Appy Hour - Fri, 10/4: Communication Channels #edtech #edchat

[Originally posted on my Appy Hour blog]
I thought I'd share my broadcast channels that I am currently utilizing this year. My main, functional channels are:

• Weebly (the site you're reading this on)
• Google Calendar
• Twitter (@MrCelini is my school account)
• Remind101

Feel free to visit my Tech page for more detailed info on how I use each (and forgive me, I did not include a Twitter update...bad tech guy moment).

Weebly
One main attraction of Weebly is the ability to create blog pages anywhere you'd like. Blog pages deal with posts, and posts let you categorize things. Users can easily select the tag, and hence the content, they want to view.

Calendar
I maintain one for each of my classes, and post classwork and homework daily. You can enter some basic HTML (link links to handouts) in the description field. I see great possibilities for students adding their CCSD Gmail accounts to their phones and customizing notifications, etc. If only they would listen...

Twitter
I use to broadcast news and class info. I use a nifty website called IFTTT to take any calendar event I create and automatically tweet it. Additionally, when you publish your blog post on Weebly, you can cross-post to Twitter.

Remind101
A great tool to keep students/parents informed of things. I remind my students of graded class work, updates or changes, etc. The phone app makes this super easy and convenient to use.

Here's an example of how this all comes together:

• I told my students earlier this week that I would no longer be providing them with grade updates in class. 
• If they want to know their average, they need to see me in extra help. Or...(surprise) log on to the portal.
• I will inform them when I update the grades; it is up to them to take the responsibility to follow up and see that's changed (if anything)
• Parents have access to the same channels, so they can stay in the same loop, if they choose. I plan to send a mass parent email this weekend ahead of progress reports (too soon!) explaining all of this to them.

I see it as a nudge in the "right" direction.

Come to the Writing Center tomorrow after the Pep Rally to discuss what lines of communication you use with students and parents. Or, bring other questions.

Keep tech'ing!