Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • My Teacher Store
    • Memberships
    • Courses
    • Amazon Favorites
  • Classroom Design
    • Setting Up Your Classroom
      • Layouts and Arrangements
      • Flexible Seating
    • Classroom Decor
      • General Decor Ideas
      • Themes
      • Color Schemes
    • Bulletin Boards
  • Organization
    • Classroom Organization
    • Paper Organization
    • Classroom Library
    • Teacher Organization
    • Student Organization
    • Supplies & Materials
  • Management
    • Procedures and Routines
    • Behavior Management
    • Field Trips
  • Teaching
    • Planning for a Sub
    • Lesson Planning
      • Curriculum Mapping
      • Lesson Planning
      • Thematic Units
      • Prepping for Lessons
    • Social Emotional Learning
    • Math
      • Guided Math
      • Tips for Teaching Math
      • Math Resources
    • Reading
      • Literature-Based Learning
      • Read Alouds
        • Tips for Read Alouds
        • Book Lists
    • Writing
    • Word Work
    • Science & Social Studies
    • Digital Teaching
    • Assessing Student Progress
  • Seasonal
    • Back to School
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • Holidays Around the World
    • December
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • End of the School Year
  • For Teachers
    • Community
      • Classroom Organization Facebook Group
      • Professional Growth
      • Picture Book Facebook Group
    • Productivity Tips
    • Living on a Teacher’s Salary
    • Creating a Work/Life Balance
    • Teacher Health & Wellness
    • Teacher Lifestyle
    • Quick Teacher Tips
  • At Home Learning
    • Homeschooling
    • Remote Teaching
    • Distance Learning Resources
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Get unlimited access to all our classroom themes and decor for your classroom or distance learning area at home ➔ Yes Please!
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Jodi Durgin Education Co.

Teaching Activities, Resources and Time Savers for Busy Elementary Teachers

  • Membership & Workshops
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Shop
    • My Teacher Store
    • Memberships
    • Courses
    • Amazon Favorites
  • Classroom Design
    • Setting Up Your Classroom
      • Layouts and Arrangements
      • Flexible Seating
    • Classroom Decor
      • General Decor Ideas
      • Themes
      • Color Schemes
    • Bulletin Boards
  • Organization
    • Classroom Organization
    • Paper Organization
    • Classroom Library
    • Teacher Organization
    • Student Organization
    • Supplies & Materials
  • Management
    • Procedures and Routines
    • Behavior Management
    • Field Trips
  • Teaching
    • Planning for a Sub
    • Lesson Planning
      • Curriculum Mapping
      • Lesson Planning
      • Thematic Units
      • Prepping for Lessons
    • Social Emotional Learning
    • Math
      • Guided Math
      • Tips for Teaching Math
      • Math Resources
    • Reading
      • Literature-Based Learning
      • Read Alouds
        • Tips for Read Alouds
        • Book Lists
    • Writing
    • Word Work
    • Science & Social Studies
    • Digital Teaching
    • Assessing Student Progress
  • Seasonal
    • Back to School
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • Holidays Around the World
    • December
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • End of the School Year
  • For Teachers
    • Community
      • Classroom Organization Facebook Group
      • Professional Growth
      • Picture Book Facebook Group
    • Productivity Tips
    • Living on a Teacher’s Salary
    • Creating a Work/Life Balance
    • Teacher Health & Wellness
    • Teacher Lifestyle
    • Quick Teacher Tips
  • At Home Learning
    • Homeschooling
    • Remote Teaching
    • Distance Learning Resources
You are here: Home / Teaching / 3 TECHNOLOGY TOOLS ALL TEACHERS NEED

3 TECHNOLOGY TOOLS ALL TEACHERS NEED

There is so much technology out there to help make our lives as teachers easier, but it can be difficult to sift through it to find quality tools that fit a tight budget. This post includes not one… not two… but THREE FREE technology tools that will help you strengthen the home school connection, save time, and stay organized.

This blog post will…

  • suggest 3 free technology tools to begin using in your classroom
  • explain what they can be used for and how to use them
  • identify what is needed to access them

The 3 technology tools are:

  1. Sign Up Genius
  2. Remind
  3. Screencastify

SIGN UP GENIUS

WHAT SIGN UP GENIUS CAN BE USED FOR

  • Parent teacher conferences
  • Donation wish lists
  • Class parties
  • Mystery readers
  • Field day volunteers
  • Book fair volunteers

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Families can sign up on their phone or other electronic device with access to internet. In order to use this tool, you need an electronic device that can access the internet.

HOW TO CREATE A SIGN UP GENIUS ACCOUNT IN 7 EASY STEPS

  1. Go to: https://www.signupgenius.com
  2. Click the green “Create a Sign Up” button at the top of the page.
  3. Input your first and last name, school email address, and password.
  4. Check off the “I’m not a robot” box.
  5. Click the green “Register Now” button.
  6. Verify your account by checking your email inbox for an email from Sign Up Genius. Open the email and click the orange button “Activate Your Account.”
  7. Log into your account using your email and password. You’re in!

HOW TO USE SIGN UP GENIUS FOR PARENT CONFERENCES IN 10 EASY STEPS

  1. Go to: https://www.signupgenius.com
  2. Log into your account with your username and password.
  3. Click the green button “Create a Sign Up.”
  4. Under the General Details tab, fill out the three sections: “Name of Your Group,” “Title of Sign Up,” and “Description.” The name of your group could be: [Insert name]’s 20XX-20XX Parent/Guardian Group. The title of your sign up could be: [Insert name]’s Fall Parent Teacher Conferences. The description could be: Hello [grade level] Families! It’s time to sign up for parent teacher conferences! Please sign up for a time below that fits your schedule, so we can meet to discuss your child’s progress so far this year. I am looking forward to sharing my observations, answering any questions, and addressing any worries you may have. Thanks so much, [Your Name] Click the green button “continue.”
  5. Under the Theme tab, choose one of the popular themes, browse a category (e.g. education), or search for a theme using the search bar on the page (e.g. back to school or books). After selecting the theme, click the green button “continue.”
  6. Under the Dates/Times tab, choose time slots. Next, choose the start date, end date, location (classroom number), weekdays, start time, end time and length of time slots. Click the green button “continue.”
  7. Under the Slots tab, fill out title of slot and help comment. Click the green button “continue.”
  8. Under the Settings tab, fill out requirements for participants and notification and reminder preferences. Decide if you want participants to be able to swap with each other.
  9. Under the Preview tab, check for any mistakes. Click the green button “proceed to invite & publish” if everything is correct. If there are errors, click the white button “edit further.” 
  10. Under the Invite/Publish Tab, choose whether you will manually enter emails or import from address book. If you enter them in manually, enter one email per line or separate them with a comma. Fill out your custom email text and then preview your email by clicking the orange button “preview my email.” Lastly, choose the green button “take my sign up live and send my invites,” the other green button “take my sign up live but don’t send emails,” or the orange button “save as draft for later.”

REMIND

WHAT REMIND CAN BE USED FOR

  • Sending reminders to families about…
  • Gym class (bring sneakers)
  • Open house
  • Picture day
  • Field trips
  • Book fair
  • Art show
  • Parent teacher conference sign ups
  • Half-days and days off
  • School fundraisers
  • Other special events
  • Returning forms

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

You can text or email the parents directly without them knowing your personal information. In order to use this tool, you need an electronic device that can access the internet.

HOW TO SET UP REMIND IN 7 EASY STEPS

  1. Go to https://www.remind.com
  2. Create an account by clicking the blue button “Sign Up.” Enter your email or phone number. Another option is to sign up with your Gmail account. Accept the terms and conditions.
  3. Choose your role as a teacher.
  4. Create a class name (e.g. [Your name]’s 20XX-20XX Class).
  5. Link up to your school if possible.
  6. Input your student’s parent’s names, their cell phone number or email address.
  7. Share a link through email inviting parents to join or print the “printable PDFs” and send them home with your students.

SCREENCASTIFY

WHAT SCREENCASTIFY CAN BE USED FOR

Coaching parents through…

  • Accessing your classroom website
  • How to solve a math problem using a specific strategy
  • How to access an online tool to help students with their homework
  • How to sign up for tools like Remind or Sign Up Genius

ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

You can record your screen and then email the shareable link directly to families. In order to use this tool, you need a computer running the latest version of Google, a Gmail or Google account, and 1 GB of free memory. The free version allows you to record videos up to 10 minutes.

HOW TO SET UP SCREENCASTIFY IN 3 EASY STEPS

  1. Go to https://www.screencastify.com using Google Chrome.
  2. Click the blue button “add to chrome.” Follow the instructions.
  3. Create an account by clicking “my account” in the top right hand corner and filling in the necessary information. That’s it!

Category: TeachingTag: Digital Teaching

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

Fourth Grade Math Activities

Fifth Grade Math Activities

Third Grade Math Activities

Second Grade Math Activities

Guided Math | Math Workshop Rotation Board | Lesson Planning & Management

GENRE ACTIVITIES and LESSON IDEAS

MAKING INFERENCES ACTIVITIES and LESSON IDEAS

Elementary Math Block Structure Ideas

Formative Assessments for Elementary Teachers

5 Ways to Store Math Manipulatives in Your Classroom

What Elementary Teachers Need for Math Workshop

How to Use the Math Workshop with Guided Math Rotation Board

Previous Post: « A Quick & Effective Way to Check Math Proficiency
Next Post: Math Stories: Teaching Elementary Math through Picture Books »

Primary Sidebar

I’m Jodi. It’s an honor to support you in your teaching.

Learn More

Search the Site

Browse the Blog

Literacy
Instruction

Science &
Social Studies

Teacher Organization

Social Emotional Learning

Teaching
Math

Social Emotional Learning

Classroom Management

Classroom
Design

Shop Teaching Resources

  • All Resources
  • 1st Grade
  • 2nd Grade
  • 3rd Grade
  • 4th Grade
  • 5th Grade
  • Sub Plans
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Save with Bundles
Menu
  • All Resources
  • 1st Grade
  • 2nd Grade
  • 3rd Grade
  • 4th Grade
  • 5th Grade
  • Sub Plans
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Save with Bundles

Free Resources for 1st-5th Grade Teachers

Where should I send your free printables each week?

Footer

This shows the free classroom decor guide which shares tips for elementary teachers to set up their classroom on a budget.

Do you love planning for the new school year?

Get started with our FREE Classroom Decor tips and ideas!

Site Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosures

Copyright © 2021 · Jodi Durgin · Website by KristenDoyle.co