure, being able to correctly identify a physicist hiding behind a pair of sunglasses is not in itself a worthwhile learning objective. But the student is probably going to stumble across some useful or interesting physics information as they poke around the internet trying to solve the bonus question. Better yet, the student brings up the question at the dinner table, and all of a sudden physics or astronomy becomes a family discussion.
Uses
How Mr. Schwanbeck shares remind101 on his website 

Giving prizes out to only the first student (or first few students) that email(s) me the correct answer is vital--I've found in the past that if everyone who submits a correct answer gets a prize the students will quickly share the answer with their friends, defeating the entire point of the exercise. Remind101 is the only way I've found that allows me to do this effectively. I could just post the contest on my class website, but the class website is not even close to being a part of my students' daily routines. The lone student who happened to stumble across the website after a bonus challenge had been posted would have a huge advantage, and the contest would feel like a game of luck rather than skill. With Remind101, all my students get the text at the same time, so it's a fair start for those who decide to participate.

My students have really enjoyed these bonus trivia challenges this year. They've energized the class and gotten the kids engaged in physics in a fun way--on their own time to boot!
So… can you identify those physicists? Do you know what those eight schools have in common? 

-Greg Schwanbeck

 

14 Mar 2012

How remind101 revolutionized our school

Kelsey Murray teaches mathematics at Rocky Mount High School in North Carolina

School_2

One way remind101 has revolutionized our school is through the new building we are constructing. In June, the school I teach at, Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount NC will move into a brand new, state of the art building with all of the latest technological features, as well as being an 'eco-friendly' building. One remind101 account we have set up is a chance for students, parents and community members to receive alerts with new building progress stats and links to slideshows for updated photos of the construction. While people can't always enter the construction site because of safety reasons, every one in our town can feel connected and 'in the know' about our new school via these announcements.

School

A more general way remind101 has helped our school is by increasing the number of students who complete their homework assignments. By enrolling students and parents, students do not have the excuse 'I forgot to write my homework down' or 'I didn't know what we had for homework.' Also, when parents get involved in pushing students to do their homework, this starts the beginning of the parent-teacher-student communication we strive for. Parents then join alongside the teacher in helping students succeed.

I, along with other teachers at my school, send announcements with general information as well, more than just homework assignments. I remind students of upcoming events at the school, test/quiz dates and I even scheduled a "Merry Christmas" announcement to be sent out to my students while I was in Africa during Christmas break. 'HOW COOL?!' they all said! :)

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13 Mar 2012

How a Chicago TFA teacher uses remind101 to engage students and parents

Harsh Patel is a Teach for America teacher from Chicago, IL. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his blog. Here's a few ways he uses remind101 in his class.

Harsh

I use remind101 to remind parents of conferences, what homework to check, or about rescheduled events. 

To parents 

  • "Mr. Patel: Hw tonight: Math 31-54 odd, Reading Calendar, 10 spelling words, Read chap. 7. Thanks for checking!"
  • "Mr. Patel: Don't forget! Parent teacher conferences tomorrow 5-7 pm. See you there!"
  • "Mr. Patel: Washington DC trip forms due Wednesday, don't forget!"

To students: 

  • "Mr. Patel: Specials changed tomorrow: bring gym clothes."
  • "Mr. Patel: ISAT reminder, bring pencils, erasers, sleep well, eat breakfast, lets rock the ISAT!"
  • "Mr. Patel: don't forget, groups 3, 4, and 7 presenting tomorrow. Ensure you have all materials! :) "

We'd love to hear how you are using remind101 in your class, email contact@remind101.com and let us know so we can blog about it! 

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