Most people don’t know this, but I struggled in high school. A lot. I learned slower, I took tests separately from other students because I needed time.
Everyone has had a teacher that has created an impact on their life. Mrs. Whitefield changed mine (she keeps telling me to call her Denise but I just can’t!). She spent HOURS a day reviewing papers with me, ensuring I did the reading & being patient. Very very patient. It’s fair to say she was the reason I got into college. I learned slower. I read slower. But she was ok with that. I think I found a lot of confidence in her patience. “Keep trying, you’ll get it”.
Anytime I thank her for spending that time with me & tell her how much she impacted my life, she shrugs it off and say’s ” oh stop, you did it yourself!”
A sincere thanks to Mrs. Whitefield at Niles West High School!
Twitter has been a great place for us to meet and get to know teachers using Remind101. It’s always exciting to start a conversation with a teacher tweep, and rapidly turn the relationship from a follower to a friend. One notable twitter-tastic teacher that fits just that story is Todd Nesloney, a 5th grade teacher at Fields Store Elementary in Texas and an #edtech advocate. I don’t remember exactly when we first started chatting with Todd, but I do know that after one conversation we’ve never stopped. So I was thrilled when Todd said he would write a guest blog post for us on his use of Remind101.
Let me just start by saying that I love Remind101. I discovered Remind101 in July of this year (2012). I was at a Mathematics conference in Texas, and in one of the “Web 2.0 Tools” session, a teacher interrupted the speaker to tell about a new website she had found. Let me tell you, that after hearing about it, no one was mad she interrupted the speaker. From attending the entire 3 day conference, the Remind101 tool was the most beneficial piece of information that I left with.
After playing with Remind101 a little, my head was spinning with all the ways I could utilize it to communicate with my students’ parents and my 5th graders themselves. I could also see the HUGE benefit of secondary teachers using it. I do quite a few technology trainings for my district and other districts (as co-founder of The 3 Tech Ninjas; @The3TechNinjas), so right away I started presenting on Remind101 everywhere I could. Now I can proudly say that just about every teacher in Waller ISD uses Remind101. I’m also trying to continually spread the word about Remind101 on Twitter (Follow me at @TechNinjaTodd)
Parents have expressed how much more “in-touch” they feel with what’s going on. I send out reminders about tests, homework, field trips, and more. As students get older, many of them do not bring home letters to parents, or relay much information at all. Due to Remind101 that is no longer an issue! I can’t say thank you enough to the developers and creators of Remind101. It is a tool that has completely revolutionized the way I keep in contact with parents and students without crossing any confidentiality or privacy rules! I love Remind101 and am excited for the future of this company!!
Todd Nesloney
5th Grade Math, StuCo Advisor, & Tech Ninja
Fields Store Elementary
http://tnesloney.wix.com/math
http://www.the3techninjas.org
Thanks again to Todd and his fellow Tech Ninja’s for being such key players in spreading the word about Remind101. We wouldn’t be where we are without teachers like you!
Kimberley Lewis teaches Creative Writing, Journalism and Speech 9-12 at Rockwall-Heath High School
Why did you start using remind101?
I was trying to give my students another resource to help students get their work done on time and get messages to groups on campus that I sponsor.
How did you hear about remind101?
I wanted be able to get messages to students in classes and activities I sponsor without giving my personal cell phone number out. Having students as friends on my “teacher” facebook felt awkward, and not all students have facebook access. I had looked into getting a google number, and I was afraid that I would not keep up with it. I didn’t want it to be one more thing to do. Ann Knostman our Instructional Technology Specialist found Remind 101.com for me. It is perfect for sending messages safely.
How do you use remind101 in your class? i.e, reminders, updates, positive motivation…
So far, I have only used it for reminders & updates, but if I have room, I include supporting our teams that are playing that evening.
What problem is remind101 solving for you as a teacher?
I love the ability to set reminders ahead of time. I think it really helps the kids stay on track… especially when journalism has deadlines. I had some students tell me that they forgot about a test. That won’t happen when they are signed up for Remind101.com. It really helped the kids stay organized during homecoming week when the different groups had different places to be.
Have you received any feedback from students/parents? If so how do they like it? (The good and the bad)
I only signed up recently, so I haven’t gotten a lot of feedback yet, but when I rolled it out, one of my students said, “Can you please teach the other teacher how to use this?”
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…
95% of kids and parents use cell phones and email. My best advice is don’t wait to roll it out. I posted the pdf invite on my teacher website. I mass emailed parents, and I showed my students as a warm up one day. We are using a “Bring your own Technology” program at school where the students can use their devices appropriately. I gave them the opportunity to “Sign up now.” It will make communication with parents much easier when they know you care enough to set this up. You are showing you are doing everything you can to help your kids be successful.
Any feedback for remind101? What features/updates would you like to see, if any
I love it. Please don’t cap the number of people we can have in our lists. I would have liked to decide what each group texted to get on the list* @lewis made sense, but @chai would have made more sense to be @chain. I love it though. If that is the worst anyone can say, you know you have an amazing product.
If you are a teacher and want to be featured on our blog, leave a commnent or email contact@remind101.com
*You can choose your own code now!
Ok. We’re bragging a bit here, but this is flat out cool. Jessica R teaches Biology and has been using remind101 since we launched. Check out the impact it’s having on her class:
I had parent-teacher conferences today and almost every parent has mentioned how much they love that their kids are getting reminders about assignments. Students have hardly any missing assignments in my class, which is a huge improvement from last year.
Because of this, students who are failing other classes are getting A’s and B’s in my class. I also sent out a text message yesterday reminding them of the conferences and ended up having more than triple my usual number of parents show up. Thank you!!!
Paul Goodenough teaches 8th grade science at Jenks Middle School
How are teachers using remind101 and what do they think? Here’s an unedited Q & A with Paul, a middle school teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you’d like to be featured, email contact@remind101.com!
When did you start using remind101?
August 2011
How’d you hear about remind101?
Email
How do you use remind101 in your class?
On Sunday to let students and parents know what we’re doing that week. Project reminders. Hints to assignments. Updates to directions. Changes to website.
What problem is remind101 solving for you as a teacher?
Parents actually knowing what’s going on. Keeping students accountable of information.
Have you received any feedback from students/parents? If so how do they like it?
They love it. Would like an option to reply if they don’t understand the message. (I supply my Google Number) Maybe a shortcode they can reply with that notifies me of their question so I can contact them.
Do you have any tips for teachers who may want to use remind101?
Made business cards for open house and conferences for parents. Had students bring their phones to class so they could sign up. Added information to my website and posted it in my classroom.
Any feedback for remind101?
Mobile site would be nice. iPad or iPhone app. (working on it!)
Do you have a story to tell? Email contact@remind101.com.
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.
We love these emails:
*Teachers name kept anonymous by request
“So far, I’ve been LOVING everything. It’s been fun as I’ve had kids making sure to get any announcements to me that they want sent out to the group.”
-Matt B
“Love it! Easy. Quick. Unique way of communicating with parents/students especially at an elementary level.”
-Michael B
“Even the best students can get distracted, remind101 is insurance against this kind of oversight.”
-Dr. Kathryn C
“I most certainly will share this with my colleagues in the next several weeks, and I’m sure some will sign up before school starts! Thanks again for your responsiveness and willingness to us teachers ‘in the trenches.’ :)”
-Ryan P
“I love remind101! My students don’t always have their bags, but they will always carry their phones.”
-Jennie D
“No no, Thank you for giving me this tool. I used it from day one, and students who seemed like it was going to be ‘just another class’ perked up right away.”
-Bill E
“I love it! Just tried it out on my own phone. I’ll have my students sign up next week”
-Shannon N
“Loved it. This is so exciting. I tried it out, and I’m really impressed.”
-Eddie G
“Easy, secure, reliable and instant.”
-Sidneyeve M
“The response was amazing! Kids were knocking at the classroom door within minutes”
-Marcy L
Have you had a good experience using remind101? If so leave a comment or email brett@remind101.com. More importantly, if you’ve had a bad experience, leave a comment or email brett@remind101.com. We need to fix that!
Yup. That’s right. We spoke with 200+ teachers over the past two months to hear feedback on what they really wanted.
This is what we learned teachers wanted from remind101:
- Instantly send a text message to every student or parent
- A safe way to communicate with students
- Improve parental engagement
What is remind101?
Remind101 is a website that allows teachers safely text message or email students and parents from the comfort of their own computer.
Who should use remind101?
Teachers! K-12, higher ed, you name it! If you’d like an easy way to communicate with students or parents outside the class, this is it.
Why should I use remind101?
Good question. Remind101 was built to make teachers lives easier and increase engagement with students and parents. Some teachers use remind101 to send homework reminders, “All projects are due tomorrow at 12:00pm”; others for quick messages “Don’t forget your permission slips”.
You’ll find that remind101 is:
- Fast- You can sign up and start sending messages instantly
- Safe- No student ever sees your personal cell phone number and you never see theirs
- Easy- Students or parents never have to visit our website, they sign up by text message or email
Remind101 provides an easy way for teachers to communicate with students outside the class and it’s free. Yup, free. You can learn more here if you’d like.
When can I use it?
Now is good.
Who uses remind101?
Hundreds of teachers are already using remind101 - 7th grade science teachers, university professors, you name it…but don’t just take our word for it:
- “Honestly this is 400% improved. What a difference a few months and a million hours of work makes!” Sidneyeve Matrix, Media Professor at Queens University
- “I used it from day one, and students who seemed like it was going to be “just another class” perked up right away” Bill Erlendson, High school biology teacher
- “Saves me time, reams of paper and entire cartridges of ink”Jennie D, 7th grade science teacher (NYC)
- “Love it! Easy. Quick. Unique way of communicating with parents/students especially at an elementary level” Michael Buist, 5th grade teacher, Chandler, AZ
- “Even the best students can get distracted, remind101 is insurance against this kind of oversight” Dr. Kathryn Cook, Professor at Georgian College
Get started by signing up or learn more.
Teachers:
Remind101 was built 100% for you. If you have questions, comments or feedback please let us know. How you ask? Contact@remind101.com, Tweet us, comment on this post, like us on Facebook or use the chat feature on remind101!
Sincerely,
-The remind101 team (David & Brett)
