Teacher-Parent Communication with Google Voice
by Ryan Armitage
Google Voice has been the best piece of communication technology I have used as a teacher. For those who don't know, Google Voice, or GV, is an Internet-based telecommunications tool provided by Google. When you sign up for the service, you are provided a phone number. You set up that number to forward to other phones.
This year I provided my fourth grade students' and their parents with my GV number. I have always encouraged this type of communication, but in the past, I was a bit weary to give them a number that could possibly disrupt my life with late night calls or excessive calls to my cell phone. Using GV, I can choose exactly where those calls are routed to. I can choose what times my landline number or cell phone number will ring, or if it will ring at all.
Receiving Calls
I currently have my GV number forward to my cell phone from 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and to my landline from 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Note the overlapping times. GV can forward to several numbers at the same time. For the other times, my callers will have to leave a voicemail message. You can configure GV to do different things depending on who is calling you. You can have callers routed differently to all your phones, maybe just to one phone, or directly to voicemail.
Voicemail recordings are emailed to me as is a transcript of the message. While the transcript is sometimes laughably inaccurate, it's great to have another record of the communication.
Making Calls
Google Voice Chrome extension
Because I want my students' parents to call me back at my GV number, I use the GV service to make calls too. From the website, I select the contact to call. GV will then call you at your number. When you answer, GV will begin to connect you with the number you chose. Calls are free in the United States.
If you use Google Chrome (and you should), the Google Voice extension is a quick and easy way to connect to numbers. Any number you see in your browser can be easily dialed using GV.
Text Messages
From the website, you can also make SMS messages. Many of my students' parents prefer this communication today (as do many of my students). Each side of the SMS conversation is saved by GV, giving me another log of communication.
Going Mobile
GV has a great application on its Android phones, so if you have a Google Phone, everything is truly integrated. But I have an iPhone, and Apple will not approve the Google Voice app. The good news is you can have most of the functionality on the iPhone by simply going to http://m.google.com/voice. You can add a Google Voice icon to your home screen as well.
Looking Forward
I wish were able to configure GV to dial numbers with extensions. That way I could have my calls routed to my classroom phone.
Google Voice is still by invitation only. If you need an invite, contact me. I will give mine away until I run out.
