Review of the Parent Communication App ClassTag

Daily tasks, such as, lesson planning, instructing, and grading don’t even begin to cover the duties and responsibilities of a teacher. Many days, we find ourselves falling asleep on the keyboard. Teaching can be one of the most rewarding professions, but I often find myself searching for tips and tricks in hopes of creating a more manageable position. Although I am proud to identify myself as a teacher, I craved more organization and balance in my day-to-day life. It was during this time when I discovered an app called ClassTag.

Learning about ClassTag truly made my job so much easier. The app allows me to streamline any engagement and communication I have with my student’s parents.

As an example, I used to spend many hours every week creating my classroom newsletter. This typically included reminders regarding upcoming events, testing dates, requests and various announcements. Once my newsletters were printed out and sent home with students, I often sat back, crossing my fingers, optimistically trusting they’d actually make it out of their backpacks and into their parent’s hands.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t always the case. As I would usually receive numerous phone calls and emails packed full of parent questions and concerns. I quickly recognized my student’s backpacks were similar to that of black holes. Just because it goes in, doesn’t guarantee it will ever make its way out!

The ClassTag app now allows me to post all classroom information with my students and their families through our online classroom portal.

I normally post reminders concerning no-school days, early dismissal times, upcoming classroom parties, and field trips. ClassTag has also simplified the (previously) daunting task of requesting parent volunteers, chaperons, or classroom donations. This task alone used to take weeks of preparation and groundwork. Returning signed documents was rarely an easy-going feat for most students. In fact, this normally involved me spending even more time developing and sending home further reminders! Many teachers have also been confronted by a similar challenge when organizing parents-teacher conferences.

Again, keeping track of my student’s sign-up sheets was demanding and hectic. Most of the time, the returned documents were covered in parent’s notes and questions. The back and forth communication via paper made it very difficult to stay well organized. The ClassTag app now allows parents to virtually sign-up on the dates and times provided. Instead of having parents show up at the wrong time or during another families conference, there is no longer confusion about their assigned timeslot.

As if ClassTag doesn’t already sound appealing, just wait until I tell you about the rewards you can earn just for using the app! If you’re a teacher, then you know how costly classroom supplies and materials can quickly add up. In my case, I work for a non-profit charter school. Sadly, many of our students are currently living in poverty and can’t afford common classroom supplies.

Before using the ClassTag app, I found myself stopping at the store on a monthly basis to buy pencils, erasers, stickers, glue sticks, hygienic products, and more.

Fortunately, the ClassTag rewards program allows you to earn coins for your classroom by simply engaging in parent interaction and referring other teachers to signup and use the app! The more ClassTag Coins you accumulate each month, the more FREE supplies your classroom receives!

Not to mention, all of the gratitude and appreciation your teacher friends will express after experiencing all that ClassTag has to offer!

Utilizing the ClassTag app has transformed my career as a teacher. I now have more time to focus on my students and their individual needs. I also find myself less stressed, which means I can focus fewer thoughts on at-home correspondences and more thoughts on creative teaching strategies.

My students are truly benefiting from this app, as I am improving and growing as an educator. If you haven’t already, try out the ClassTag app for yourself. Students, their families and your busy schedule will thank you!
Connect with ClassTag on Social Media:

• Classtag.com
• Follow on Twitter @CLASSTAGME
• Follow on Facebook