We all know Remind as a safe way for teachers to send one-way messages to students and parents. It’s been great for sending assignment reminders, schedule changes, motivational messages, and more! However, what was missing was the ability to bridge the gap and bring conversation full circle to include students’ and parents’ voices.
Introducing two-way messaging on mobile for can be tricky, because teachers need messaging to be safe when communicating with minors and parents, and many don’t want to have to manage incoming text messages from their entire class! A balance of professional and personal life is key, and keeping personal contact information private helps manage this.
The announcement of Remind Chat addresses all of these concerns, while enabling powerful two-way conversation among teachers, students, and parents. Some of the highlights of Remind Chat include: - Office hours: Teachers can set Office Hours of when two-way conversations are available with students and parents.
- Message transcript history: A complete message transcript history is recorded of all conversations. This can be helpful to present to administrators or parents for review.
- Flagging features: Users can flag and report any inappropriate language.
Building Community and Digital Citizenship
Using mobile communication to build school community and facilitate learning brings an opportunity to teach digital citizenship. Students use texting as a social activity, but it can also be practice to build a positive digital footprint. Try out some of these resources to use mobile devices to facilitate digital leadership:
Remind has partnered with Common Sense Media to create a Digital Citizenship Starter Kit for all schools to download and use with teachers, students, and parents. The kit contains one week’s worth of content, activities, and tips to help introduce all users to Remind’s two-way Chat while communicating the importance of safe digital communication.Take a look at these teachers’ perspectives and activities including: Remind has also developed Community Guidelines to help schools use the service safely and effectively. Also, check out their blog post to find out more around their dedication to safety.
Get on The Wait List
Remind Chat will be available soon, but they’re giving first access to accounts that are on the Wait List! It’s filling up fast, so be sure to sign up.
For more great resources and support from the Remind team, you can always get in touch with them on Twitter or Facebook.
