Classroom Communication Tools

Effectively communicating with students and parents is a major component of teaching. While it may seem that these audiences are similar, the strategies and tools for communication, as well as their intended purposes, vary. Here's a few you may want to try.

Parent Communication Tools

Remind: Remind is a great way to communicate via text message. Creating an account is free, and users have the option to add multiple classes as groups. Parents and/or students will enroll by texting a message to your class code (instructions given by Remind):

After that, teachers can send and even schedule messages to go out to recipients via the web or mobile app. Remind is one way communication. Recipients of messages cannot respond back to the sender. 

Twitter: Classroom Twitter accounts can be of great benefit. Because messages are limited to 120 characters, users are forced to provide the most relevant and important information. Followers can respond to tweets to clarify information or to initiate conversations. Tweets can be public or private, so be sure to consider the privacy of students when tweeting.  You can also use Fast Follow with Twitter so that when you tweet, your followers will receive a text message.

Google Voice: So often, students and parents need to communicate with teachers, but handing out your personal phone number can sometimes be a risk. Google Voice can connect multiple lines to a single proxy phone number, and has a transcript stored within your account of all voice mails and text messages. To use Google Voice, you first have to have a Google account.

QR Codes: QR Codes are everywhere. They are universal, and provide a very quick way to share information. I usually use QR Stuff or the Shorten Me extension in Chrome to create my QR codes.

To use them as a communication tool, simply create a QR code by pasting the chosen URL into the generator listed above (or Shorten Me just makes one for you), then download the code as an image to print. Here's some ideas:

• Provide a link to your class website that you hang outside your classroom
• Provide your contact information on a business card
• Link to information about your school to print on magnets or Tshirts

Student Communication Tools

Other communication purposes might include opportunities to engage students and allow for them to all have an equal voice. It is not uncommon for a few students in the classroom to refrain from participation, while a handful are very vocal. By using technology tools as an engagement strategy, shy students are more likely to contribute, equalling the playing field for all kids.

Today's Meet: Today's Meet creates a backchannel for students. Free and super easy, all teachers have to do is create a room, then choose how long they want it to remain open. Provide the given URL to students, and they can ask questions or post ideas to the monitored channel as long as it is open by adding their name in the "Nickname" field and clicking "Join." Here's a few ways I've seen this used:

• To provide students with a way to ask questions after class has ended
• To brainstorm ideas
• To post questions when interviewing a guest speaker

Keep in mind that the teacher will need to continue to monitor this site for questions and posts. Be intentional when creating a room to only leave it open as long as it would serve useful.

Padlet: This free and easy to use brainstorming tool is a must for a classroom. After the teacher sets it up by posting a topic, a question, and then personalizing it with a background and thumbnail images (optional), students simply access the site through the newly generated URL and double click on the site to add ideas, questions, pictures, and even files. Posts can be anonymous. This is a great way to get ideas from everyone.

Mailinator: This is not a continuous communication tool, but is very useful in the classroom. It was developed because often, teachers would like to use a variety of web tools with students, but sites require students to have an email account. Because not all schools provide an email, Mailinator allows users to very quickly create a temporary account to use for registrations. On the home page,  you'll see a generator to type in your chosen email address. For example, "klista" becomes "klista@mailinator.com." The email address is open just long enough to create and verify accounts. Just be sure to write down usernames and passwords and keep them for students in case they have forgotten.

All of these tools are free and very easy to use, which is not only important for busy teachers, but also for the students and parents who will be accessing the tools. Try one and see what difference it can make in your classroom!

Fave Chrome Extension Shout Out

Maybe I'm something of a technology dinosaur, being more of a "Gen X"er than a Millenial. Maybe it's because I found work arounds from all the times I was hit by a school filter, so doing things in a complicated manner became second nature. Maybe it's the security freak inside me from serving at a district level administration role, not wanting to allow any third party to have access to another of my accounts. Whatever it is, I hang my head in shame when I say that, (I'm whispering right now) I just now, within the last few months, began using Chrome Extensions.

So now that I've admitted it, I will also admit that not using them prior to now was a huge mistake. Chrome Extensions save me so much time, and make me so much more productive. Here's a shout out to a few of my favorites.

1. Spreed. Have you ever found yourself reading a large amount of text online, only to realize that you hadn't been concentrating on it at all? So you go back and read it again. And again. Feeling like you really need to take some notes just to read your email, you begin to wonder how you might reign in the ADHD long enough to respond to your supervisor.
Spreed to the rescue. Install this extension, and anytime you highlight a block of text (it could even be an entire page), you can right click to see the option "Spreed selected text." By selecting this option, Chrome will open another small browser to allow you to speed-read. The service will (at a rate you choose), place one word in front of you at a time. I have mine set to read 350 words per minute. I can move that rate up or down as needed.

2. ShortenMe. For years, I've used URL shorteners. Bit.ly was a favorite until goo.gl came along. And then I met ShortenMe. Now, instead of copying and pasting a URL and pasting it into a shortener in another tab, I simply click on the extension. Without leaving the site, I've got a shortened goo.gl URL, AND (wait for it) a QR code! The goo.gl URL is copied to my clipboard, and if I want to grab a copy of the QR code, I either use the tools built in to my computer to screen capture or use the Snagit Extension. (See #8).

3. Delicious Bookmarks. I started using Delicious back when it was still del.ici.o.us. The routine was to keep it open in another tab, and if I found something worth bookmarking, I would copy and paste to add it to my links. (I know, a bookmarklet has been available for years. See excuse #2 for not using this earlier.) Now, when I find a site that I need to save, I click the extension, which prompts a pop-up, asking for all the information the full site does when I save. So much faster!

4. AdBlock. Ever been to one of those sites that is so riddled with ads that you can't even read the information? AdBlock to the rescue! It will automatically block all ads, regardless of the site you're on so that you can read information without the distraction of ads. I can see how this one would be very useful in schools.

5. 1-Click Timer. I got very attached to my cell phone timer when I gave limits for groups during PD sessions. But I never handled it that way in the classroom. I always gave my students a visual of how much time was left. Adults need the same thing. 1-Click Timer does a great job of providing a visual timer with an alarm that's not even annoying.

6. Similar Sites. We've all been there. We've found a site with EXACTLY the information we need, and then think, "Wow, if I could just find more sites like this, my research would be complete." Welcome to Chrome, Similar Sites. After landing on a webpage, click on this extension and it will suggest other sites that are, well, similar.

7. OneTab. You've probably learned from what I've written so far that I'm the girl with multiple tabs open, sucking all the data and bandwidth from everyone else, and even slowing down my own computer. OneTab can help with that. When you see that you've got so many tabs open that they're becoming unmanageable (or even if you've got two or three open), you can click on this extension, which will save and combine all of the sites you're on into one hyperlinked tab. This would have been very useful for me when I had multiple tabs open and then needed to put away my computer for a while. OneTab would have saved those for me so that I could have logged out of my machine properly.

8. TechSmith Snagit. Snagit will take either a full screenshot or a selection. Best part about it? It creates a folder in your Google Drive called TechSmith to store all of those screenshots. The images are transferred there automatically. Easy and time saving.

9. Print Friendly & PDF. Yes, you can go to File>Print>Save as PDF, or Print. But with this app, you click on it. Those same options are right there for you, and they're there a whole 5 seconds faster than if you do it the old fashioned way. Think of all the time you'll save!

10. Save to Google Drive. This extension will scan any site you're on, save it as a .png, and add it to your Drive. This would be so useful during research! Do be aware, though, that if the site is very long, the saved version of it will be very difficult to read.

What are your favorites? I'd love to hear more so I can add to my addiction!

What If... Our Students Had no Barriers?

I am reading Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner right now, and I have to say, it is inspiring me in multiple ways. Because of what I'm reading, I am driven to both teach and parent differently. Without summarizing the book, (trust me, though, you should read it),  I'll tell the story of how a particular segment has served as inspiration.

In chapter two, the author tells the story of Kirk Phelps, a very successful innovator. His first "real world" job was developing the first iPhone. How he got there, though, is what is deemed unconventional. Having only finished the eleventh grade, Kirk dropped out of high school and was accepted to Stanford to begin a dual BS/MS program. According to the book, when asked why he dropped out, he said that he really wanted to take a class during a free period in his schedule, and the school wouldn't allow it.

Without knowing the full story, we can make assumptions here. It might have been that an academic advisor was afraid the course would be too much for an individual with an already full schedule. It might have been that the course was full. Frequently, though, what happens in high school is that the schedule is set. Students have options about electives they want to take, what year they might take some required courses like foreign language or physical education, but otherwise, (especially if it is a small school), the schedule is set. And if you want to take an AP, dual credit, or college prep class, it's going to be offered once. If you want it badly enough, you'll somehow manage the rest of your classes around that, even if they're courses you don't want to take or with teachers that you know you struggle with.

This is a barrier for a student.

Now don't get me wrong - there are all kinds of barriers for students. Poor home life, learning disabilities, lack of resources, etc., etc. Any teacher could easily rattle off an enormous list of barriers kids face today. But what if our students did not have barriers? What if nothing held them back? What impact could we, as teachers, have if we set forth to change and maybe even remove those barriers?

I know there are many things outside of our control that we cannot change. We can't change the fact that some kids have a poor home life. But we can make their days at school full of care, warmth, respect, and encouragement. We can't change that students may come to us with less academic experience than we'd like, but we can provide learning experiences differentiated to meet their needs. We may feel that students are not motivated, but by designing instruction so that it mimics the real world, they have greater purpose.

If scheduling is a barrier for our kids, can online classes help? If our resources are stretched thin, could we look at eSourcing our curriculum? When we are frustrated by apathy, could we give students just a bit of freedom of choice with tools and design? What could each of us do to help break down those barriers and minimize, or even eliminate them?

Can we make barrier removal 100%? I can't answer that, but there are so many things that we do have control over that we can considerably change those that do stand in our students' way. We have control over schedules, classes we offer (or don't), mutual respect for students, accommodations, lesson design, and even most local assessments.

Several years ago, when I became a technology integration specialist, I was suddenly requested to do all sorts of things that I hadn't considered as job responsibilities. Upon receiving those requests, often, my initial reaction was, "No." But wanting to be a team player and to show my new boss that she had made the right decision in giving me the position, I made a rule for myself. If my initial reaction was no, rather than responding with that answer, I would respond with "let me think about it." In the time that response bought me, I would consider how I could turn my "no" into "yes." Sometimes it was out of my control and the answer was still no. But often, I could find a way to remove the barrier and create a win-win situation. This is another part of teaching with fidelity. It's just about doing what's right.

We can remove many of the barriers for our kids. Let's find ways to open their schedules, develop relationships with them, teach them to create instead of consume, seek alternatives for limited resources, differentiate our instruction, utilize small groups when our class sizes rise, and think - How can I turn my no into a yes? How can I eliminate barriers my students face?