I have known about Remind 101 for a little over a year now. Brett Kopf, the creator and founder, is a fellow MSU graduate and spoke with my masters cohort last summer about the service. I have since decided to use Remind 101 with my 9th grade World History classes.
Why?
Organization: One of the main reasons why I decided to use Remind 101 is because of past experiences with my Freshmen students organizational issues. This problem effects all freshmen but especially in Chicago, the transition from 8th to 9th grade is very dramatic and often overwhelms many students. It is not that they can not do the work, but often that they have yet to discover their own system of managing eight classes a day, as opposed to just one or two.
Parents: It is no secret that parental involvement is one of the most important (if not THE MOST important) factors in a child’s success in school. With Remind 101 I am able to offer the parents a chance to stay up to date with all assignments for which their child is responsible. The service can notify them either through email or text message, and since I only use the service to communicate assignments the parents are not flooded with information. Instead, they are given the information they need to ensure they are providing the necessary support at home for their scholar. Also, when I speak with a parent, they have a much stronger idea of the work their scholar has been required to complete for my class.
Ease: With the service offering a website, iPhone & Android apps, it is extremely easy to use. Very simple to set up and the enrollment process is easy for parents and students to use.
I will update in about my experience with Remind 101 in the future, as it it my new goal to blog on a regular basis.
Kyle T. Shack 