Last week, the school board in my district approved an updated policy for “Employee Useof Social Media/Electronic Messaging.” The several-page-long document described the expected conduct of employees on all forms of social media.
The release of the policy stirred a lot of conversation between staff members. There were questions of concern and comments of frustration:
- …but I use Twitter to communicate with my students about school!
- Is what I post on my personal Facebook page going to get me in trouble?
- Isn’t this taking away my 1st amendment right to free speech?
- Does this mean I cannot post a picture of myself enjoying a night out with friends?
- …but I need to be able to text the athletes on my team to give them activity information!
And the repeated joke… “Careful, big brother is watching…”
Ultimately, though, the purpose of these policies is to protect students AND staff when it comes to communicating information through social media and electronic messaging.
It makes sense to communicate with your students using technology… social media is the center of their universe!
With the release of this policy, I thought it a perfect time to talk about a GREAT TOOL I use CONSTANTLY to communicate with students safely.
www.remind.com
Remind is:
- FREE!
- very simple to sign up for and to begin using immediately with students.
- NOT associated with your personal phone number OR students’ personal phone numbers.
- a safe way to send a reminder or announcement to an entire class in seconds!
- easy for anyone! No technology expertise required!
- Did I mention… FREE!
I love that Remind is an instant, safe, efficient, and FREE way to communicate with students!
Student Sign Up: I have students sign up for the classes or groups that apply to them on Day 1 of the class or practice!
Assignment Reminders: I send reminders to students about assignments, deadlines, and other announcements. They receive them just like a text message!
Practice/Meeting Announcements: I send reminders to the clubs I sponsor about meeting times, competitions, or schedule changes.
Student Responses: Students can respond with questions or issues. All interaction is saved and documented on your Remind account…
Get the Mobile App: Remind has a mobile app that allows you to send these safe messages from your phone… but it is still not revealing your personal phone number!
How other teachers are using Remind:
Communicating through technology is a part of our current society. Remind is one way to communicate with students in a safe and efficient way!
Follow @RemindHQ on Twitter for news and updates!
Keep the conversation going…
- How could you use Remind?
- What complications do you see with communicating with students via technology?
- What other tools do you use to safely communicate with your students?
P.S. If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or sharing it on Facebook or Twitter!
Learning in Teaching 
This is a fantastic point to make. As ict coordinator at my school I have tried to initiate giving the children a chance to communicate in a number of ways using technology. I even have my 4/5 year olds using their phonic knowledge to write me texts using a similar system to this mentioned and they love it.
I find the most difficult part of introducing such modern ways of communication, is convincing old school teachers that it is a positive thing!
Thanks for sharing this.
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I think more teachers would be open to integrating this kind of technology if schools provided more training and support. When our district had solid training on technology it was implemented more… it’s easy for us “techy” people to take a risk with technology but for others even the idea of texting feels new age. That is awesome how you incorporate tech communication with such young students! Kudos!
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Absolutely love Remind!! It has opened so many doors for me in terms of two-way parent and family communication.
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