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Remind Chat and Common Sense Media Partnership

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For all those Remind users out there...read this article!
(Formerly, Remind 101)

So perhaps you have heard that Remind will soon begin offering a chat feature for teachers to stay in better contact with students and parents. When I first heard of this new tool I will be honest, I thought it was a horrible idea! My reasons for that thought are that communication between staff and students should always be of the utmost professional quality and, well, with chat I could see professional and informal lines becoming blurred as well as potential for putting educators and students at risk. Sorry, I'm just a very protective person and if I can help someone avoid a pitfall, I am compelled to do so.

However! Remind really impressed me by partnering with CommonSense.org, a respected non-profit that works tirelessly to protect children in this new digital age. What did CommonSense do for Remind? They developed a week long introduction to Remind Chat with daily subject material about digital citizenship while introducing new features within Chat. I really respect a company that has enough foresight to see that, used improperly, their product could cause harm and, therefore, took direct measures to teach users the best way in which to use their product.

If you are a Remind user and are considering using Remind Chat, I highly recommend that you read this article from CommonSense.

Good Luck and Safe Computing!
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