Tech Tool Tuesday: REMIND 101

October is all about parent communication around Emerson, with the opening of the Parent Portal and Parent Conferences.  The Board of Education has also made communication one of the district's goals.  Many of us are looking for quick and easy ways to get class information out to parents (and students).

 Last week, I showed you a quick way to send a mass email through Powerschool.  However, not every parent checks their email all the time, especially if it is sent to an account that is full of advertisements and spam.  Nowadays, many more people turn to text messages delivered right to their mobile phone screen to get information. Certainly, that is the preferred mode of communication of our students.  

Now, there is a FREE and easy way to text parents (and students, if you choose) without ever having to share your personal phone number or even have them share their number with you.  It is called REMIND 101.  Basically, teachers set up an account and create a class.  They print out the pre-made poster giving the parents an access code and walking them through the sign-up process.  (It could even be a posted outside your conference room door to get them to sign up while they are waiting for their conference time.)  Students can also sign up to receive text messages to their cell phone, without ever having to share their number with you or vice versa. 

The Sugar Gliders have been using REMIND 101 with great success.  Examples of messages they have sent out were to let parents know that the parent portal letter was coming home and to look for the pre-conference questionnaire.  You could also use it to remind parents about field trips, remind them to check the parent portal when you have updated grades or even to share positive news.  

CLICK HERE TO SET UP A REMIND101 ACCOUNT.

Watch the short video below for more information.  Let me know if you want my help to get it up and running.

 

Minute Trick Monday: PowerGrade Parent Email

This week, all Emerson parents and students will be given access to the Parent Portal.  The great part about this tool is that it creates transparency for the parents and students to know where they stand in any given class on any given day.

However, we know that there is a lot about what is going on in our class that a Gradebook snapshot can't show.  Sending an email message out to an individual parent or all your parents is a great way to keep them feel more connected to what is really happening.

Fortunately, PowerSchool makes it easy to send an email to an individual parent, a group of parents, or even every parent on your caseload right from inside your Gradebook!  It is as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Launch your Gradebook.

2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Email Students and Parents."

3. Follow the directions on the screen. *

  

Hint: You may want to compose the message in Word or Google first. Once you have edited it, copy and paste the message into the appropriate window. Selecting the email addresses last will prevent accidentally sending the message before you are ready.

To learn more, check out the PowerSchool page on my ITC site.

CHALLENGE: For those of you who have been asking how to access these email addresses through Gmail:

1. Follow the Powerschool Startup Directions to export student names and guardian emails from your Gradebook.
2. On the CSV file, delete the entire Section Name row.  In the new header row, change "Student Name" to "Name" and "Guardian Email" to "Email."
3.  Follow the Google directions to import contacts from the CSV file you created.