Tech Savvy Parent/Teacher Communications

Well we have ALMOST finished the first week of school and I am one worn out mamma! 

I think that it is funny that parents have MORE homework then the kids do on the first week of school. 

You should see the paperwork! UGH! 

This year is really bringing tech savvy to a whole new level.

Tghe communication through schools are becoming easier and easier with all the advancements in technology, who else remembers notes being sent through the student or the dreaded phone calls to the teachers?

Though these are still used today (rarely) there are TONS of other ways we can now reach the girls teachers this year. 

Here's how:

Email: 

We are all pretty familiar with this I am sure.... Email addresses are given to you for all staff members and even parents of students in the student directory...

Edline: 

This is something that I used daily last year for all three of the girls and I LOVE it. Here is a little about their program. 

About Edline

Welcome to Edline, the leading provider of K-12 Web-based communication solutions.

As the industry leader for over a decade, we help over 20,000 schools and tens of millions of families succeed using innovative technologies that support learning and enable meaningful online communication and collaboration among all members of the education community.

We recently acquired SchoolWorld, SchoolFusion and SchoolCenter—three premier providers of online solutions for learning communities, as well as TeleParent—a leading provider of notification solutions. This dynamic alliance features the best of all worlds—exceptional customer support, innovative product technologies and development, and scalable system architecture—resulting in the only K-12 website platform you’ll ever need.

By bringing 21st century technology and thought leadership to learning environments everywhere, we are enabling schools and districts of all sizes to achieve real results in education. For example, over 96% of parents in Florida’s Brevard County School District believe that they are in a better position to help students thrive as a result of the district’s implementation of our LCMS technologies.

With offices across the U.S., our team of passionate professionals work together to bring K-12 schools the best possible website and communication solutions. Schedule a demo today to learn more about the new Edline!

Now that D is in Middle school she now has her own Edline account to keep in touch with her teachers and up with her assignments. SCORE! 

Remind 101:

This is a new program and I have to say that I am LOVING it! What parent Mom is not obsessed up to speed with text messaging. This is a great way for teachers to send out texts messages to students and parents. I have received 5 so far this week which isn't bad because D has 7 teachers Lo has 2 and Boo has 1...  

Some of the text messages I have received told me that my 1st grader had an AMAZING first day! Last night I received that her homework was due today, and that the band supply list would be coming home today and told us what they covered this week in band. 

These text messages came in while I was cooking dinner, folding clothes and playing Skip-Bo with the girls. So much better than being interrupted my phone calls all night! 

Here is more about them! 

Our story

We believe great education is the first step to solving many of the world's most pressing problems. Our purpose is to build products to make it easier for teachers to provide that education.

Remind101 was built, in conjunction with educators, to solve communication obstacles between teachers, students and parents. Across all grade levels and institution types, Remind101 is a safe and simple communication solution to help teachers extend their classrooms.

Teachers are busy. Our mission is to make tools that are simple to use, but highly effective. Signing up takes less than two minutes on the website, iPhone app or Android app, and it only takes seconds for students or parents to join a class. Safety is a primary feature: teachers never see students/parents phone numbers, nor will students/parents see theirs.

The connected classroom is rapidly evolving. Remind101 helps innovative teachers take advantage of technology in a way that frees up their time to focus on what they do best: teach.

Class Dojo:

So I am not 100% sure what this one is all about yet. D came home and we downloaded the apps to our cell phones. Her app will not work because she is a student. And mine really shows nothing at this point, but we are only 4 days into school... So we shall see more about this one later. 

She did have to deign her own Avatar for this page as homework, She 

receives points and I can check on her points earned. Only one of her classes uses this so I am excited to see the benefits of this. But in the mean time here is more about Class Dojo.

ClassDojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It also captures and generates data on behavior that teachers can share with parents and administrators

Better learning behaviors, smoother lessons and hassle-free data - and its free!

With all of these communication outlets it is no wonder that a simple note or call is fading fast!

I do like that the students are able to have their own communication lines with their teachers with the remind 101 and edline plus they could even email them on their own terms.

D's school is part of the BOYD (Bring Your Own Device) program to where this allows your student to bring the following t school under strict guidelines;

Laptops, netbooks, iPods, iPads, cellphones, etc. 

I remember when bringing a pager to school was a BIG deal.... How times have changed!

How does your school communicate to you and your students? I would love to hear. :)