Bloomz is a communication app that I talked about a little earlier in my blog. I've just now started using Bloomz. Just to recap, Bloomz allows you to send reminders, create calendar events that will send a reminder, organize volunteer and item sign ups, organize parent/teacher conferences, send private messages to parents, create photo albums, and create individual student albums to showcase great work. I previously used Remind, but I have to say, so far, I prefer Bloomz.
Remind is great for sending class or individual announcements, but Bloomz is a way to create a classroom community and make parents feel like they are a part of it. It think it is wonderful that you are able to create picture albums of your students. For example, I created a Field Trip and 100th Day of School album. It great because many parents were not able to come, but they can still see all the fun that happened that day. Also, I love that you can place pictures of student work into individual student albums. I think this is going to be a great motivator for students to work hard to produce completed, neat, and correct work. I plan on introducing this feature by taking a picture of the students that pass their spelling test each week. I've been having a little trouble getting some students to study their words at home and complete their spelling homework, so hopefully this will excite them and make them want to do those things.
Another feature that I wasn't aware of at first, is the notification feature. Even if parents/guardians don't sign up directly on the app, if you invite them through email, it will automatically send them reminders. If it is an event, sign up, or message that you want everyone to see (no matter whose signed up on the app) you can click "notify everyone" and it will send the message through the app or and email.
The only downside is, to have access to all features you have to pay $7.99 a month. For example, to be able to view the calendar monthly or weekly you have to pay the fee. Right now, myself and parents only view it in basic view. Which lists the events in the order that I put them in. It's not as convenient, but I can live with it. Also, to have access to the reports tab you have to pay. The reports tab shows you how many parents/guardians have signed up/volunteered and viewed the albums and messages. This feature isn't one that I desperately need, so the free version of Bloomz is still great for me.
Overall, I'm excited to continue to use Bloomz and create a positive and welcoming classroom environment.!
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I have never heard of Bloomz but was intrigued to learn more about it from your blog and see how you like using it. Especially since Remind will not be accessible to Verizon users in the future.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of picture uploads for individual students. I often have parents wanting to be see their child’s work but it never makes it home. This is an effective way to keep parents in the loop!
I like that there is still a lot to do with the free version. I’m glad to see it is making a positive classroom environment for you!
- Amber