Guest Blog Post: Shawna O'Halloran
How are teachers using remind101 and what do they think? Shawna did a great screencast on remind101, this is a follow up. If you'd like to be featured email contact@remind101.com!
I teach High School Math (Geometry up through Calculus) at St. Marys High School in St. Marys,Kansas.
I heard about remind101 from a classmate of mine during an online meeting of a graduate class. He mentioned it in passing and I thought it sounded great so I looked into it. I started using remind101 as a way to bring the everyday technology students use into my classes. I think it is a great way to remind kids of events coming up. I asked the students before I started if this was something that would interest them, and they responded very excitedly that is was. Initially I thought I would remind them about tests and quizzes, but eventually it evolved to changing due dates, omitting questions from homework, and handing out class feedback on tests and quizzes (ie: averages, etc). The students are really appreciating this tool.
I have not opened this to parents yet. I wanted to test run with students before I invited parents to join. Also talking from some parents, the age of students I teach, we want them to learn responsibility and so parents are glad they are receiving texts but don’t necessarily want to join in.
There are many times as a teacher where I have thought, “Oh wait, I wanted them to skip this problem,” or “I’m not going to put this on the quiz since they didn’t seem to understand it,” and I have wanted to relay this to students. Remind101 is an easy way to do this. Even students who are not signed up will hear through the grapevine from those who are about changes. The students admitted to being confused when the first message came through. “Why is Mrs. O’Halloran texting me and how did she get my number?” Then students look at the message and remember. This has cut down the “I forgot” excuse from students. I still hear it, just not as much.
For any teachers interested in remind101, I suggest just trying it. I’m still learning and it is sometimes hard for me to remember to send the messages, but I am getting better. I helped students sign up in my classroom. For the first time, I told students if they were interested to get out their phones and they were going to “text” in my class. They were giddy with excitement. Just this reaction is enough for me to know that I did the right thing. They see me as someone who utilizes the technology they love. They know it is not a common practice and they still are not to randomly text in my class, but that one day was exciting.
I pulled the directions up on the overhead and had students sign up during class. As many teachers know, it is surprising the questions you hear from students. My students text everyday, but still when they received the text back asking for their name, they asked me what they supposed to type. I told them, “Just what it says, your name.” It is days like these that makes teaching fun. For students who were absent, if they wanted to sign up, I helped them do it in a spare minute. There are directions to print off, but I did not use these. When and if I invite parents, then these directions will be useful. I think at parent-teacher conferences, would be a great time to help parents sign up.
The one thing I would like to see from remind101 is a mobile page. Like students, we live with our phones. I will be out doing something and remember that I need to send the messages and it is hard from the full page on a cell phone. Sometimes I think having students able to text back would be nice, but then I think about it again and decide that they can call or email if necessary. I would like to see the ability to text just one of the members of class. There have been a couple times where I want to remind a students to come in before school for extra help, but can’t. Overall, remind101 is great. I would recommend this to teachers. I know there have been times where you may think, “Oh, I wish I would have told them this.” This can fix that. Meet them on their technology level and the response is amazing.
We're working on a mobile site as we speak! As always, remember that typical messaging rates apply and always consult with parents before using remind101 with students. Leave a comment or email contact@remind101.com with any questions!
