Stop Spamming, Start Texting!

Do you text with your family? Your friends? Your students?  Educators and administrators are always seeking ways to improve their communication with students.  Although email is a dominate form of communication and as such, supported as the main communication channel for many universities, it often remains less effective than desired (Straumsheim, 2016).  Researchers are now suggesting an alternative avenue for communication, one that is more personal and more meaningful for our contemporary students, that of texting or messaging (Straumsheim, 2015).  As educators, it is our charge to adapt, explore and innovate with new methods for engaging and reaching our students, especially for those students that are hard to reach.  Including texting as an option for student communication gives new energy to the student/teacher relationship. This mini workshop will share the step by step process for setting up, and professionally using, your Google Voice number to engage and reach your students via texting. 

The information and skills gained from this mini-workshop can be used by faculty, adjuncts and administration to:

1. Set up your own professional Google Voice number
2. Manage and professional communicate with students via Google Voice messaging
3. Identify communication strategies to reach a diversity of students

Kathman, B. (2017).  3 Higher Ed Trends to Look Out For in 2018 https://www.signalvine.com/3-higher-ed-trends-2018/ Retrieved on 2/28/108

Straumsheim, C. (2015).  Texting Pushes People’s Buttons. Retrieved on 2/28/108 at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/30/researchers-faculty-members-explore-texting-email-alternative

Straumsheim, C. (2016).  Read and Unread. Retrieved on 2/28/108 at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/03/02/study-explores-impact-social-media-texting-email-use