"You can take me out of the lab but you cant take the lab out of me"
Barb Wissmann teaches 9th Grade English at Chaparral HS
Why did you start using remind101?
Because students rely on using text messages as their primary communication tool. Logging on to the school website is too much of a hassle.
How did you hear about remind101?
At a teacher in-service from a colleague.
How do you use remind101 in your class? i.e, reminders, updates, positive motivation..
I primarily use it to remind students about upcoming due dates, materials needed for class (draft of essay, bring your book), and random messages of encouragement using vocab words.
What problem is remind101 solving for you as a teacher?
Eliminating barriers when communicating students and allowing for pre-planned communication to occur. When I assign an essay, I also pre-program remind 101 messages so that students have warnings about when assignments are due.
Have you received any feedback from students/parents? If so how do they like it? (The good and the bad)
My students LOVE it, and thank me for the messages. I have not heard yet from parents, which can only mean good news.
Do you have any tips for teachers who may want to use remind101? i.e, how to get started, how you shared the code with students...
Make sure you post remind 101 messages in other places (such as class website) since not all kids have a phone, I thought it would take 15 minutes for my kids to sign up for remind 101, and it took about 15 seconds. Within 3 minutes, everyone was signed up for it. When you post assignments on your website, also post remind 101 messages.
Any feedback for remind101? What features/updates would you like to see, if any
The ease of use of this product and its reliability are incredibly fantastic. And it is FREE. Students would like to respond to text messages but cannot via remind101. In the next update, linking my remind101 account to my cell phone to accept student text messages would be great. Then again, students have my cell phone number so they just text me directly.
I cannot thank you enough for this service. I hope you are profiting some way from it because you totally deserve the monetary rewards for offering such a fabulous product. Thanks for helping students become more successful and removing communication barriers in the student/teacher relationship.
Pete Clancy teachers 9th grade AP Human Geography and 12th grade AP Literature at George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, IA.
How are teachers using remind101 and what do they think? Here's an unedited Q & A with Pete, a High School teacher from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Why did you start using remind101?
I started using remind101 to have a quick and easy means of communication with my students outside of the classroom. In Iowa we can have quite a few snow days in the winter months, and I wanted an easy way to let students know about adjusted homework assignments if school was ever cancelled. As it turns out, I’ve used it for quite a bit more than just that.
How'd you hear about remind101?
I was trying to figure out how to use my e-mail client to send mass texts alerts. I searched Google for help, and remind101 appeared as a result. It is certainly much more convenient than the steps I was preparing to take!
How do you use remind101 in your class?
Largely, I use remind101 for homework reminders and letting students know when grades are posted online. I also plan on using it as an example in my AP Geography class as how technology is changing the way we interact with one another.
What problem is remind101 solving for you as a teacher?
It can be hard to contact students quickly. Many don’t use e-mail anymore. The best way to get ahold of a student, it seems, is either via text messaging or Facebook. With remind101, I can easily text my students without worrying about privacy—both theirs and my own.
Have you received any feedback from students/parents? If so how do they like it?
I have a few parents that receive the alerts. All of them that use it love it. One referred to it as “the best thing that has happened to [her] son.”
Do you have any tips for teachers who may want to use remind101?
Setting everything up was super easy. The website guides you through the process seamlessly. After I setup the account, I printed the directions for my students and gave them a few minutes to sign-up. By the end of the first school day of me having the account, nearly 100% of my students were on the system.
Any feedback for remind101?
In addition to the ability to respond / ask questions we discussed earlier, I would LOVE if there were an Android/iPhone app available. For some reason, my phone (HTC Evo) can’t load the website. An app would be totally sweet—sometimes I’m away from a computer and think of something I want to send the kids. By the time I’m back home, it’s too late.
Do you have a story to tell? Email contact@remind101.com.
