#TCEA16 Favorite Finds

Guest Post by Kim Villarreal, Rockenbaugh Elementary School Science Lab Teacher

Hi, everyone — I’m excited to share a classroom communication and scheduling app called Bloomz. 

As a classroom teacher, I have been a long-time fan of Remind: Safe Classroom Communication (formerly Remind 101) for its simple way of communicating with parents. Once your parents or students join the Remind class, you can send one way announcements, photos, audio, and/or video via text anytime.  The latest version also allows for two way communication both through instant message with up to ten parents/students or by opting to allow replies to announcements.  Your personal contact information remains private since all communication is done through the app.  

Sign Up Genius has been long been my favorite way to schedule parent/teacher conferences or to organize volunteers.

Bloomz is the perfect combination of the best of both of these apps.  

The ease of communication plus the efficiency of scheduling are what makes Bloomz different.  I can see this app saving teachers a great deal of time and headache by streamlining their communication and scheduling needs. 

Here is a short video to give you a glimpse of what Bloomz offers:

 

Happy Bloomzing! 

Save Time with Parent Communication Tools

Are you looking for a way to save time and simplify parent/teacher communication? We've posted about Remind as a communication tool in the past. Now we would like to share a few great options that incorporate more features and are all available on a variety of platforms. Both programs are safe and secure and have similar features. Explore them both and find the one that works best for your classroom.

Bloomz

(link)

• Available on iOS, Android, and web
• Private and/or Group Messaging for parents and teachers
• Share class updates about the day's learning or send reminders about assignment due dates, registration deadlines, etc.
• Send invites, reminders, attach permission slips, track RSVPs, and request and sign up volunteers
• Plan class activities and organize field trips, or track parent teacher meetings

Class Messenger

  Class Messenger Introduction from LAI on Vimeo.

Available on iOS, Android, and web

Share class updates and information through messaging options for parents, teachers, and students

Different options for receiving messages: email, text, or mobile app

Send messages, documents, sign ups, pictures, surveys, order forms, links

Staff Room: messaging designed for the entire staff at a school

Entire messaging history is saved in the message log

Both Bloomz and Class Messenger are really great options. Let us know in the comments which you prefer!