Remind101 | Text Message Your Class SAFELY & For FREE

Has this ever happened to you?

You assign a reading, vocabulary, a worksheet, an article, an essay for homework.  You have high expectations that all your students will come to school with that homework completed and you'll be able to discuss that work with them during class.

However, the next day arrives and only a few of your students have actually done the work.  Well, you can't move on and you can't have the discussion you prepared.  So, you spend the class period going over the homework to ensure that every student accesses the content.  Those students who did the homework are bored and not challenged and those who didn't do the homework think they got away with something.  And, you're now behind in the curriculum.

Enter Remind101.com

Remind 101

Remind 101 is a SAFE, FREE, one-way text messaging service created for teachers to communicate with students and parents.  Students don't get your phone number and you don't get theirs - SAFE.  Students can't message you back - SAFE.  It doesn't cost you a thing to sign up - FREE.  It doesn't cost your students or parents anything to sign up - FREE. 

Remind 101 is online AND it's an app on Google Play and in the App Store for Apple products.  You can send a reminder whenever and wherever. 

You can also schedule a reminder.  I know my students (I teach high school) are busy after school so I schedule my reminders to go out around 5:30 or 6pm.  This way they don't get the reminder right after school, read it and then forget about it. 

Remind 101 WORKS!

I challenged a colleague, Mr. Martin, to pilot Remind 101 in his Biology classes.  He sent out two reminders about a vocabulary assignment that was due on Friday.  One reminder went out on Wednesday and the other on Thursday.  Of the students who signed up for Remind 101, 98% of them turned in their assignment completed and on-time.  In fact, the students who didn't sign up for Remind 101 and didn't do their vocabulary assignment were "reminded" that Mr. Martin sent them a text reminder.  Here's the conversation:

Mr. Martin: Why didn't you complete your vocabulary assignment?
Student #1: I forgot.
Student #2: He sent you two text messages.  How could you forget?
Student #1: I didn't sign up for the reminders.
Student #2: Well, that's you're fault.

Class Ends

Student #1: Mr. Martin, I guess I better sign up for those text messages.
Mr. Martin: Let's get you set up.

Remind 101 allows you to communicate with your students at a place where they are already communicating.  Engage your students, support your students, remind your students!