Remind
Overview | Getting Started | Adding Missing Users | FAQ | Return to Tech Guides
Overview
Auburn School District has a district-wide subscription to Remind, meaning that all of our teachers can take advantage of its premium features!
Remind can:
provide messaging between educators, students, and families to promote communication and engagement
allow parents and families to choose their preferred messaging tool - email, app, or text
communicate to whole classes or groups of students and families through an app, email, or text all at the same time
call families through the mobile app, without revealing your cellphone number
translate messages into many different languages - automatically!
link to assignments in Google Classroom, Google Drive, Flipgrid, and more!
For more information:
Use the Remind Help Center
Contact your BTC/TSS/ITSS
Support for families can be found on the Tech4Families website
For technical support:
Send messages, change your settings, and update your communication preferences using this quick and easy smart phone app.
Getting Started
Claim your classes to complete your account
Review your class list and click Finish to add those classes to your account and complete the set up. The classes will be added to your account without affecting any existing classes in your account.*Please note, currently classes can only be claimed by logging into Remind through our website, not the mobile app.
If you'd like to archive your rostered classes, you can do so by clicking on the three dots to the right of the class name and selecting Archive. Once new classes are confirmed, you can archive the classes at any time. Archived classes can also be restored.
You are now ready to send your first Remind message!
Send a message
To send a message, click the blue pencil composer and select the class you would like to send your message to.
Class announcements are sent to all members of your class. When a participant replies to a class announcement, only the class owner who sent the message will receive the response.
Group conversations allow you to select up to 9 other participants (totaling 10 in the conversation) to start a group conversation. When you send a message in your group conversation, all participants will see one another as well as the responses. To find group conversations, scroll past your classes in the composer.
An individual message is a chat between you and one other participant. Only you and the participant can see this type of message.
Make a call
Before you make a voice call on Remind, you'll need to link your cell phone number to your Remind account. You can do this from any Call tab in your account or the Notification preferences tab from your account settings.
Next, you will need to set office hours. Teachers will only receive calls during office hours. When someone calls outside of your office hours, they'll be informed that you're not currently accepting calls and are given the option to send a message. See how to set up office hours here. You will also need to make sure your voicemail on your cell phone is set up. Remind voice calls are connected to your cell phone, so people may reach your voicemail if you miss a call.
Once you've completed the previous steps, you will be able to make a voice call. On the Calls tab anywhere in your account, click on the Make a call button in the top right corner. You can contact recipients with an available device (blue lightning bolt) if they are accepting voice calls. If recipients don't have an available device or aren't accepting calls, you can send them a message instead. When you start a call, make sure you have your cell phone within reach. Calls initiated on your desktop, laptop, or tablet will be connected through your cell phone.
After your voice call
Save the phone number to your contacts. You can use this phone number to make a Remind voice call or send a Remind message to the recipient.
The call duration will be recorded in your conversation with the recipient. It will also appear in your call log and your message history.
Use call notes to record any call details or follow-ups. You can take notes during or after a call. These notes are also available in your conversation with the recipient.
Consider best practices
Keep your messages short. Some students and families will be receiving these messages as texts. Shorter messages are easier to access and won't cost as much.
Use weekly rather than daily communications. Regular, infrequent communications keep students and families from feeling overwhelmed with information, particularly at the secondary level when multiple teachers are messaging families..
Use direct or group conversations for personalized communications and interventions. These messages can be more specific to the individual student(s) and families.
Utilize the scheduling feature to plan messages in advance. This will allow you to schedule message for more impactful times without requiring you to send it manually.
As you are planning your messages, ask yourself the following questions:
Who is the message for?
What is the purpose of the message?
When will my message have the greatest impact?
Is my message easy to understand?
How can I enhance my message?
Adding Missing Users
There are two methods to add people to Remind:
Invite them directly to Remind: Best if you know people's phone numbers or email addresses
Share ways to join: Printable PDF handout, in-person instructions, or a shareable link
You can find all of these options by clicking on the “Add people” button when you're logged in on the app or online. When people choose to join your Remind class, you'll see them appear in your class. Once they're there, they'll start receiving messages immediately; you can also copy them to another class.
Remember to follow the ASD Digital Communication Guidelines
Method 1: Invite people directly to Remind
You can send invitations directly to people if you have their phone numbers or email addresses. The contact information you enter will determine how people get the invitation and Remind notifications: entering mobile phone numbers means that they'll get messages by text, while entering email addresses means that they'll get messages by email.
First, choose whether you're inviting students, parents, or teachers to Remind. Then, you can manually enter the necessary information or copy and paste from a spreadsheet. Group owners can invite 150 people at a time.
If you're copying and pasting from a spreadsheet, be sure to copy all the information that you need at once (name, contact information, etc.). You won't be able to copy and paste a single column at a time.
NOTE: An email address is required for inviting teachers to Remind. You can also enter a phone number or secondary email address.
Method 2: Sharing instructions for joining
If you don't have phone numbers or email addresses, there are three other ways to share instructions for joining Remind. Make sure they know to follow all the required prompts (like replying with their names or date of birth), since they won't appear in your class or school until they do.
Printable PDF
Download or print out instructions for joining Remind. The PDF provides text or email sign-up options and is available in Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Tip: Post these in a high-traffic area, like a classroom door or pick-up area, or send them home as a handout or email attachment.
In-person instructions
If people have their mobile phones with them, they can sign up in seconds via text message.
Tip: Share these in an announcement or include them somewhere with high visibility, like a board, syllabus, or newsletter.
Shareable link
With this link, people can join your class directly from their phones or computers without entering your class code.
Tip: Copy and paste this link in an email (or on a website where you feel comfortable sharing this information).
