Using “Remind” to establish direct communication between faculty and students during COVID-19
General description of the project
It is more important than any other time to be able to communicate with students in real-time outside the class time to motivate them and encourage them to do homework and submit assessments on time. We need to communicate not by email but something faster and quicker. No doubt, the answer is “text message”. But how can a faculty establish text message communication with students without compromising his/her phone number? The answer is on “Remind”. I find it very reliable, fast, and most importantly safe. Some features include:
*You can control if students can message each other or not
*The messages from students go to the app instead of your phone’s text message system. This way you separate personal text messages from the student’s text messages.
*Your own phone number is hidden
*Enroll students at the beginning of the semester is very effortless, easy, and quick
*You can send a message to the whole class or selected students
*You can attach documents from google drive, local folder and it is also aligned with “google classroom”, “one drive”, “google drive” and some other common platforms.
*Individual accounts are completely free and you can sign in with your Google account.
Technologies
“Remind” software which comes both as an “app” and a “desktop application”. Both of these versions synchronous simultaneously.
Explain project results
I have used it for more than 12 years. Some bullet points are given below:
*98% to 100% enrollment
*All students like communication system
*Easy for instructors and students to use
*Have an “app” which synchronous simultaneously with the website
*Very self-explanatory and does not need any professional development to get started.
Why it should be considered best practice?
* Student’s on-time homework submission rates increased.
* Students retention rates were increased slightly compared to the semesters where it is not used.
*Best way to communicate during COVID-19 lockdown.
Highlights of your proposed presentation
I will talk about this in detail and after the presentation, the audience will have a clear understanding of various features of this “remind” software and will be able to use it in their classes. I will also talk about some advantages and disadvantages of this software.
The Evaluation Committee will evaluate submitted proposals based on the following criteria. Each area will be rated on a scale from 1 to 7 (1= non-satisfactory; 7 =outstanding), for a maximum of 63 points.