Remind 101 is now "Remind" and is more AWESOME than ever!

A couple of months ago, Remind 101 (one of my favorite teaching tools) became Remind. Then they updated their app and website with more amazing features that make it much more than a way to send quick text reminders to students and parents.

If you are new to Remind, here's a short overview of the key features:

• Remind lets you connect with students or parents quickly and safely.
• Students sign up to get communications from you (the teacher) and they never see your phone number and you never see theirs.
• Recipients of your messages can't respond to you directly via text message.
• Messages can be sent via SMS text message, email or through the app (more on that below.)
• You can schedule messages. Do you have a test in 3 weeks? You can prepare messages with the info about the test and schedule them to be received when it is relevant to your students.
• Remind is FREE!

You can check out their website to learn more: remind.com/learn-more

Those are the basics, now for the really cool things you can do with Remind.

Teacher Setup:
You can create a new account and your first class from the App (Android and iOS) or from their website: www.remind.com. You give your class a name and then you are assigned (or if you create additional classes, you can choose) a class code. This is the code students and parents will use to register for your class messages.

Student and Parent Sign Up:

Once your class is created, you are ready to add the people who will receive your messages. Remind makes it easy and gives you a PDF flyer you can send home or post in class to help people sign up.

You can also have people sign up for your messages by having them download the Remind app and add your class using your class enrollment code. This is my new favorite way to use Remind, because there is added functionality in the app that makes this new version of Remind much more than a messaging app.

Student or parents who are using the app to follow your messages, can respond to your messages by clicking one of four icons (Remind calls these "stamps"):

There are four stamps and how you use them is up to you and their meaning may vary depending on the context of your message. Typically the star would mean a favorite, the green check would mean I have received this or I agree. The red X would mean I disagree or don't like this. And the question mark means I don't understand understand or I have a question about this/can we discuss this in class?

Students do see how many stamps of each type are shared by other recipients, but they don't see any names associated with each stamp. Teachers can see the names of students or parents and the stamps that they assigned to your message. In this way teachers could conduct quick polls or surveys of their students, check students preparedness for a test, or discover which parents received the letter or homework sent home that day. There are lots of options with these and it's one of my favorite new features of Remind, so have some fun with this.

Teachers can also see how their students or parents are signing up for Remind. The easiest way to view this is through the user dashboard on the Remind website: dashboard.remind.com. Select the class you would like to check and look for the subscribers list at the right of your screen. There  you will see the names of the subscribers and their chosen method(s) for receiving your messages.

Sending Messages:

Now that everything is set up and you have students and parents enrolled in your class, you are ready to begin sending messages. You can do this easily from the app or via your user dashboard on the website. Just select the class or the students you would like to send a message to (if you select individual users, you must select at least 3).

In the app or on the website, you can attach files (photos only from the app) or schedule your message to be sent to students at a later date. You are limited to 140 characters for your message, so keep it short and to the point.

From the app, you can now send voice memos to your students so they can hear your voice delivering instructions or asking questions. The voice recording is limited to 15 seconds and you don't have to take the full time if you don't need to.

What Else Can Remind Do?
As great as Remind is for connecting with students and parents, it can also be used for professional development, faculty meetings and other professional uses. One really cool idea that I just heard about was a sort of micro MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) being run by Angela Maiers. Last month she announced a #YouMatter class that she would be running on Remind. I signed up and since that time, I have received dozens of great tips and advice on how to create a school culture where students and teachers believe that what they do matters. If you want to join her class, you can follow the instructions on her website, or simply enter the code @YouMat into your Remind app.

Inspired by this great work, I have also started a Remind class. I will share regular ed tech tips and ideas with subscribers, conduct regular polls through the app, and encourage discussion via twitter.

To join my Ed Tech Tips class and play along, follow these steps:

• Download the Remind app for iOS (iPhone) or Android.
• Search for our class by tapping the “+” next to “My classes.”
• Enter @EdTechTips and sign up.
• No smartphone? Text @EdTechTips to (302) 536-2705 and follow the instructions.
• You can also visit remind.com/join/edtechtips and enter in your phone number to sign up.

Remind is a fantastic app and with the new updates and upgrades, it just keeps getting better. Let me know what you think in the comments below or on twitter @wardjhs #edtechtips.

-Jared.

Technology Use and Driving

As kids are headed back to school this year, the roads will be busier with new and inexperienced drivers. Utah State Law provides guidelines for teenage drivers. Click here for Utah's Teen Drivers Guide.   These drivers are also likely to fall into the category of kids who have access to technology. In addition to basic diving rules, it is important to set expectations for responsible use of technology in car for kids and teenagers, whether they the driver or the passenger.  A few tips and reminders listed here, are a good place to start.

• Wear safety belt, follow driving and traffic laws and obey signs.
• No cell phone use while driving: this includes talking and texting.
• Limit cell phone use while riding as the passenger in a teenage driver's vehicle. This will limit the distraction to the new driver.
• Lower the volume on the radio and music. Be aware of emergency vehicles and limit distractions.
• Limit nighttime driving.  Utah Law states that teen drivers under 17, may not drive between Midnight and 5 a.m. (See exceptions)
• Parents: Be a good example while you are driving and your teenager will be more likely to follow your rules and expectations.

An example of a Parent/Teen Driving Agreement can be found here and is provided by the National Safety Council.  

Teachers, What Will You Learn This Summer?

Well here it is, the year is winding down. That summer vacation for teachers is around the corner. You know that break the teachers get so that they enjoy all that money that they've made over the past year. Imagine it, the whole summer to yourself. Although, we know that's not what really happens. As a teacher you will spend your summer getting ready for the next school year, in fact you've probably been doing that for the past month. Sure, you'll take some time off relax but more than likely you'll spend a lot of your summer getting ready for your next class or classes of students. Many of you will take some sort of professional development. You will learn about new programs, new ways to teach, etc. Some of the PD you take maybe what you want some may be what you're expected to take, but let me talk about a way that you can get PD on what you want at any time.

I have used Twitter for my professional learning for about eight years now. Twitter allows me to ask questions of other teachers, share what I'm learning with other teachers, and make acquaintances all over the world in the field of education. You may say that's easy for you, you're a technology guy, but really twitter is a pretty easy tool. If I could get you to learn one thing this summer it would be how to use Twitter to get timely information that you can use.

There are a lot of using Twitter guides out there, so I am not going to create my own. I will however in this post share some of the better guides that I think are out there. One of the most important things you can learn about Twitter is the use of the hashtag. The hashtag is a way to keep similar information together on Twitter. For example, if you follow or you search for the hashtag #edchat, all through the week you will find teachers and others from around the country and around the world talking about educational matters.

We even have a local edchat using the hashtag #utedchat. This chat primarily takes place on Wednesday evening between 9 and 10 PM, although you can post items using that hashtag at anytime. So feel free to join with other educators across the state on Wednesdays and about what is going on in other areas of the state.

Now here are those Twitter guides I promised.

KQED Guide to Using Twitter in Your Teaching Practice

Twitter for Educators, A Beginner's Guide  This is a PDF that will download and you can read it offline.

The Complete Guide to Twitter Hashtags for Education

Have a great summer, and I look forward to seeing you next school year.

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere allows an educator (or anyone for that matter) to create a poll where the audience can participate in real time.  When creating a poll, you type the question you want to ask in the poll creator, choose what kind of poll you want to create, and then click on create.  The types of polls that can be created are true/false, multiple choice, free response, "clickable" images, discourse and you also have the option to generate a "creative" poll. Any device a teacher or student can text from is how answers are submitted.  Using a web browser is also another option to submit answers if "texting" is not available. Poll results can be displayed from any web browser, presented as part of a powerpoint or keynote presentation, or embedded into a webpage.  Results can also be published from Facebook and Twitter.  

There is a Basic K-12 account that is free.  Some of the features include 40 student responses per poll that is created, the poll can be embedded into a powerpoint, and unlimited number of classes can participate.  There is a $50.00 yearly premium account that is an option if Poll Everywhere is used  daily in the classroom.  There is an institution wide plan for $500.00.  Here is a look at the different K-12 plans.

Give Poll Everywhere a try with your classroom today.  Your students will be engaged in your question and curious about the responses to your poll.

Social:
Facebook:  Poll Everywhere
Pinterest:  Poll Everywhere
Twitter: @polleverywhere

Why aren't you connecting?

I'm going to do a brief review of a cool new app that I found out about yesterday. First I want to talk about how I found it. If you know our department, you will know that we are big users and promoters of Twitter. We don't watch our twitter feeds all day, but when we have a chance we'll watch the feed for a few minutes to see what is happening out there. Yesterday I was watching my feed and saw a couple of pictures and mentions of something called ChromVille. Not knowing what it was I did a quick search online and found out.

ChromVille is an augmented reality app. Click on the link for a definition of what it is. In the case of ChromVille what it does is it lets you print out a blackline sheet that you can then have students color. There are 5 different scenarios (villages) that you can download sheets from. You then download the ChromVille App. In the app you select the village that matches the sheet the student colored. You hold your iPad over the sheet until it reads the paper correctly, then the characters and artifacts on the page pop up in 3D. You can then rotate the paper and see the items from different points of view. Here is an example of what it looks like.

Here is the official how to use Chromville video.

How to use Chromville app from Chromville on Vimeo.

So Chromville is pretty cool. It really isn't the point of the message. The point is that I found it because I am involved with the global education community on Twitter and other places. You may say, "well I don't have time for that!" If you could make finds like Chromville and really important things, isn't it worth investing a little time everyday. I believe it is, for all of us. If you aren't on Twitter and want to know more, contact your EdTech.

App Feature: Red Stamp

Red Stamp is one of my favorite apps for creating beautiful birthday cards, thank you notes, invitations, letters, and more!  The app is free and does not require a login to create or send notes via email, text, tweet, Facebook or Instagram.  Red Stamp will even print and mail your cards for you (login and payment required)!  Some templates even allow pictures!

Ways to use Red Stamp in the classroom:

• Inform parents of upcoming events
• Thank you notes to students for a job well done
• Student Spotlights
• Introduce yourself to parents/faculty
• Class party invitations
• Class Posters

Templates are organized into categories on the main page and then subcategories on the next page.

There are over 600 designs to choose from and each design comes in several different color options.

You might even recognize some of these flyers hanging around your school!

 Try Red Stamp for free today!

Podcasts: Expanding Your PLN

Have you ever heard of a Podcast? Do you know what it is? Have you listened or watched one? Well, if you haven’t heard about them, then this is your opportunity to learn. Podcasts are either audio or video and they tell a story or give you information. Most are based on a subject. People who have their own podcast usually love what they do or want to help other people learn more about their interest.

I listen to them to learn more about the subject that they are about. I listen to a few Mac Podcasts. Some are teaching me new things about the mac and others are about Mac news. One is daily but most of them are weekly. They range in length from 15 minutes to 2 hours each podcast.

I enjoy listening to them. They are all part of my PLN. I learn a lot of new things from them. Here are a few that I listen to: Mac Power Users, For Mac Eyes Only, Mac OS Ken, and Today in IOS are my Mac Podcast and I found them on iTunes. I also found one that I enjoy listening to just for fun. I’m a Star Trek fan and this podcast is starting at the very beginning of the first series and talking about each episode. It is called Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast.

There are Podcasts about any subject that you are interested in or want to learn about. I hope that you will look into them and start learning.

Ross

Vine in the Classroom? Really?

Vine is an app used by smartphones and tablets created by Twitter that allows you to create, record, and post a short six-second (that's it) video clip that can be shared via Twitter and Facebook.  It's free, simple to use, and students, not to mention teachers, can have fun creating these short videos.  Video and audio is recorded by tapping the screen and when you lift up your finger, it stops recording.  Teachers have had students create projects using Vine and it has been amazing to watch the creativity that stems from students.  Some of the ideas I have seen for using Vine in the Classroom are:

• Using Vine in the Science Labs
• Video Pen Pals
• Class Book Reviews
• Simple How-Tos
• Teachers or students can announce homework on a class blog or web site
• Book Trailers

These ideas are just a few.  How can you see using Vine in the classroom? 

Check out the following site below.  Under Four Great Ideas Fresh Off the Vine, there are some great examples of Vine created videos for Education.

 Five-Minute Film Festival: Vine and Instagram Video in the Classroom  Edutopia, 9-27-2013.