Getting in Touch

I sit in my classroom and view my students.  More of them than not have their heads huddled over a mobile device--their own or a friend's.  In just a few moments they'll be cued to put them away, out of sight and mind while we get down to business.  I realize the irony of that statement even as it plays out in my classroom day after day.  I need a way to connect to them via that little gadget that is an extension of their very selves.  

This is exactly what I feel like I am driving my students to when I tell them to put away their mobiles!

My first effort was a Twitter incentive.  I created a Twitter account just so I could communicate with students and parents.  I was excited because I could send motivating tweets, homework reminders, and incorporate scavenger hunt type activities in the classroom.  My very first announcement in my very first class received this response:

"You have to be kidding, right?!  That is the lamest attempt to gain followers of anything I ever heard.  Ain't no way I am following you."  Plentiful giggling ensued, but none of it was mine...

Those words seem to have been prophetic because though I persisted, that was a true sentiment felt on behalf of my students.  I kept looking because I really wanted full buy-in by my student body.  I was reaching some, but I needed to reach them all.  

My answer came in a handy app called Remind (formerly Remind 101).  You can join here by logging in with your own Google account: Remind

This has been a fantastic service!  I display the QR Code or Classroom code to students in class.  They simply send a text to join the class (or scan the QR code).  Students do not have to download the app! They simply follow the prompts from the accompanying text messages, then they are all set to receive messages from me--and no one has exchanged numbers or information!  I create a separate group for parents so I can contact them on issues relative to parents but not students.  (Yes, I do also encourage parents to join their child's class so they can see what is being sent to students, too.)  

Here's a clue:  I can schedule messages to go out to my classes.  When my brain finally slows down at 10:00 P.M. or later, that is too late to send messages to students.  5:30 A.M. is similarly so!  The scheduling feature allows me to program messages to push out to my classes at specified 'appropriate' times.  

I am finally connected to my students via their devices and so far the results are promising!