Best App for Teacher-Family Communication and Supporting Remote Learning

Reaching families and keeping them engaged was already challenging, without the added burden of helping them support their child through remote learning. It’s important that you have the best app for teacher-Family communication and tools to easily share resources with families.

If we’re going to fight the ever-widening achievement gap that has been added to by the COVID crisis, we need to reach, engage and share learning resources with every Family in the class!

Which is the best app for teacher-Family communication that supports remote learning?

Comparing different platforms can be overwhelming, so we’ve pulled together a comparison of the Family engagement essentials, to help you make the right choice for your classroom community.

As you’re looking at the chart below, consider the following questions:

• Do you want a platform designed to support remote learning through Family/teacher communication or for student-focused tasks?
• What remote learning features are important to you?
• Do you need to hold online events and conferences for families?

Download this chart as a printable PDF

How is supporting remote learning on ClassTag different from other communication apps?

Which platform was designed as the best app for teacher-Family communication?

ClassTag is a free teacher-Family communication platform with everything you need to reach, engage and support every Family. We have been, and always will be about Family-teacher connections.

• ClassDojo and Seesaw are more student-focused. ClassDojo’s focus is on “classroom management” and creating happier classrooms through managing student behavior. Seesaw’s mission and focus are on “students show[ing] learning” through a shared digital portfolio.
• Remind’s focus is on “two-way communication,” or through sending families and students phone texts.
• Talking Points’ focus is Family-teacher connections but has limited features to help your remote learner succeed.

When choosing the best app for teacher-Family communications, you probably want one that has robust Family-teacher communication capabilities! With ClassDojo, Seesaw and Remind the Family communication element is secondary.

Which is more accessible for families?

Family access to technology can have a major impact on important communications. Communication between teachers and families can only happen in the ClassDojo app, whereas ClassTag can reach families through email, SMS, paper, mobile or web app.

Communicating with ELL families during remote learning can be challenging. ClassTag removes the language barrier and automatically translates in 100+ languages.

ClassTag also gives teachers smart, actionable alerts and recommendations, ensuring they are able to connect with harder-to-reach families. With read receipts and Family-engagement stats, you can focus on the families who are not receiving messages or participating and may need additional support and follow-up.

Which features are important for supporting your teaching?

Remote learning brings a new set of needs and complications to classroom communication. You’ll want to choose the best Family-teacher app for communication that allows you to share important classroom information and student work while not duplicating your work across multiple platforms.

How can I share student work with families?

ClassTag, ClassDojo, and Seesaw all have a portfolio of student work. ClassTag’s virtual student backpacks house student work, but also provide a safe and secure area for important documents (e.g. IEP  or 504 copies). Remind focuses on communication through text and does not have student portfolios. Talking points, while focusing on a bit more than just communication, also does not have student portfolios.

ClassTag’s ability to let families respond to stories with student work helps promote classroom community and collaboration.

Which is better for Google Schools or Google Classroom educators?

Like Google Classroom and Google’s suite of tools, ClassTag is completely free for teachers and families . We know how important it is for teachers to have access to a free stack of tools, and we’ve designed ClassTag to integrate with the full Google suite in a seamless way.

Google Integrations

ClassTag’s integration with Google Classroom and Google’s suite of tools keeps families in the loop without any added frustration for you, the teacher.

With ClassTag’s integrations with Google Classroom, teachers can save time with roster-syncing, only having to add families and students once! Additionally, teachers can direct message ClassTag families with automatic translation in over 100+ languages, without ever leaving Google Classroom with our Chrome extension.

ClassTag helps streamline file sharing, scheduling, and conferencing through integrations with Google Drive, Meet, and Calendar. Teachers and families using ClassDojo, Seesaw, Talking Points and Remind would need to learn a multitude of platforms to accomplish everything ClassTag allows families and teachers to do.

Need to Hold Events and Conferences that ALL Families Will Attend?

ClassTag makes scheduling in-person or remote conferences and events a breeze by allowing families and teachers to pick times that work for their schedule.
Events and conference times will automatically sync with Google Calendar and add a conferencing link through Google Meet. This helps families keep track of important events and conference information, all in one place.

When using ClassDojo and Seesaw, teachers and families have access to events, but not Family-teacher conferences. Additionally, families may forget important conferencing information without a calendar sync reminder and conferencing link. Remind and Talking Points do not include event coordination with time slots.

So, why ClassTag?

Reaching EVERY Family during remote learning can be difficult, but we make it easily accessible with automatic translation in 100+ languages, event scheduling, video conferencing, and more!

With features supporting Family engagement during remote learning such as direct messaging, event coordination, and Google integrations, ClassTag is an absolutely FREE all-in-one platform that rewards you for engaging with families.

No matter how you go to school this year, we will help you reach EVERY Family!

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