Quick and easy text to school groups with Google Apps

Ever want to send a text out to parent groups to remind them of activities or of the legendary "folder"? Well, there is an easy and free (if the recipients have texting plans) way to do it with Google Apps.

1. Log into your gmail
2. Click on the gear in the far right and select settings
3. In the settings menu, click on the labs tab
4. Click on the enable button next to "SMS (text messaging) in Chat"
5. That's the first step

Now, if you already have created your contacts and groups, you can breeze to part two. If you haven't, you will want to do so first. 

1. In the chat box in the bottom left, start typing in a contact's name. As you type, you should see the option to "send SMS" to the right of it. Click on that. 
2. In the box that is open for a phone number, enter the contact's phone number. 
3. In the bottom portion of the box, type your message. 
4. Press enter when your message is done.

That's it! You are given 50 free messages to start with. As you send one, your count drops. However, as you receive SMS, your total will increase. It will never be locked out.