Trainers and Educators are always wishing that they had a magic way to remind their learners of things outside of class. Don’t forget to finish that module – Please bring your work or materials to our next session – Big test coming up. Sometimes these things are something you can schedule in advance because you know the calendar, and sometimes these things are last minute reminders. So whether you need to tell everyone in the company that the workplace safety compliance module must be complete by EOD tomorrow or remind your students to read the chapter and write a short reflection, you’ve probably wished for a better way to get the message to them reliably.
Generally we use email messages for this sort of thing, but a friend recently guided me to a new online service that allows you to put all of your learners into a database online and send them text messages from one central location. The software is still in beta – so use at your own discretion but it certainly seems promising. The one I’ve found is called Remind 101 – I imagine there are others, so you guys help out by leaving comments with names / info / links of other similar services and i’ll make sure they get attached.
Here’s the link so you can check it out yourself. LINK http://remind101.com
To get an account you just sign up for the free service as the teacher. Then you simply follow the basic instructions. Your learners will text a special command to the number (sorry folks it appears to be a US number).
I spoke with remind101 Co-Founder, Brett Kopf about the service last week in order to probe a little deeper. The service is currently free to users, though of course normal text messaging rates apply. Phone numbers are automatically dropped into a secured database where nobody can access them, lending an added layer of security for students.
I also asked Brett about who may use the service. He said that while they are marketing toward traditional education, there is no limitation that prevents others from using the system. What makes this particularly compelling is that you can send reminders or messages to groups of people just by accessing a web page. In today’s world virtually everyone carries a cell phone every day. When there are so many distractions with the other message systems, this gives you a method to ensure your message gets through and increases the chances that you’ll be heard between lessons.
This is definitely one of my favorite new technologies. As usual, don’t hesitate to ping us in the comments – let me know your favorite new things, or just leave your thoughts.
–Allen