Frequently Asked Questions
How can I obtain the program?
Morning Check-In is free to classroom teachers K-8 for a limited time. Request a free subscription using the form on the "Contact" page. Specify the number of students in your class and a title for your classroom website. We will email you instructions for getting your classroom started in under 5 minutes.
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If you pilot in one classroom and like the results, we are happy to supply logins for the entire school. We can also demonstrate the program to your school staff, in person or over zoom.
How do you protect student privacy?
The short answer is: Anonymity.
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The teacher assigns each student a number. Only the teacher knows who each number refers to. Our software does not ask for any information about students or teachers and does not read information from school systems.
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We protect the anonymous survey data on a secure server and abide by all FERPA and COPPA laws. We belong to the Education Cooperative's Massachusetts Student Data Privacy Alliance (SDPA), have earned Education Framework's highest privacy rating of 5, and will gladly sign individual privacy agreements with school districts. You can view our Privacy Policy here.
Is it AI?
There is no Artificial Intelligence involved.​
What's the curriculum?
There is none. Morning Check-In is a simple tool for students to send their thoughts to their teacher. The new Survey Maker tool allows teachers to write their own questions, create any number of surveys, run them with the class, and save student responses throughout the year.
Who created the program?
Morning Check-In, Survey Maker, and other Topical Storm survey and writing apps were created by elementary school teachers in Massachusetts, Vermont, Minnesota, and Indiana, along with an Assistive Technology Specialist, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley Teaching and Learning Lab, and a software developer.
Where has it been used?
The writing tools were tested in over 30 classrooms Grades 3-6 in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Minnesota. Morning Check-In has been used in over 40 classrooms in Massachusetts.
What devices does it run on?
The program is web-based and requires an internet connection. It runs on Chromebooks, PCs, Macs, and iPads in landscape mode using Chrome and Safari browsers.
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It also runs on iPhones but is more difficult to navigate on a small screen.
Does it integrate with Google Classroom or other LMS?
Morning Check-In is a standalone app with no connection to other systems. This is on purpose: It gives teachers complete control over who can access the data.
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