Classroom Management & Technology
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[edit] Description
Has Technology created extra work for the classroom teacher? Teachers are becoming bogged down due to the expectation to stay "updated"- entering grades, attendance, answering emails, etc. Being connected has not been the best addition to a teacher's routine.
At my school everything is online. Parents can access their students grades, attendance, my email address. All this is great and a sign of progress, but my planning period is getting more and more consumed by "chores" than on creating new and cool lesson plans.
[edit] Application in classrooms
How can we streamline these "chores" to increase classroom management and efficiency for teachers?
- Tablets/laptops for teachers will ease daily routines:
- Attendance: Teachers can walk around the room taking attendance. No more dodging into the office to take attendance before the attendance person emails you a friendly reminder.
- Lunch: Teachers can report what students want lunch and what they want to eat
- Grading: Teacher can enter grades directly into the computer instead of on paper first. The teacher has the mobility to walk around the room with laptop/tablet in hand and mark off grades.
- Organization: Software like OneNote, GoBinder, Sticky notes, Journal, etc. can organize notes, classes, planners in one.
- Online tests: Provide you with instant feedback and grades on test scores
- Graphic Organizers: Create Graphic Organizers in Microsoft Word
- Individual Student Information: Teachers can take anecdotal notes on individual students and keep them stored in a file for that student for easy access when needing to reference them for a conference. Also all personal information for that student should be stored there for teacher access from school or home.
Tablet computers also help teachers through proximity management. Given the ability to connect wirelessly, teachers are given the opportunity to walk around the classroom while using their tablet. If a student is talking, allowing the teacher to simply stand next to that student while still conducting class (example: taking notes on the tablet) sends the students the message "I see that you are talking; please be quiet" while not interrupting the class. Being able to walk around the room, also makes students to likel y to stay engaged and focused on taking notes.
[edit] Feedback
- After reading this article, I have gotten some great ideas to use in my classroom. My only setback is the fact that we do not have personal laptops for use throughout the school day. We do have a laptop computer cart, in which each teacher is assigned a laptop. However, during the school day, the laptops are primarily for student and classroom use. Our classroom computers are several years old and not the most reliable machines. Here are some ideas I am considering trying:
- Taking anecdotal notes on my computer during reading and math conferences with students
- Giving online tests so that I can get instant feedback and test scores from students
- Using software to keep track of my lesson plans
- Using the computer to keep track of my grading (although, I would think that you would still need to keep paper copies of grades, in the event of a computer crash)
- I believe keeping all of these things on the computer would help me become more organized!
Brookelyn Schuppel
[edit] Feedback
- I love the idea of having a notebook computer in hand throughout the day! It would be a great time saver for me and I think that my anecdotal notes would be more organized if I could immediately open a 'folder' and insert comments directly. I would also:
- Be able to track guided reading group materials
- Chart individual progress toward specific instructional goals
- Use an online grading system for immediate parental notification and
- Track assignment/homework completion
- I look forward to the day when this resource might be available!!!
Rhonda Zaborowski
[edit] Feedback
- Having a notebook computer to use in the classroom would be ideal! I have one desktop computer in my classroom and I do bring my own notebook computer to school almost every day to use with my students through SMART board activities. I like the idea of being able to carry the notebook around to different locations in the classroom to make notes, give tests, etc. I can see how some may have the opinion that new technology available for a classroom teacher may be difficult to keep up with. However, once these skills are acquired and the teacher is more accustomed to the routine, I think it will prove to make classroom life easier. I like these ideas:
- Keeping track of your classroom library - checking in and out books
- Keeping parents notified of grades online - I just recently started using Microsoft Excel for grading
- lesson planning
- Taking notes on behavior, grades, late assignments, etc.
Marcy Flessner
[edit] Feedback
Things that work better than a laptop
- I have a laptop in my room that is supposed to be used by all members of our math department. Fortunately for me, I am the only math teacher that has a desire to use these devices. Even though I am thankful for the technology I have available, I do not think I would want to carry it around with me in my classroom. I find it easy enough to give my kids some desk work to do at the beginning of class while I record attendance (in our schoolwide computer attendance program) and collect homework assignments or pass back papers.
- There are other pieces of technology - besides a laptop - that I find more helpful to myself, my students and their parents.
- Grading software - I am able to quickly print out each student's list of assignments, missing assignments, a break down of grades by type of assignment and weight, etc. This also helps when it comes to parent/teacher conferences. I am also able to post grades every week by student numbers so that my students are consistently aware of their progress.
- TI SmartView software - I am able to visually show my students what buttons push and the result on the screen of the calculator. This eliminates the need for the old "point at the poster" approach.
- Posting assingments on the Web - We have it set up on our school website so that teacher's can post their weekly assignments on the web. THis is as easy as typing out a list in Microsoft Word and saving it in a particular space on the web as an Html document. This is helpful for those teachers that have students for in school suspension time (No more getting a list of assignments from the teacher), Parents who are trying to stay on top of their child's school work, and students (especially those that have been absent and want to stay up to date with the class).
Marsha Foshee
[edit] Links
[edit] Feedback
The only concern I have with some of the issues discussed it the reliability of the school network to support some of the above technologies. For instance, my school district does its attendance, grading, and student records via an on-line program. While it's a wonderful feature to be able to enter grades from home, in the classroom, if the school network is down, then entering attendance, or being able to call up student records is impossible.
[edit] Feedback
Classroom technology has given me the opportunity to administer homework, quizzes, and exams online. This eliminates paper copies and allows me to grade students' work and receive instant feedback. I can grade essays by hand or have the online programs grade multiple choice, matching, and true/false questions. With this technology I always have electronic copies of grades and can access scores from any semester for any student. This is truly beneficial with class sizes over 400 students.
- Here is a link to HP's website which offers a grant opportunity for teachers
- Toshiba also has grant's available
- Here is a good link to obtain grants for technology - I have used them many times to help supplement the costs on projectors
[3]SMARTer Kids Foundation
[edit] Feedback
Although I do have to agree that technology has helped me streamline the daily responsibilities I have as a teacher (i.e. attendance, grading, updates, reminders, etc.), I find that I have to constantly be ready for any changes that come with its use. For example, as a second year teacher, I have already had to learn two variations of the same program that both perform the same function. We have used a program entitled, "GradeLogic" the past couple of years and just as I have become accustomed to all of the tedious functions and constant malfunctions, the administration has decided to get rid of it. I have to admit that I did breathe a sigh of relief but a sigh of "here-we-go-again" quickly followed as I realized that I would have to learn a brand new program that is supposed to be far better than GradeLogic. I have faith that the new program we will begin to use this coming fall is indeed easier and friendlier to use, but I keep thinking about the next program that will be "better" and the next and thereafter. The continuous advancements in technology has become an inevitable force that even I (a young teacher who has grown up with the Internet and all its glory) can see has it's delightful moments as well as moments that can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Now that I have already rambled like the English teacher that I am, I have one other concern that I want to express about using the Internet for homework, quizzes, exams, etc. online. I would absolutely love to incorporate more of these techniques into my everyday teaching, but with so many students who don't have a computer at home-let alone daily Internet access-this is virtually (forgive my pessimism) impossible for the time being. Has administering paperwork and tests/quizzes within classroom time become too "old-school" for the world today?
-H.Yeam
