Last year I had six unicorns. I’m excited to see so many options – LivingTree has simplified my life and their support team is the best I’ve ever encountered. Seesaw is an app that allows students to add artifacts to their private, secure online journal. We’ve recently talked about the most popular communication channels teachers use to reach parents (our review covers 8!) Teachers can post messages to one parent, a select few, or the entire group of parents. I love that the calendar sends me reminders so that I can make sure we are prepared for the upcoming assignment or event. It’s also helpful to be able to communicate with me on the same classroom app, rather than leaving Seesaw to contact me using e-mail or another platform. There are multimedia options, such as drawing, video, photos, and notetaking. Rachael, We need someone to design a mash up of all of these apps and have them attached to Google Classroom. Parent communication: Parents can communicate with you and their children on the Seesaw Family app. Thanks for sharing your story! I also used it to track behavior. The Bloomz app is a private, secure “social network app for today’s busy classrooms.”  It has a Facebook-like feel to it. If yes, what were your conclusions about the differences, benefits and pitfalls of each? No more excuses about “I didn’t know”. I have been using Classtag.com this past year and had an absolutely amazing experience – the ease of use is a huge selling point for me and it has been phenomenal. Video in the classrom: Flipgrid vs Seesaw Several years ago, I flipped my classroom so that kids watch my lectures via video at home at night. Great question. I like having one place I can post everything for my parents. Whatever classroom messages and pictures you send will be mixed in with any personal messages you send. Awesome! Seesaw has a class blog feature as well. When parents are in the know, teachers and students also benefit. You are limited to a blank template, however. As you can read, I like to write a lot lol. Tool #1: Seesaw Class Blog. For example, when the chart shares that two apps have P/T Conference scheduling capabilities, what that looks like and feels like exactly might be very different than what you’re hoping the app will accomplish. They really are an easy way to give parents information about classroom happenings and give them opportunities to help. I scrolled down and see that I can turn disable P to P chat. Parent Percentage: I had 100% parent participation when I used this as a coach. Because everything was in one place, it was easy to get a hold of parents, and get them engaged in the classroom. =). I tried Seesaw last year for the last 6 weeks and my parents and students seemed to like it. In my opinion, this is the classroom app that will give you the most bang for your buck. Classdojo is my absolute favorite. Just an update. You can either get notifications through the app, through text, or through email. I love the idea of connecting what is happening in the classroom to home ☕️. Teacher uses: Activities can be customized and organized into folders. | Mrs. Meacham's Classroom Snapshots, Bloomz: 1 App, 9 Tools | Mrs. Meacham's Classroom Snapshots, https://bloomz.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/2136867-parent-to-parent-communication-controls, https://docs.google.com/a/adams-central.org/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeS20e4aoC0Axl7Csd_9NuKnuaWFMAu3tjVX1rlC3eq4GY0oA/viewform. Bloomz is the FREE award-winning app that saves teachers lots of time in all parent communications, while creating a supportive classroom community. I’ve been pouring over website and reviews trying to decide what web based site to use for teacher parent communication. Many of our students use Remind for sports and clubs. I believe that if your message is long or has attachements, it will send parents a text with a link to your announcement or message. If I want to send a message to all the parents with pictures of our apple orchard field trip, it doesn’t get confused with a private messages. Do you monitor this communication? Teachers using Bloomz may need to pay for Bloomz Premium to avoid some inconveniences. I plan to consider adding to the comparison chart in November. Many parents see the school community as distant. I invite you to use this spreadsheet to find the perfect app for your classroom. I was honored to do a quick Seesaw tutorial for Kayse Morris (my teacherpreneur spirit-animal). This is awesome information that I will look into more. What a fantastic review, thank you so much, Jessica! Have a great year! Here’s more info: https://bloomz.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/2136867-parent-to-parent-communication-controls. I recently became a Seesaw ambassador, which was a pretty big deal and gives you a premium version of the app. However, I really like the communication aspect of ClassDojo. There is a social-emotional feature, and a lot of really cool videos on growth-mindset, empathy, and student mindfulness. Hi MaryBeth – If your school adopts Seesaw for Schools, Seesaw Plus is included. I think this is a great tool for reflection and creativity among students. For example, on Class Tag you can send a file to parents to sign up for something (field trip, parent teacher conferences etc) and they can sign up ON the app. There is a direct message feature separate from a “class story”. For the few students who are reading and working independently it has been a game changer. Allow me to share photos, links, and messages. I’d love to hear which app or apps you plan to use or are already using! Thank you!! Teachers can upload activities, and students will complete them. I’m so impressed and thankful for you time you’ve put into this. We used to have to call each family, and that took forever! As a school wife function principals can peek into all teachers posts to see what students are working on. There were a few times when a student’s behavior was not up to par and a parent messaged me through the app with “I forgot to mention he didn’t get any sleep last night.” or something else that would explain it. Bloomz dominates both in number of ratings, as well as total average rating. I was using Remind, Facebook, text messages, email blasts, paper newsletters, class blog, paper calendar and electronic calendar, paper sign up sheets and more. I am a Seesaw teacher through and through. You don’t have to mess with notes or phone calls back and forth from home. It even has an emergency feature that we used 3 times last year for power outages. There is a blog-like “Announcement” section which is completely separate from private messages to and from parents. Yes! Download free mylyapp: http://www.mylyapp.com. Thank you for compiling all this information in one place!! But I think I’ll switch over to Bloomz. or “Dear Mr. and Mrs….” Which helped a bit. No kidding! Meet Melissa, a teacher who saved time using Bloomz for all her parent communications. I've stuck to the flipped classroom because I believe in the power of video. Here is the conference I am presenting at. Parents love it. Instant feedback on their work too! It has made communication with parents so much easier. Email is support@bloomz.net. They are added now. I update when app developers and/or users like you help me to realize that an app has been updated. How To Easily Organize Independent Reading Groups For Effective Literacy Stations, How To Make Choose Your Own Adventure Spelling Word Games With Google Slides, How To Strengthen Student Reading Responses With A Sticky Note Template. I love the fact that the interface will be familiar to most (if they’re Facebook users)! Do you remember being six years old and wanting to tell your teacher EVERYTHING? I think both ClassDojo and Seesaw can … However, if you’re just learning how to use the Seesaw app, the free version has more than enough. Once you enter your students into your account, you can customize your behaviors and assign or remove points. Messages, photos, files are created and shared out. The hardest part is trying to figure out the difference between digital platforms so you can choose the best classroom apps to use. I do know that a link can be shared, which is what I’ll have to do if I solely use Bloomz and decide to not blog. (Bonus cameo of my cat, Roo as an example). Have a variety of comprehensive supports for Ts. The same applies to stats that you don’t think you have highlighted – I know exactly what each family is doing and who is ignoring me, so I can take action quickly. I set up a test classroom parent group and checked out all the features. It has all features on this spreadsheet. It’s mobile and web accessible, which means that you can use it and send out messages from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Bloomz has successfully connected me to parents and created a team-like environment where our shared goal is to ensure each student has the best learning experience possible. I am a Seesaw teacher through and through. I only had them lose points over something big…like throwing a desk or physical aggression. I am “piloting” Bloomz with six parents in my current class and then getting their feedback. Have you heard of/tried an app called Fresh Grade? PS:  I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for my blog post/review. We were upset when we first found out it stopped the texting, and now it is closing. There are little monster avatars, which are super adorable, and there are posters and materials that match the monster theme for display in your classroom. As of Aug 1, 2019 ClassTag had a mere 134 ratings with an average of 3.8 ratings. It seems that Seesaw works seamlessly with Google Classroom. I also use many platforms for communication (Remind, Sign Up Genius, email, newsletters, blog) and am excited to try out Bloomz. It was a fast one… As for the P to P messaging in Bloomz, you can turn that off! I’ve been using Class Messenger since last year. Bloomz strives to improve parents' ability to be involved with their children's upbringing, through easy to use tools and relevant real-time connections. I was a long-time user of Remind—and LOVED it—but my district no longer allows it. Thanks for reaching out! They are adding a worksheet component. Hi there! Once they’re connected, they will see their children’s posts AFTER you approve them. I hope your transition goes smoothly for parents and teachers! It is so easy to use with my parents AND my students. Students who were on task, working hard, participating well, etc. Class Tag is similar to Remind in that it’s a communication platform directly to parents. It can be a message to your students and their parents in the inbox or it can be for instructional purposes. The tools are photos, videos, drawing, and a journal. Thanks for your comments! I am also leaning towards Bloomz but was wondering when you post pictures of student work, is it all posted on one main page or can you create albums or accounts where parents can just see their own child’s work? Your students will see their own work, any messages from you, and any activities you assign. This is just rolling out, so I don’t know what it will look like yet, but this is good news for the ClassDojo fans! It is easy to connect a parent to their Seesaw family app with an email link or a QR code. I also would like to know which one (Seesaw or Dojo) works best with Google Classroom. In order for Bloomz to support free accounts for the high parent user population, we have implemented certain limitations in high-cost, high-frequency activities related to their media usage. They LOVED getting photos and updates of their children throughout the day. Thank you for your comments!! Glad your school is using one! For parent communication app these apps are very nice. You may find that one app meets your needs, while the other one doesn’t. Overall, I am absolutely in LOVE with it and so are my parents. Really, with communication you want to open as many avenues as possible, and this looks like a great one. I would only remove points for missing homework, but not for behavior. I believe you also emailed me (or maybe it was someone else). Thank you so much! I used my negative points primarily for missing baggie books. This does give parents the option to get any messages or updates via text or email. This year they have added many more features. Thanks for this info. Class Tag has now added student “backpack” (portfolio) where teachers and coteachers can upload individual files to all students or only certain students including medical forms etc. Anything that a student posts must be approved by you, unless you turn that setting off. You can easily turn off the ads in the settings! Here’s the current app review document! However, it has other class management tools I like to use (Classroom Golden Egg, Lucky Draw, timers…). It’s always changing as it is a living document! So easy! There are LOTS of options! And it is FREE! I’m going to try it for parent conferences next report card. Lots of options for teachers is great! I recently found another app which is called Classloom on Twitter @classloomglobal and tested it immediately! We are solely a Google Classroom district with policy in place excluding these platforms. I’m so excited about the possibilities they both present for my class! Students can join as well, and it can serve as a group text for information and updates. If you want to know more about Seesaw, here’s a link to a post of 7 Seesaw App tips you might not already know. Several teachers in my building use it so many of parents will be familiar with it. Bloomz has the features I need. Thank you so much! After reading your information and several comments people have left here, I feel more confident in rolling Bloomz out to all of my parents soon. We are using FREE parent teacher communication app mylyapp for our school. I really like their messaging options. #kamalaharris #inau, What are you afraid of? I’m sorry to hear about Class Messenger. You can also record your instructions for your assignments and post them to the class story. Teachers have the option to have them delivered to one parent, a select few, or all parents. Messages, photos, and documents can be shared out to one parent, a select few, or all. So that when the kids click the link, they can complete the activity for Seesaw but still use Dojo for everything else? Best wishes!!! It also allows you manage parental consents with mobile signing. It’s designed for eportfolios mostly but does have a communication component. They think the only appropriate time to communicate with teachers is twice a year during parent teacher conferences. I would then just check their work on Seesaw (mostly for the worksheet aspect like with math). It instantly sends out phone notifications and emails to parents. I’ve only used ClassDojo in the past but am hoping to try out Seesaw and maybe others in the upcoming months. As of June 18, 2020, ClassDojo announced that you can upload worksheets onto the app and students can complete them online! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve, Raise your hand if you find yourself struggling to, Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if. Newer features include voice messaging and 2-way chatting between teachers and parents. Research has demonstrated the value of parental involvement in their kid's education. If you want to know more about Seesaw, here’s a link to a post of 7 Seesaw App tips you might not already know. With Bloomz, you get one fluid, responsive experience. I attempted to use Class Dojo the fourth quarter; however, we left our classroom 3 weeks in. I’ll use Bloomz as our classroom communication tool, which will ideally take the place of weekly/monthly newsletters, classroom blog (maybe! My goal for next year is to increase and strengthen parent communication. Thanks for a great review of all these apps! On my blogger blog I have my flipped learning videos embedded and my Sqworl page linked. Allow me to message/share with a few select or all parents. Here they still have the chance to tell me that they lost a tooth, or in this case, that they liked the Jack Johnson Recycle song I sent them for Earth Day. You can watch it here to learn how to get started. I allow all my students to choose the same animal if they choose. This classroom app started as a behavior tracker for classroom management, but has recently added a student portfolio portion as well. I’m wondering if you have any experience using Edmodo and if so, how it compares to these others? Do you know if I would still be able to do that kind of thing in Bloomz? They have also enabled YouTube videos right in messages and posts. The communication in ClassDojo is much more user friendly. After 22 years as an elementary classroom teacher, I’m now teaching elementary STEAM! Later, I’ll show you how ClassDojo does a better job of separating the two. Presenting: Seesaw & Bloomz, an education post from the blog Mrs. Meacham's Classroom Snapshots, written by Jessica Jackson Meacham on Bloglovin’ Saved by Bloglovin' 7. It’s just a little thing that helps the kiddos take ownership of their journal. 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