Remind 101

By now most of you know I am social media, computer communications junky :-)
I use the computer and social media to reach my parents, girls and council.  There is so much out there today to make your job as a leader easier, but you have to filter through the junk and stay informed.  Something new is on the market every day in the techno world.  Hopefully, I can help you in this area by recommending sites, programs and software I find extremely useful!

I have used Remind 101 all year and my parents love it!  The FREE service was designed for teachers to communicate with their parents, but works equally well for troops.  The site allows you to send brief texts to your parents on their cell phone &/or computer from YOUR cell phone or computer.  You simply visit the site, sign-up and create an account on your computer.  Next, I recommend you download the app on your phone.  This will allow you to send reminders quickly and conveniently from your phone.  This service proved very useful when I had to cancel a meeting recently due to a security issue in our school district.  I was running errands when I received the notice and I was able to quickly inform all 26 of my parents on my cell phone.  Bad weather would be another great use for this program.  However, the service is wonderful for reminding parents about meetings or permission slips for events.  The uses are really quite endless.  The service does have some limitations however, parents CANNOT respond to your text (which honestly is a benefit :) and your text reminders are limited to 140 characters.  While I have wanted to write longer reminders before, I have found 140 characters is sufficient and does not bombard your parents with lengthy texts.  While most parents do not sit at the computer all day, this service allows you to reach most parents quickly and efficiently since the cell phone has become such a useful tool in our daily lives.  Nearly all parents are connected to their cell phone on a daily basis.  And of course, this service is optional.  Parents can choose to sign up for cell texts or computer e-mail reminders.
So exactly how does it work?  Once you have created an account the service will prompt you to send an e-mail to your parents that requests your parents send a text to a specific number.  My e-mail looks like this:  (4005 indicates our troop number)

I am using a new service that can either text you on your phone AND/OR e-mail you reminding or informing you of Girl Scout events.  This may be helpful in insuring you have permission slips, notes to teachers, informing you of bad weather or meeting changes.  In general it is just a back up way to remind you of meeting days. 

If you would like to receive quick and simple text reminders to your phone:

Text this number:  XXX-XXX-8746

and write           @4005            in the texting box




If you would like to receive simple e-mail reminders on your computer:

4005@remind101.com

And follow the directions

Let me know how you like the service.  I think this little tip is really helpful!  It has made my life a lot easier and the parents love being updated and informed!