9 Web Tools and Apps for Communicating More Effectively with Parents

“At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” – Jane D. Hull

One goal teachers often struggle with is communicating regularly with parents. Sending emails or texts to every parent is time-consuming. Additionally, English might not be their first language. The following free web tools and apps help teachers communicate with parents quickly and often will translate messages into several different languages. Find more tips for engaging parents in my presentation, Engaging Parents with Technology and Social Media.

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Engaging Parents with Technology from Shelly Sanchez Terrell

Parent Communication Tools

Remind is a teacher parent communication iOS/Android app. Send text messages with links, images, and attachments to anyone who subscribes. Translate messages into more than 70 languages.
Class Tag offers a variety of tools to communicate with parents via text messages or the phone. Messages are translated in the parent’s preferred language then back to English.
Talking Points is a text messaging tool to help schools and teachers communicate with parents in their native language.
Class Dojo is an iOS/Android app for sharing photos and videos of wonderful classroom moments.
Bloomz is an iOS/Android app and web tool for sharing photos, videos, and announcements in multiple languages.
GSuite (Google’s Suite of Apps) has incredible features to translate and send emails quickly. One Google Spreadsheets add-on I use frequently is FormMule, which helps teachers send up to 100 individualize emails within minutes using a template.
Simply Circle is a web tool and app teachers and parents can use to post updates and announcements, share pictures and upload documents.
Create parent newsletters and announcements with Buncee or Smore.