New features to help you prioritize connections

As the excitement of welcoming back your students starts building up, we know that your list of tasks and responsibilities is growing. Sorting through all the to do’s can be a job on its own, but one priority that can’t be ignored? Building connections with your students! At Along, we’re strong believers that teachers who prioritize positive relationships with their students can create a classroom environment that is welcoming, engaging, and conducive to learning. 

We know building connections isn’t easy, so we’ve been adding and enhancing features that help you create meaningful interactions with your students with more ease. 

Get connected with connect codes: 

The magic of Along happens when teachers and students start responding to reflection questions with one another, so we’ve made it even easier for teachers to get their students on board. How does it work? Once you sign in to Along, you’ll have access to your connect code. You can then share your code in whatever mode of communication you use with your students, whether that’s through email or a messaging app. It’s really simple. 

Collections that spark communication: 

If you’re new to Along, we have a vast collection of research-informed questions designed to support you to develop connections with your students. “What are traditions you value? What is one thing that made you laugh recently?” are examples of how you can open up fun, but meaningful lines of one-on-one communication with your students. We’ve recently redesigned our Collections so that they’re organized by topics that are top of mind for teachers. Topics like: “Getting to know your students”, “Sharing sparks and strengths”, or “Celebrating wins” can help teachers quickly access relevant content. 

Improving the student experience: 

We’ve also redesigned the student homepage so students can get connected to their teachers with more ease. We’ve streamlined the experience so students can clearly see which reflections they need to get to and the ones they’ve already responded to. 

Resources to help along the way:

We’re committed to helping you implement and use Along in the most effective way for your students and classroom objectives. You can now access Educator Resources directly from the left hand navigation to find best practices, support, and tools to successfully bring Along to your classroom. 

We also have additional new features launching soon to help you easily access content. 

• Weekly Recommendations– a selection of timely reflection questions tailored to meet teacher and student needs throughout the school year–updated weekly. 
• Favoriting – you’ll be able to “Favorite” Collections, questions, classroom activities, or educator practices so you can quickly navigate back to them. 

Whether it’s getting to know your new students in the new year, or just checking in on how the class is doing, Along is here to help open meaningful, authentic communication with your students. Building connections can’t wait!