Setting up Engagement
Through Text Messaging:
Using Remind 101 and
Twitter in Online Courses
Jason Neiffer
Montana Digital Academy
Online Workshop for Teachers
Agenda
Justification: Communication and
OmniPresence
Justification: Why text messaging?
Tool: Google Voice
Tool: Remind 101
Tool: Twitter
Today’s Format
Expose... today
Explore… later
Justification: Communication &
Omnipresence
Instructional Goals that Justify
Adopting Alternative
Communication Platforms
Enhanced effort to create communication
conduits between teachers and students
Immediate re-engagement at the first sign of
instructional trouble
Quick response to student questions
Face-to-face frameworks?
Learning?
Relationships
Relevance
Rigor
Daggett et al 2005
Experience tells me…
The rules…
1. Create regular “footprints” in a course
2. Professional is great, but, polish can also
be dangerous
3. Presence should be public when possible
and appropriate
4. Be mindful of workflow and adopting
technologies that are easy to maintain
5. Abandon these rules of they don’t work
for you
Justification: Mobile and Text
Messaging as a Platform
“Teach the students sitting in
your class…”
Although we provide email (Gmail for
Moodle students, messaging for
PowerSpeak users) for each student, do
they check email?
Tool: Google Voice
Why Google Voice?
One number can ring all of your phones: home, mobile, school, desktop
Mobile apps for iPhone and Android platforms
Cans can be made and/or ring to your gmail account
Avoid giving out your private call/home number to students
Fine-tuned controls: block numbers, set custom messages
Voicemail-to-text
Text messages to email/mobile devices etc.
Google Voice Demo
Tool: Remind 101
Why Remind 101?
Built for teachers in an educational context
Free and no ads
Can set up different classes in one location
Usable by teachers and parents
Remind 101 Demo
Why Twitter?
Using Twitter is a different context, but…
Twitter is public, adding “transparency” to
your classroom
Potentially already used by your students
Accessible from any number of apps
Can be displayed in a course (Moodle, in
particular) or website
Twitter Demo
Tips for the short message
universe!
Balance the need to communicate with the
need not to overwhelm
Supplement with text, don’t replace with text
Remember to mind your tone with text
messaging
24 hour access means 24 hour access;
balance access realistically!
Questions?