If You Are Not on Google Voice Yet, What Are You Waiting For?
- Teaching More Than Math
- Jul 15, 2020
- 4 min read
As a new teacher I spent many afternoons wishing I could make parent calls from home. I preferred not to use my cell phone to make parent calls, so I felt stuck at school to make calls. I am not sure why, but Remind just was not what I was looking for to stay in touch. I tried other apps, but there were always parents who were not connected and calling was never an option.
It was not until my second year when Covid-19 sent us all home to work that I learned about Google Voice. With Google Voice you can get a phone number connected to its service (with a Google account). I had to use my personal account because my school account did not provide this option.
Google Voice was the answer to my first year problem and so much more. Here are the advantages:
Stay in Touch Anywhere
Some may call this a disadvantage. I get it. You should be able to step away from your job. However, I am speaking in terms of the school years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Virtual learning can take place anywhere. You can be in your backyard, your bedroom, your living room, your office (if you are lucky enough to have one), or your kitchen. In addition, you may find yourself working from other homes, like that of a family member (to help with child care) or a significant other.
When school returns to the building you can continue to have those options. I have parents who are difficult to reach during school hours and I am more than willing to reach them in the evening from the comfort of my home.
There is a Text and Call Option
I am not sure if there is an app or service out there that does both texting and calling, but I bet Google does it better. I love that I can publish a number for parents and students to call or text. There are no hidden codes or anything to join or remember. I can call with my Google Voice number and parents can save the number to call or text back. It works the same as a regular phone number.
Easy Phone Number Entry
Dialing a number (or 54) just got easier. I can open two browser tabs: one for Google Voice and one for parent contact information. With two tabs open you copy and paste the parent phone numbers into the dialing or texting option on Google Voice. You can also manually enter the numbers with the benefit of copying and typing from the same screen view.
It Is Not a Phone or Your Phone
It works like a phone, but not. You can set your account up so that you are not always a call and text away. I recommend that you provide yourself with a way to turn off your availability because parents will call and text you outside of hours you are comfortable. You can access Google Voice when you want and tune it out when you want.
There are options to use a browser on a computer or phone and/or to download an app. I primarily use Google Voice on my computer which means I can only receive calls when I am logged in. I set it up so I will get an email notification for texts which I can then decide to respond to or not.
Hands-Free
I make calls at my computer. I talk hands-free without extra equipment which allows me to navigate to students records or use other resources on my computer to help parents. In addition, texting via a real keyboard rocks. It is so much faster. I absolutely love texting from my computer.
Easily Make Connections with Parents Who Speak Another Language
I have a lot of parents who are not English speakers. Pairing Google Voice with Google Translate I was able to quickly translate from English to Portuguese and Spanish and back to English. I was able to have conversations with parents for the first time without a translator. It felt like a giant win. This tools is definitely something I will hold onto.
To communicate easily in another language write the English text into Google Translate and select to translate it to your chosen language. Then copy and paste the text into the Google Voice text message. Likewise, copy and paste the parent response to be translated back to English.
Additionally you can translate a message sent in another language by right clicking the message and selecting translate to English. However, to respond you may still need Google Translate.
Easy Tech Support
The transition to digital learning included a lot of technology support for parents and teachers. With Google Voice I was able to take screenshots and add little notes to the photos to send to parents and students in an instant. I could also do this while I was on a call with them, since it was a hands free call.
If we ever go back to our old style of teaching this will be a favorite resource to bring back. I plan to use Google Voice for all of my communication needs with parents and even students.
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