We all wish students would have our classes at the top of their priority lists so that as soon as they got home or back to their dorm, they’d immediately start their assigned work.

However, since we know that’s rarely the case (hey, students have a lot going on—just like we do!), giving students a gentle reminder about upcoming due dates is a good idea. Set up assignment reminders and encourage students to receive them via text message rather than just email. After all, the majority of students check their text messages far more frequently than their inboxes!

Students will need to add their phone number to their personal settings in order to receive these text reminders. Add these steps to your syllabus or go over them in class:

1. Navigate to your Personal Settings, located in the drop-down menu underneath your name, in learn.hawkeslearning.com.

2. Select the Account tab.

3. Add a secondary email address to your web platform account in the form of your cell phone carrier’s text-to-email domain. Instead of “number,” use your actual cell phone number:

• AT&T: number@txt.att.net
• T-Mobile: number@tmomail.net
• Verizon: number@vtext.com (text-only), number@vzwpix (text + photo)
• Sprint: number@messaging.sprintpcs.com or number@pm.sprint.com
• Virgin Mobile: number@vmobl.com

4. Check the box to receive communication at this alternate address:

5. Select the Save Changes button.

6. Receive text notifications (rather than email).