Using Remind to Communicate with Parents and Students

Our school has a pretty big problem with parent engagement.  We were actually happy with the increase in attendance at parent/teacher interview night this semester to a total of 14 parents!  This was up from last year's total of 6.  Granted we only have 185 students, and our parents live in 5 surrounding communities, but this turn-out is pretty shameful.

What can we do?  I think if we all used the Remind App

 to stay in touch with parents, they would feel more comfortable coming in to speak with us.  We could promote the night effectively by sending the reminder directly to their phones, we could give them hints about what they could discuss with us, what we would like to discuss with them etc.  If they understood the value of coming in maybe they would make the effort.

My daughter's teacher just started using it and I already love being on the receiving end.  She sends photos of notes coming home so that we know to expect them, she let me know that my daughter was going to be getting the Student of the Month Award so that one of us could plan to be there, she reminded us that Friday was a PD day.  It's that little extra connection directly to my phone as opposed to on the Facebook page or on a missing note or a website that I have to remember to check.

Click the following link to see how one teacher uses Remind to keep in touch with parents and student and how she links it to her other digital communication tools such as class blog, class website, school newsletter, board website and more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya-Ft2BMNnQ

Teachers can message specific students with links to items of interest for their inquiry projects, or share a photo of board notes or brainstorming sessions students may miss when they are absent.  Much more convenient than uploading to a class website or blog or D2L.  It keeps everyone aware and accountable for what is expected in class and only those who need the information, get the information.

I can:

•  translate my messages to other languages using Google Translate.
• record a voice message for a more personal touch.  
• send a video or picture of class room activities (with permission of course)
• direct parents to our school Facebook page or Website to see videos, pictures, posters, sports day schedules that are posted there.
• and all of this without collecting or giving out any phone numbers or email addresses!

  I am excited to start using this amazing app with my students and parents.  I am thinking about challenging other staff members to see who can entice the most parents to come in for interviews next semester.

The biggest hurdle I can see is getting parents to sign up.  Secondary parents often do not read all of the paperwork sent home by the school and do not take as active an interest in their child's school life as they do when students are in elementary school.  It is also difficult to convince a teenager that it is a good thing for their parents to be informed about things going on at school!  If anyone has suggestions to get students and parents to "buy in" to the process, feel free to comment!

My Thoughts on Blended Learning and Flipped Classrooms

I am a relative newcomer to blended learning and have not really engaged in a true flipped classroom. In my mind, blended learning is incorporating technology into a classroom as a means of providing content, posting assignments, sharing ideas and providing feedback (both peer and teacher).  It can take many forms from use of  social media, class blogs, YouTube channels, Twitter backchannels, Wikki spaces, google classroom, one-note, the list goes on and on.  Once you incorporate blended learning in the classroom on a regular basis, it becomes possible to explore the practice of "flipping" your classroom, so students can become familiar with course content through readings or video lessons posted online while at home, and then classroom time can be spent on practicing concepts/skills and consolidating knowledge.

This post will be an evaluation of whether blended learning and the "flipped" classroom will:

• help teachers differentiate their instruction?
• allow students to use inquiry-based learning and guide their own learning?
• help create an environmentally responsible classroom?
• allow students to connect with their learning and draw on previous knowledge?

I have found that blended learning is a fantastic way to differentiate instruction to ensure all students have an entry point into the learning.  For example, the Career Studies Course on the OERB has audio files for students to play for all of the pages in the course material.  It also has interactive activities/quizzes/tutorials that allow students apply what they are learning in an engaging way.  Any online platform would allow for text to speech and speech to text apps to be incorporated to help the struggling reader or writer, translation apps can help the user if English is not their first language.  Course materials can be posted in video form, written form, music can be added, visuals are in colour and can be magnified, links to other websites can be added to engage a variety of learning styles.  I also have a student with low vision and he is able to magnify everything on screen until it is large enough for him to see it.  

Blended learning definitely allows students to use inquiry based learning as there is the opportunity access a whole world of information, collaboration, and expression when you work online.  The resources at the students’ fingertips are limited only by their imaginations.  Every student can be exploring their own topic and producing unique work taking a variety of forms.  

Of course the classroom becomes more environmentally responsible as learning materials are online instead of on paper, assignments are posted there so students do not need paper (or several copies of the same paper because they lose them), etc.  Assignments are submitted on-line, feedback is given digitally, and then students make revisions and resubmit the final draft all without printing a single copy off.

Students are much more able to connect with their learning and draw on previous knowledge.  Course materials, content, discussions, student work, etc. is always available to see and use at any time during the year.  Students and teachers have access to work completed earlier in the year so they can both reflect on what they have all learned and how that can help with future learning.  Students are notorious for not keeping their work once the unit test is over, then having nothing to use to study for final exams or culminating activities.  Blended learning ensures that there is a digital portforlio of work saved in the student’s account, no matter what platform you use.

As for the concept of the flipped classroom, my colleagues who have tried it, find that students do not spend the time required at home watching the videos or doing the posted readings.  It is really just a teched-up version of assigning reading to do for homework so that the class can discuss and work with the material the next day.  Students seem to be less inclined than ever to do anything for school while at home, so in this way, it is a struggle.  It is very time consuming to create videos for every lesson and if students aren’t watching them at home then the teacher might as well teach the lesson in class.  However, it is useful for students who are away from class to have the benefit of viewing lessons at home so they do not fall behind.  The videos can also be viewed multiple times for students who take a little longer to process information.

The biggest drawback to any use of tech in the classroom is that the internet connection is not always reliable in our schools and hardware is not always available.  With every teacher getting on the blended learning bandwagon we do not have the number of devices nor the bandwidth to keep up with the demand.  I could go on and on about this frustration but I am out of words!

Until next time!
Erin