Many students at Carlmont smile when they see a text on their phone from one of their friends. And now they can receive texts from their teachers.
Several Carlmont teachers have started to use a communication system called Remind101. This service is way for teachers to text their students reminders about upcoming due dates and exams. Students can even personally text their teacher a question they have about an upcoming assignment or test.
“Remind101 is a very convenient way for me to provide clarification when needed, as it often is. It helps students manage their workload, a feat that is more difficult than most adults may think,” stated English teacher Joey Hill, who is a big fan of the service.
High school students have a hard time remembering things and many typically don’t check their email, so texts from their teachers can be very helpful for students to remember upcoming due dates.
“[Remind101] reminds you about something for a class after a long weekend. It can also give you a reminder a few days before a big test,” stated senior Akshay Nithyanand who gets text message reminders from his teachers, Anne Frost and Michelle McKee.
While many students and teachers feel like this new type of technology is the next best thing, there are some students on the other hand that find these text messages annoying and disconcerting.
“I don’t like looking at my phone when I get a text and it’s from one of my teachers,” stated senior Reese Dickson. Constant text messages from teachers can also be bad for students that don’t get unlimited texting on their phone plan.
Some students just find these reminders from the teachers redundant and not always informative.
“[Remind101 text updates] occasionally can be helpful but sometimes the updates they go overboard with the amount of texts they send,” remarked senior Connor Fenech. While there are students that may not be a fan of receiving informative texts from their teachers, there are teachers that do not believe in using this this service.
“Technology is great, but in the end it’s up to the students to remember assignments on their own,” said history teacher Jayson Waller, who is against the texting service.
Whether you’re addicted to texting or not, the number of Carlmont teachers that send their students text message reminders via Remind101 is growing. Hill feels that it also helps remind himself about assignments, not just his students.
“Truth be told, I use it more for myself than my students,” Hill said.
Whether you like the concept or not, it allows teachers to effectively use technology that is popular among teenagers and give all the help and assistance needed.
