Remind App

I was introduced to 'Remind' while chatting to a coworker about cool phone apps to use in my everyday teaching. I value having informal conversations with coworkers as they help drive my passion and provide tips/feedback to improve my teaching practice. Plus it's great for my wellbeing.

Remind has been a life saver for my students. I often send out reminders to students. Being an Art teacher, I like to share photos for inspiration and to give one on one feedback to students. It has made communication easier.

70% of public schools in U.S use Remind. I'm not sure what our stats are in Australia. It will be interesting to know how many Australian teachers use this app. My favourite apps for teaching include: Remind, Pinterest, Canva, Scannable and Charades for games.

You can download Remind on both Iphones and Andriod phones. Once downloaded you can create a class. I have only asked my Senior Year 11 students to download the app. Once downloaded, they need the classroom code to join into your class. The great thing about Remind is that the students can contact you without knowing your number and vice versa. It protects both parties.

Above; Screenshot of my Remind classes.

Above: Screenshot of my class announcements. It tells you how many students have actually opened and viewed the message. I have a class of 23 students. 18 of the students have downloaded the app. Another 5 have no data or trouble finding space on their phone. It is not mandatory for them to download this app. I give them the option.

Above: I love sending photos out! Photos speak louder than words.

Here are some reasons why you should use Remind:

My students have been using it sensibly. I only receive messages from them regarding about their classwork or assessment tasks. If I was to use this with my junior classes, I can imagine a handful of students using it as a way to draw attention. I also discovered that students under the age of 13 need parental approval to download the app. 

Besides making class announcements on Remind, I can have one on one conversations with students. Here are some screenshots of our one on one conversations:

Above: A student wanted me to have a look at a draft version of her assessment task. With this Remind app, I did not have to waste time and wait for the next lesson to provide her with feedback.

Above: I provided a student with inspiration for her artwork. She is focusing on the baseball mitt as part of her body of work. This is a composition that she has not yet considered.

Above: I have been providing each student with some inspiration for their artworks. They have been advised in the whole group chat to use Pinterest as a way to get ideas.

Above: Reminding students to use my study notes.

Above: It is also great to show some TLC with students. Some students are working really hard and I am always grateful to have them in the classroom.

Above: Remind really helps put students at ease as I am able to give feedback even when I am not physically there with them.