If you have been looking for an easy, privacy-ensuring way to quickly communicate via text message with your students and/or their parents, Remind is a perfect tool to do so. Merely open a free account, create classes for each of the periods you teach, and Remind will generate a code for each class. You can then either project the code to join on a screen or email it to your students. Your students will text your class code to the provided number, enter their name, their role as a student, and then hit submit. You are then free to begin texting your students to any device, including email addresses if they do not have a cell phone! (Note: Cell phone numbers are never exchanged between teacher and student as it runs all through Remind.)
They have a web-based login as well as an app you may download to your phone. Additional features include the ability to choose whether to allow your students to message or reply to you or not, and if you do, you may set office hours so that you’ll only receive messages during those times. You can send messages to individual students, a small group, one of your classes, or all of your students at once. Remind even provides you with the opportunity to send images, voice clips, and documents which you can also schedule in advance. Finally, Remind keeps a record of all of the communication you have with each of your students to maintain communication integrity.
I use Remind to “remind” students about quizzes, send last minute message to advisees, and most recently provide updates about summer reading. I also create a separate class for parents and invite them to join through email if they would like to have updates about upcoming due dates and events in our class.
The students have responded positively to this easy way to communicate and far fewer due dates are missed as a result.
Here’s to a great year of making a difference in the lives of our students!
naomijaynes.com 
I love the Remind app. I have used it as a teacher and my kids’ teachers use it also. Just like you said, I used it to remind about test/quizzes, and any kind of due date. I had many parents thank me because if it wasn’t for the Remind app they wouldn’t have known their kids had projects or tests!
It truly is the right tool for the task, Jaci! Thanks for your comment!
Do you have class lists set up that includes parents, or do you have separate lists for students and parents? If separate, can you easily duplicate messages in the app?
I set up individual classes and then provide the code for students to join. I do the same with parents. It’s pretty easy to use and the students have given positive feedback. Thanks for your question!
… And yes, messages can be easily copied.
I’m sold! Our band department has been using “Remind” for the past few years, and the kids seem to be reacting well to it. I like how there’s no option for them to have any of one’s personal credentials. I guess I’ve just hesitated, because it’s 1) “one more thing to do” (now I sound like the grumpy old lady needing to retire), and 2) I had a Google Voice # I was using prior to me actually signing up for Google Fi as my own provider (and now I can’t have an additional random phone number unless I pay for it, because I have a legitimate account), and I didn’t want it to get overly confusing for the kids.
Just a few questions for you: Have the parents reacted well to it thus far? Have kids consistently checked their phones/emails – Do you ever have trouble with students saying “I don’t check that often” – particularly those with email-based accounts?
It truly is a great tool, Kerri! Parents found it helpful, and I asked all students to sign up via phone only because they are not yet in the habit of checking emails regularly. Thanks for your comment!
What do you do with students who don’t have smart phones or even phones (and who likely don’t or won’t check email)? We still have a few of those….
Most of my students have a smart phone. I would reach out to those with email access only to discuss the importance of checking email throughout the day and ensuring they have a friend in class with a smart phone who can also relay your updates to them between classes if you send messages during the day. Thanks for asking!
I had never heard of Remind until yesterday. My son is about to start high school and he just joined the band. Apparently we can get text messages for the band. My son is also taking an AP class this year. Earlier this summer I know I signed up for some text message service for the AP course, which was probably Remind now that I think about it. I received a text when his summer homework assignment was due. This high school thing is going to take some getting used to.
What an exciting new adventure for your family with your son starting high school this year, Kelly! Remind is definitely a great tool to help students stay on top of deadlines. Thanks for your comment!
Remind is awesome, I used it when I taught middle school and it takes very little time and effort to get set up. As a matter of fact, I would venture to say that it actually saved me time in parent e-mails, phone calls, etc. We use Schoology now and we can send messages to our students that way, however, if Schoology ever gets taken away I’d go right back to Remind!
It truly is a time saver, Ryan. It’s quick, easy, and truly helpful for the students. Thanks for your comment!
I have used, or attempted to use, Remind in the past. It sounds like things have improved and changed quite a bit over the last few years. You have inspired me to give it another try. Thanks!
I hope you do, Rebecca. I’ve found it to be quite easy to use and students appreciate the reminders. Thanks for your comment!
Are students/parents able to respond to the reminders? Or is it a one-way communication system?
It’s your choice, Kendal. You can choose either one, and if you choose to allow 2-way messaging, you may also set office hours for the times you will accept and/or reply to messages. Thanks for your questions!
I like the idea of office hours, this way you don’t feel obligated to answer a question late at night. 🙂
It’s truly a helpful option, Kendal. It reinforces boundaries and will hopefully encourage them to ask for help far sooner. Thanks for your comment!
Another tip is to use the text schedule feature. I use to schedule Reminds monthly based off our class calendar. We always get busy as teachers so scheduling always ensured my Reminds went out on time. I love Remind so I just wanted to give a little tip.
That’s a great tip, Jake. I have seen the feature but have not yet tried it. Scheduling in advance will work for a variety of repeating due dates in my class. Thanks for your comment!