In a world that is centered around technology and the media available through the use of this technology, finding a web 2.0 tool that can be useful in the classroom can be challenging. However, it is also necessary because the parents of the students you are teaching (as well as the students, depending on the age) are already using these tools and expect you as their teacher to use them also.
The web 2.0 tool that I chose to research is Remind (previously Remind 101) because I fell in love with this web 2.0 tool while on my first practicum placement in an FDK classroom. What is Remind you ask? Well, Remind is an app you can download on your smart phone or you can simply go to www.remind.com and subscribe to the particular teacher's classroom and receive email and text notifications, reminders, and updates. This is a secure connection that allows the teacher, DECE, or EA to message the parents of every student (if they have signed up to participate) at once and that message is automatically delivered to the email or text message inbox. This alleviates any of the need for sending notes home and having them get lost or go unseen. With parents being as busy as they are, they appreciate the short , simple, and fast delivery of these updates. Another cool feature of Remind is that you can reply to the text message you received and it will be delivered privately to the sender so you can have a private chat without ever having to exchange phone numbers or personal emails.
Remind has a very thorough and strict policy in regards to user agreement and privacy settings. In order to sign up for Remind you must be 18 years of age or older, or have parental consent. Just like with any other web 2.0 tool it is essential that the user agreement and the privacy policy are read thoroughly in order to know what you are consenting to. For example, by agreeing to Remind's user agreement you are agreeing to have your data sent and analyzed by the US. Furthermore, once you remove your information or your data any once published information may still be viewed in cached or archived pages. It is important to also be aware of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act when using Remind. These user agreements and privacy policy guidelines are similar to those of many other web 2.0 tools and do not pose a threat to the students, teachers, or members using Remind.
Who can use Remind? Well, Remind is designed to be used by any school staff, teachers, other educators, and parents. It is simple to understand, use, and implement and is very user friendly. Remind would be used in my personal classroom to avoid the use of notes home and to remind busy parents of important information such as picture day, field trips, assemblies, spirit days. This adds value to my digital presence because it allows me to be easily accessible, be connected to my student's parents, and ensure parent's are involved in the day to day of my student's classroom lives. When using this software in my own classroom, my main concern would be what data is being collected and analyzed and why is it being analyzed. I would also want to ensure that it would be entirely safe to release classroom information on Remind before ever doing so to ensure that my students were safe.
As an educator the challenging aspect will be the fact that not all parents will nessecarily want to subscribe or sign up. Also, a challenge may be setting boundaries to ensure parents are not messaging at all hours and through the weekend.
Whenever I gain my own classroom I will open a Remind account and I will implement it because I find this app to be so incredibly easy to use, convenient, and professional while also entirely transparent. It will allow me to easily update the parents of my student's and will also let them see what their students are doing in class daily.
The web 2.0 tool that I chose to research is Remind (previously Remind 101) because I fell in love with this web 2.0 tool while on my first practicum placement in an FDK classroom. What is Remind you ask? Well, Remind is an app you can download on your smart phone or you can simply go to www.remind.com and subscribe to the particular teacher's classroom and receive email and text notifications, reminders, and updates. This is a secure connection that allows the teacher, DECE, or EA to message the parents of every student (if they have signed up to participate) at once and that message is automatically delivered to the email or text message inbox. This alleviates any of the need for sending notes home and having them get lost or go unseen. With parents being as busy as they are, they appreciate the short , simple, and fast delivery of these updates. Another cool feature of Remind is that you can reply to the text message you received and it will be delivered privately to the sender so you can have a private chat without ever having to exchange phone numbers or personal emails.
Remind has a very thorough and strict policy in regards to user agreement and privacy settings. In order to sign up for Remind you must be 18 years of age or older, or have parental consent. Just like with any other web 2.0 tool it is essential that the user agreement and the privacy policy are read thoroughly in order to know what you are consenting to. For example, by agreeing to Remind's user agreement you are agreeing to have your data sent and analyzed by the US. Furthermore, once you remove your information or your data any once published information may still be viewed in cached or archived pages. It is important to also be aware of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act when using Remind. These user agreements and privacy policy guidelines are similar to those of many other web 2.0 tools and do not pose a threat to the students, teachers, or members using Remind.
Who can use Remind? Well, Remind is designed to be used by any school staff, teachers, other educators, and parents. It is simple to understand, use, and implement and is very user friendly. Remind would be used in my personal classroom to avoid the use of notes home and to remind busy parents of important information such as picture day, field trips, assemblies, spirit days. This adds value to my digital presence because it allows me to be easily accessible, be connected to my student's parents, and ensure parent's are involved in the day to day of my student's classroom lives. When using this software in my own classroom, my main concern would be what data is being collected and analyzed and why is it being analyzed. I would also want to ensure that it would be entirely safe to release classroom information on Remind before ever doing so to ensure that my students were safe.
As an educator the challenging aspect will be the fact that not all parents will nessecarily want to subscribe or sign up. Also, a challenge may be setting boundaries to ensure parents are not messaging at all hours and through the weekend.
Whenever I gain my own classroom I will open a Remind account and I will implement it because I find this app to be so incredibly easy to use, convenient, and professional while also entirely transparent. It will allow me to easily update the parents of my student's and will also let them see what their students are doing in class daily.