Christa Marsh Southern Arkansas University Biology Professor

  Students and parents alike have all moved into the digital age  Digital communication is much more efficient and easier to use than regular paper reminders  Quicker than getting paper reminders to parents and students  More reliable!  We have to go where they are! The Need for Digital Communication

 As of 2015:  68% of American adults have a smartphone  19% of American adults own an e-reader  45% of American adults own a tablet computer  ology-device-ownership-2015/ Statistics

  Website or app can be used  You have the students text or to a “number” that you are assigned when you get a Remind account  They are then enrolled in your class  No phone numbers have to be exchanged  One message can be sent all at one time  Students can’t respond to the text but still receive the information  New Chat Option Remind

  Student reminders: test reminders, homework reminders or new information that wasn’t given in class  Parent reminders: conferences, open house, due dates, tests or other important information the parents need to know  Teacher Reminders: For administrators to use to let all of the teachers know about school being cancelled, or other last minute reminders. Uses for Remind

  Let’s make a TICAL class  Sign up via text message or  Respond to the text message or  Wait for a reminder! Let’s Try it Out!

  Go to  Explore the website  Sign up for an account  Make a class  See how easy it is? Make your own Remind

 In What Ways do you think you might use Remind?

 Do any of you or your schools use Remind?

  Journaling for the classroom.  Each child has their own journal.  They choose their name and post something.  They can post links, pictures, notes, etc.   The parents can join to see their child’s journal  Teacher can post things to all kids journals as well Seesaw

  Interactive tool that can not only be used to communicate with parents and students, but also can be used as a behavior tool in the classroom.  Website or app can be used  There is a parent/teacher app and a student app  You make a class and then add students names  Print outs can be done to send home with the kids to show parents how to sign in to see their kids information Class Dojo

  Q#action=share Q#action=share Class Dojo Video

  Class Dojo app  Website:  You create your class and add the names of your students  Then you can print out codes to send home with the kids to have the parents sign up to be able to see their children’s scores  Specialized positives and negatives can be created according to your needs. Teacher Class Dojo

  As the teacher conducts class, you can have Class Dojo up and give points for good behavior and take away for bad behavior  As students realize points are being given for good behavior it becomes contagious!  Attendance can also be taken in Class Dojo  Timer feature to keep them on task  Random feature so they know they can be called on at any time to check their behavior  Individual or Class reports can be seen. Teacher Class Dojo

  Students can also be given a code to sign in at home to their Class Dojo.  They can then see their report for the day and/or week  They can also change their monster up any way they want to  Makes it fun for the students Class Dojo Student

  Multiple students can be added to the account  You can see what your child has done for the day and/or week  It send you notifications when your child’s report has been updated  Great way to keep track of your child’s behavior in the classroom Class Dojo Parent

  Easy to make  This is where your students are!  Intended for use OUTSIDE the classroom  Reminders for tests, study sessions, etc.  A place where students can ask other students questions about hard topics in class  Gets students that normally wouldn’t talk to communicate Facebook Groups

  On left hand side of your Facebook home screen there is a Create Group option  You then name your group  Closed, Open, or Secret  Must at least add one person to the group to create it besides the creator of the group.  How to Make a Facebook Group

  Members can also post as well as the creator of the group  Quick and easy communication  Don’t have to “friend” your students but this way you can still send out reminders to them about class  The reminders you post on the group page will show up in their news feed if they are a member of the group  The creator of the group has to approve members if it is setup that way Advantages of Facebook Groups

  Anatomy and Physiology SAU classes  SAU Biology Club  SAU Fishing Club Facebook Group Examples

  Used for schools, business, organizations, etc.  Anyone can like the page and get the information in their newsfeed  Anyone can post on the page  Not as personal as a group Facebook Pages

  Click on the Create a Page tab  Left hand side of your Facebook Home screen  Come up with a name and description  Then people can “like” your page! How to Create a Facebook Page

  A larger audience  No approval on people “liking” the page Facebook Pages Advantages

  Southern Arkansas University College of Science and Technology  Public School example Facebook Page Examples

  Application or Website options  A way to communicate with parents and students  Easy to use and free!  Watch the video  Class Messenger by Scholastic

  Go to  Messages can be sent to the parents and students via mobile device or  You can have them add the class or just sign them up yourself  They can also get messages by downloading the app on the iPhone or iPad How do I start using Class Messenger?

  Can send messages to just students, just parents or both!  Can send general, homework, reminder, donate, volunteer, survey or meet with me messages  You can ask for volunteers and then the parents can sign up for a certain event  You can also survey the parents or students to get feedback Features of Class Messenger

  Students can respond to the teachers post as well.  Documents, pictures, etc can be added to the posts.  Such a helpful tool to communicate digitally with the parents and the students! Continued Features of Class Messenger

  Go to the website  It allows you to chat with multiple people at one time.  You can log in with facebook or with an account you set up.  You add people that are on Group Me.  Parents would have to be on Group Me to be in the conversation. Group Me

   Free one on the internet  Also can purchase an app to do it as well QR Code Creator

  Free apps available to read QR codes  Most people with smart phones will have one  Can send home any website you would like for parents or students to look at by using the QR code so they can just scan it in  Also could use for lessons to have or the kids to scan. QR Reader

  Find a QR code reader if you have smart phone  Or I will show you with my phone. QR Code TEST

  All of these resources are free and easy ways to communicate with your parents.  Anything we can do as teachers and administrators to communicate with the parents and students outside of the classroom is very valuable.  We can’t reach them all but the more ways we try the more likely we are to succeed! Conclusion

  Any ways that you use technology to communicate to teachers in the classroom that you would like to share?  Questions or Comments about today’s presentation? Questions or Comments?

  Christa Marsh  Assistant Professor of Biology  Southern Arkansas University  or  Contact Information