ClassTag Versus Remind: Which online Communication Tool is Right For You?

ClassTag Versus Remind: Which online Communication Tool is Right For You?

Regardless of what your school district decides in terms of face-to-face instruction or online instruction it is imperative to have a communication tool at your fingertips. A tool that allows for interactive and engaging communication beyond email, school newsletters, automated messages, to name a few.  The ability to have a communication option in one handy dandy tool is a teacher lifesaver not to mention time saver!

Remind, formerly Remind101 has been the go-to for many educators but coming on the scene fast and furiously is ClassTag. Which communication tool best suits your communication needs? Let’s break it down.

Tag You’re It!

            ClassTag is an all in one solution for your communication needs. From messaging to announcements, teacher conference sign-ups, newsletters, supply lists, and more, ClassTag facilitates interaction and engagement between teachers and students, teachers and parents, teachers and teachers, students to teachers, parents to teachers...you get the point, it’s an all directions communication highway! 

Remind me

            Remind has been around since 2011 when it was formerly known as Remind101.  The company changed its name to Remind in 2014 and has gained over 20 million users since its introduction! It’s a tool that was built specifically for educational use and is great to connect with students, parents, co-workers and administration.

Let’s compare the two to give you a better idea of which tool will work for you.

Feature	ClassTag	Remind
Messaging options	✔Read receipts of who read your messages ✔Notifications when contact details are out of date ✔Schedule announcements ✔Automatic suggestions to send a note home to hard-to-reach parents ✔ Set Office Hours	✔Read receipts of who read your messages ✔Real-time messaging a class, group, or individual person. ✔Schedule reminders ✔Send messages on the go ✔Set office hours
Calendar Integration	✔ External calendar integration makes it easy to set up reminders, events, and appointments	X
Weekly Newsletters	✔ Set up automatic weekly newsletters	X
Share documents	✔Students get a virtual backpack where teachers and parents can upload docs, videos, pictures, and important information	✔Students can view photos and other files as part of a teacher message.
Free to Use	✔Free to use schoolwide, as a district or as an individual teacher	✔Free for individual teachers up to 10 classes, 150 students per class **Upgrade option for use district wide or schoolwide
No Character Limits	✔No character limits in messages	✔140 Characters in a text message
Rewards Program	✔Teachers earn free supplies just for engaging with parents!	X
Photo and Video sharing/links	✔Library feature where teachers and students can easily add, view and manage photos, videos, and files uploaded in your class.	✔Teachers can share photos, PDFs, files, and voice clips with your messages.
Works on Any Device	✔Available on all devices including IOS, Android, Laptop, Smartphones, not so smart cell phones, desktops, Tablets.	✔Students and parents can get Remind messages on any phone that can receive text messages, including prepaid phones, flip phones, and government-provided phones.
Help Center Support	Support Center	Remind Help Center
Language Translation	✔Translate into over 60 different languages in real time	✔Translate your messages into more than 85 languages.
Parent Teacher Conferences	✔Parents can sign up for conference slots, volunteer opportunities or donations in one click	X
App Integrations	✔Google Classroom, Drive, YouTube, Calendar, AND Meets for easier management? Integrates with google classroom	Access and share your favorite resources from Google, Microsoft OneDrive, and more—without leaving Remind.
Supply Lists and Donations	✔Post your class list to the community, and get essential supplies for the new year ✔Add volunteer requests or donation requests to any event	X
Private and Secu re	✔FERPA Certified through the  iKeepSafe Privacy Program	✔Awarded the iKeepSafe COPPA Safe Harbor Seal.

Other features of Remind

●       Easily download message documentation for home-school or virtual communication.

●       Add a teacher to your account for co-teaching.

Other Benefits of ClassTag

●     Automatically convert a teacher’s message into either email or text message depending on the parents preferred method of contact. 

●     ClassTag sends automatic follow-ups and reminders for events and key dates

Regardless of your choice, both ClassTag and Remind will make communication a breeze between teachers and parents and foster a classroom community into either email or text message depending on the parents' preferred method of contact. 

●     ClassTag sends automatic follow-ups and reminders for events and key dates

Regardless of your choice, both ClassTag and Remind will make communication a breeze between teachers and parents and foster a classroom community.

Top 5 Effective Tools to Communicate with Parents and Students

Top 5 Effective Tools to Communicate with Parents and Students

Long gone are the days of report cards being mailed home, going to the front office to call your parents. Teacher phone calls home are even becoming a rarity thanks to the ever changing use of technology in schools. From online gradebooks to automated phone calls and text messages, there are a plethora of tools out there to communicate with your students and parents. Here are 5 effective tools to talk to parents and students. 

Remind App

The Remind App is a great tool to communicate with both parents and students without giving out your personal cell phone. It is a text message service with options for email as well. It’s user friendly and offers a safe way to communicate. With Remind, you can set your office hours, it integrates with Google Drive, OneDrive, Google Classroom to name a few. You can set Remind up to allow notifications to your email and your phone. If a student is absent, you can send a PDF or a file of your lesson and assignments.

One of the best features is message history, which can come in handy for documentation purposes.  You can send out a message or announcement to the whole class, multiple classes or to individual students or parents. Remind also gives you the option to check a box if the student is under the age of 13.  They can still join and see the messages, but you will not be allowed to individually message them if you check the box. Finally, it’s FREE! With the free version you can create 10 classes with up to 150 people per class!

Take it Old School with Email

Can you believe that email can be labeled as an old school form of communication!?! However, email remains one of the most effective forms of communication with parents and students. Email is not only a great way to communicate fast and effectively but it helps to create a positive parent-teacher relationship. 

Many school districts utilize gradebook/attendance platforms that have email options. This makes it easy to communicate with parents and students about grades, progress reports, missing assignments to name a few.

Blog all About it

Teacher blogs and websites are another great way to effectively communicate with students and parents. This can be a lifesaver during times of school closures whether it be from a winter storm, severe weather such as a hurricane, or a pandemic, an updated blog will keep students and parents in the know. Building a website or a blog will take some work to get it started but once you have the hang of it, you’ll thank yourself! There are many free blog sites out there. Here are a few:

Weebly

Blogger

Edublog

Take it to the Virtual Class with an Online Learning Management System (LMS)

Learning Management Systems such as Edmodo, Schoology, and Google Classroom all have built in communication tools, and they are all FREE!

Edmodo offers a messaging service, an ability to share class materials and instructions and allows for e-learning anytime and anywhere.  It’s easy for students to message teachers and ask questions or share ideas.  Edmodo offers automated grades, as soon as a teacher grades an assignment a message is sent out letting you know that a grade has been posted. Edmodo is user friendly on a desktop as well as on a mobile device allowing for communication on the go!

Schoology is similar to Edmodo; perhaps the hardest part is how to pronounce it! Is it School-o-jee? Or School-ah-lo-jee? Actually, according to their website it’s /skoo.luh.jee/. Schoology has many of the same features as Edmodo including messaging within the platform, mobile notifications, mass updates, and communication built right into the framework.

Google Classroom is a favorite among many educators and students alike. Google Classroom makes it easy to email your students, whether individually, the entire class, or a handful of students. In addition, Google Classroom has a stream where a teacher can post announcements such as new assignments, reminders for  upcoming tests, or just basic communication. Parents can elect whether or not to receive class summaries, unfortunately these cannot be personalized but it’s a great option to stay up to date on what’s happening in class.

Enter the Dojo

Classdojo is a fun and entertaining communication tool. ClassDojo is unique in that it has a  behavior management system that allows teachers to award or deduct points for positive or negative behaviors. Behavior reports can be instantly downloaded and shared with parents. Classdojo is accessible through any online device and in any language.  Classdojo is great for nonverbal communication as well.  It can be used to communicate within the classroom setting without verbally saying a word. If a student is not following the class rules, a simple click and a ding sound notifies the class that a point has been deducted. If a student is displaying positive behavior in class, a simple click and a chime sound lets the class know that a point was awarded.  Classdojo may seem a bit elementary for students in high school, but you’d be surprised. Offer your students a choice of which tool they want to use, providing them a voice creates buy-in.

One of the best ways to create a great student-teacher-parent working relationship is through communication. These tools will help foster that relationship and help you have a wonderful communicative school year!