Teacher Resources

Remind101: The Next Big Thing in School Trip Communication

By November 6, 2013 January 10th, 2017 One Comment
Trip Communication

photo remind101.com

We’re certainly not fortune tellers at Scholastica Travel, we’re travel professionals. However, if we were to make a prediction, we would say that Remind101 is a front-runner for the next big thing in trip communication.

The cell phone and then the smart phone revolutionized group trip communication. These devices have enabled easy communication between multiple buses, live map interaction, and up-to-date destination information to be called upon within seconds.

Future steps forward in trip communication will be incremental and will further streamline the process. Remind101 accomplishes such a step.

It should be stated that Scholastica Travel has no affiliation with Remind101. We were simply amazed by their service and wanted to share the tech with our group leaders and teachers.

What is Remind101?

Remind101 is a safe way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. All for free. Teachers never see parents’ or students’ phone numbers. Parents and students never see theirs. It is a one-way communication system from the teacher to the person who signed up.

How is this beneficial during my school trip?

This service enables group leaders to communicate easily and efficiently with trip chaperones. Convey meeting time reminders or itinerary adjustments by sending one quick text message. The message is received at the same time by all chaperones, students, and/or parents on their cell phones. Parents at home can also receive text messages to stay up to date, aiding in their peace of mind. One group even used the service to lead a photo scavenger hunt on the National Mall.

Sounds great, how do I use it?

1. Go online to remind101.com or download the iPhone or Android apps.

2. Complete this quick form to start your class.

3. You will receive a generated phone number (not yours) and a certain message. For example, 412-412-4444 with message @dy. Participants text the message to the generated number to sign up.

Remind101 allows you to generate a .pdf document to distribute to parents, students, and chaperones which tells them how to sign up. This video shows you how.

Has this been used with a class before?

One of our recent school groups that traveled to Washington D.C. used this service. They loved it! It streamlined their communication and everyone was up-to-date on the latest information. See the video below for how Remind101 was used in a classroom.

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