Celly VS Remind - Classroom Communication

For the past several years, I have used Remind in my classroom, but at the GRITC conference I was introduced to Celly. They both offer a great resource for connecting with students outside of class time, but they have different features. What is the best fit for your classroom? Let's have a look!

The below information is what I have found through online articles and using the sites myself. If you have additional or different information, please share! I am still learning.

Remind

I'm starting with Remind because it is my tried and true platform. 

Remind started as a one-way text/email service, but they have recently added a chat feature. The one-way messaging is a great way to get a message out quickly without having to reveal your phone number, worrying about replies, or typing in emails one by one. I've enjoyed using this to remind students and parents about due dates, field trips, and upcoming events. 

The new chat feature opens the floor for one-to-one communication. Teachers initiate a chat session with a student (or if you change your settings, students can initiate the chat), and they can essentially email each other via Remind. I don't find this feature useful to me as I already have my school email address forwarded to my iPhone, and I can reply quickly from there when I am available. 

Students and parents sign up for Remind by texting a class code to a specific number or sending an email to the class code email address. No account is needed and sign up takes only a few seconds. This is very useful as creating an account takes time and no one needs another password to remember. Remind also has an app students/parents can download and messages can be read from there.

You can also schedule Remind messages to go out (I typically schedule a set of messages for the week on Monday) and add attachments to the message.

Celly

Celly is very new to me. We used it at GRITC, and I enjoyed it! I played around a lot, joined a few education topic cells, and began reading reviews. 

With Celly, you create "cells" or groups. Students join the cell, and everyone in the cell can chat together. Collaboration is key to a successful classroom! Celly also offers private chats for one-to-one communication. 

There are three cell types in Celly:

1. "Curator" - The cell creator (teacher) receives all messages privately first - then he/she decides if the message needs to be sent to the whole group or left private. (This is my favorite for classroom use.)
2. "Open" - All messages are sent to the entire group.
3. "Alert Only" - Only the cell creator can send messages - no one can reply. (Great for large groups where replies would be overwhelming.)

Celly provides a joining guide for parents and students.  It can be accessed through the website, app, or text messages. If you use the website or app, you must create an account. You do not need an account to use the text feature.

Celly also offers options to send attachments, photos, and POLLS! I love the idea of the poll feature. You can also schedule messages.

This program will be wonderful for classroom collaboration. Students can answer each other's questions (as I approve the message), make comments on readings and homework, and see that everyone needs to ask a question sometimes!

Pros/Cons

Remind - Pros

• No account needed for sign up
• One-way messaging feature is fast, simple
• Schedule messages
• Add attachments

Celly - Pros

• COLLABORATION
• Different cell types for different situations
• Mass messages can still be sent to the class
• Add attachments/photos
• Send polls

Remind - Cons

• "Chat" is the equivalent to email (I don't need another place to check)
• No Polls (without app)
• Lacking collaboration

Celly - Cons

• I have not experienced the text feature yet, but I feel it may be overwhelming if you are a part of several cells and receiving texts for all messages.
• Creating an account to use the app/website can take time and may deter parents from signing up.

Both programs offer great resources for the classroom! This year I am going to venture out with Celly and see where it takes us. I can still send mass messages like Remind, but it also opens the floor for collaboration and students to ask questions that can benefit the entire class at once. 

What about you? Do you use Remind? Do you use Celly? Are you thinking of switching from one to the other? I want to hear about it!

Walk & Talk with Flipped Classrooms (from GRITC)

Engaging, collaborative, and interactive Professional Development is my absolute favorite! PD taught by teachers who really have a passion for bringing their students into the center of learning and creating meaningful experiences warm my heart and kick me into gear for the school year. I love the motivation!

This type of PD is exactly what I get at GRITC (Gulf Regional Innovative Teaching Conference) each year. GRITC is held in Robertsdale, AL by the Baldwin County Board of Education Technology Department (my county!). It is open to anyone and everyone. The conference opens with an incredible keynote speaker (this year Dr. Lodge McCammon), offers 100+ different sessions, food trucks and live music onsite, and sessions taught my teachers who are passion driven educators. They love their job! I feel blessed to present at GRITC and to call presenters and attenders my colleagues!

If you haven't had the change to attend GRITC yet, check it out for 2016! The conference is free, and they give out amazing prizes! Today I won a tripod from tweeting! They've also been handing out goodie bags and free t-shirts. At the end of tomorrow's sessions, they have drawings for iPads, bluetooth speakers, a drone, and a ticket to ISTE! GRITC 2016 will be July 27th and 28th!

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Lodge McCammon, has incredible ideas about flipped classrooms, student engagement, transparency in the classroom, active classrooms, and so much more! He is inspiring. Check out his website, twitter, and youtube account!

One session I was able to attend with Dr. McCammon was Walk & Talk. This activity gets students literally - walking and talking. Studies have shown that during exercise our brains are more active and engaged. Walking helps stimulate the brain and get the blood pumping. Through the use of a flipped classroom and videoed lectures, teachers can have students simply walk around the school or outside while discussing the topic.

How much do you hate sitting through PD sessions? How do you think your students feel stuck in a desk all day?

During our PD session, Dr. McCammon had us walk and talk about the walk and talk strategy. We discussed challenges and solutions with using this strategy in our classroom. I felt energized as we walk while having our discussion. It also took away the distractions of computers, phones, and doodling when I should have been talking.

This is an easy to implement strategy I plan to use in my classroom at the start of the school year along with videoed lectures (blog to come later). Check out this video from Dr. McCammon about walk & talk:

Can you use walk & talk in your classroom? What would you have students discuss? What challenges and solutions can you see with this strategy? 

My Goals for the Summer!

I know I'm a little late in the week, but I'm linking up with I Heart Grade 3 for Summer Goals!

I am working on my MA in Gifted/Talented (which I will finish in December - YAY). Part of the degree requires that you teach at a Gifted/Talented Summer Enrichment Workshop (SEW). It's basically a half day summer camp for gifted students within the school system where the university is located. Up until this point, I've been completing this degree through a blended program - part online and part Saturdays on campus. I live five hours from campus! I move Sunday to live on campus for the next four weeks. (YIKES) Thankfully, my son gets to come with me and attend the camp!

Each teacher designs a unit around a particular theme. My theme is Medieval Times! I'm very excited about this opportunity,  but I'm also extremely nervous! My BA is in Secondary Education, but my MA is a K-12 degree. I have to teach two classes: a Kindergarten-1st Grade class and a 2nd Grade-3rd Grade. I've  never taught this young before!

Check back throughout June! I'll post to the blog about this experience too.

I take COMPS for my MA the first week of July. These are timed essays. I've never had to complete times essays to this extent before! Especially without notes or knowledge of the specific questions! It's very nerve racking.

I fell IN LOVE with I'm Lovin' Lit's Interactive Notebooks on TPT! I bought Reading Literature, Reading Informational Text, Writing, and Grammar! My Genius Hour project while my students completed their projects was to put these notebooks together. I didn't finish all of them, so my goal is to finish them this summer!

This past August my best friend moved to Pennsylvania! That is where she's grew up, but I miss her terribly! I'm so, so, so excited to be going to see her at the end of July! We're also going to take a trip to New York City. I love travel, new places, and my best friend! Win - Win - Win

My last goal is to REST. These last few months have been a whirlwind dealing with the loss of my soulmate. My son and I have definitely over scheduled ourselves recently to stay busy. The next month will be pretty busy with SEW and two other MA classes, but we look forward to resting in July and enjoying family time.

What about your? What are your summer goals?