World History
We've missed lots of school because of the blizzard, which means that I've had to make changes to my schedule. How do I inform my students of these changes? It's easy if you use these tools.
My official class schedule is on Google Calendar.
I put a link to that calendar as a tab ("Assignment Calendar") on my class Blackboard page.
Before I had settled on Google Calendar I had tried to use the calendar on a previous version of Blackboard. That Blackboard version was far inferior because it would not allow for events to have start times. In appears that the newest version my district uses solves that problem, but for now I'm going to stick with Google Calendar.
When I need to make changes to our schedule I just make them in Google Calendar, and the changes appear for my students when they check the Assignment Calendar on Blackboard.
To inform my students about these changes I use these three tools:
1st: I post an Announcement in Blackboard that I have updated the Assignment Calendar. Blackboard then gives me the option to email that Announcement immediately to my students.
2nd: I use Remind to send a text message alert about the changes. I really like Remind because I can send the text immediately, or schedule it for a later time. (This is especially good if I'm working at odd hours; I don't want their phone to beep or buzz too early or too late with a text from their teacher!)
3rd: I update the changes on the WhatsDue app. WhatsDue creates a class calendar for my students that resides on the app on their devices. Any change I make automatically generates a text alert to my students. I like WhatsDue because students can use it to send themselves text reminders of upcoming due dates and deadlines.
- The Maya Calendar
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World History
How I keep my students informed about schedule changes when school is closed
We've missed lots of school because of the blizzard, which means that I've had to make changes to my schedule. How do I inform my students of these changes? It's easy if you use these tools.
My official class schedule is on Google Calendar.
When I need to make changes to our schedule I just make them in Google Calendar, and the changes appear for my students when they check the Assignment Calendar on Blackboard.
To inform my students about these changes I use these three tools:
1st: I post an Announcement in Blackboard that I have updated the Assignment Calendar. Blackboard then gives me the option to email that Announcement immediately to my students.
3rd: I update the changes on the WhatsDue app. WhatsDue creates a class calendar for my students that resides on the app on their devices. Any change I make automatically generates a text alert to my students. I like WhatsDue because students can use it to send themselves text reminders of upcoming due dates and deadlines.
- The Maya Calendar
The Maya Calendar - Information about the civilization from the Maya World Studies Center in Mérida, Yucatán. Describes the calendar, mathematical system, language, religion, and other aspects of Maya culture. Information is presented in both English...
- Embedding Remind Texts In Blackboard
So in my school district a lot of people like using the "Announcement" tab in Blackboard. The problem with that is if you change it to just a text (which is possible) then all teachers have to be limited to a text. So, of course, many people who...
- Snow Day Reprise
In ten years of being a chair, tomorrow will be the second day I have missed a county wide meeting (so I can work with my AP Comp kids to better prepare for the AP exam). I was going to present on how to teach students on a snow day. But...
- Remind Your Students To Do Homework During Summer School
With summer school starting shortly I wanted to tell you about one of the reasons why my students turned in their work at a higher level than ever before. I love it when a student e-mails me and asks the next day if I received the message. My answer...
- More On Evernote And Reminders
As I said a few posts ago I am really starting to enjoy Evernote. I asked them if they were contemplating putting an alarm system on smartphones (no answer on that one), but they did give me a great answer. For those who like Windows and...