Remind guide: Top free back to school app

Posted by Nick Tylwalk on August 11th, 2016
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

We don't generally like to be the bearers of bad news here at 148apps, but here's an inescapable truth for you: It's soon time to head back to school.

Deny it all you want. Tell yourself we're less than two weeks into August. But the new school year will be here before you know it. There's no getting around it.

With that realization comes another, less obvious one, which is that there are mobile apps out there that might make returning to the classroom slightly less painful for students, parents, and teachers alike. One of those apps is Remind (formerly Remind101), which aims to make communication easier for all three groups.


How does this free app work? Our Remind guide can help you with the basics so you can be even more ready for back to school than you already were -- though that might not be a tough bar to clear.

What is Remind?

At its most basic level, Remind is a text messaging app, one that takes all of the concerns of different platforms out of the equation and makes communication simpler. It's intended to link people together in order to aid with schooling, even if some of the people involved in the conversations don't have the app -- or even smartphones, for that matter.

Remind can also be used for reminders (perhaps obviously), and as its website says, it promises "the end of unread printouts, sticky notes, and emails." And it does all of this without needing to make any phone numbers or other personal information visible to others. There's a reason the word "safe" is in the app's official App Store title.

How to get started with Remind

After downloading the app, users can use an email address, phone number, or Google login to begin the registration process. The next step is creating a password, followed by choosing a role (student, teacher, parent, or organization), and answering some brief questions.

Remind uses what it calls class codes to organize people in groups, and if you have a class code provided by people already using the app, you can enter it or use search to locate it. You can also create your own class code, at which point you will be prompted to only message people age 13 or over. Again, safety is a big consideration here.

Notifications are opt-in, and if selected, Remind will send word when people join one of your classes. If you created your own class, you'll be asked if you want to connect it to a school -- a search box allows you to find one if needed -- and either ass people by phone number or email address or simply proceed to the class.

Types of messages

Within a class, there are multiple types of messages at your fingertips after tapping on the pencil icon at the bottom of the main screen. Class announcements send a message to the entire class, group conversation allows you to select other users from your school, and individual messages are self-explanatory. There's also an 'Activity' option that can be used for common school-related things like field trips, events, and fundraisers.

Remind can do a lot more, but those are the basics and should give you a decent overview on whether or not the app might come in handy. A lot will be dependent on whether the school in your life has a lot of people using it, but with Remind currently shooting up the App Store charts as the new school year approaches, the number of people wherever you are should only increase.

Posted in: News, Guide
Tagged With: Iphone, Apps, IPad, Guide, Remind, remind101
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