4 Ways to Use Technology to Spend More Time with Your Students
Classroom teachers, ever wish you could save time in the classroom so you could spend more time with your students? Of course you do! While planning, grading, room se-up etc. are critical to your students success, any second saved is an extra second you can use to spend with your students (tutoring, extra help, or just getting to know them better).
I find that most teachers don't take full use of how critical technology can be in allowing you to do your job more efficiently. Think about it: employees in every other job are using technology all the time to improve their efficiency. Here are 4 ways that classroom teachers can make the most out of technology.
Your Grade-book
Is your grade book electronic, or do you still use a pencil and paper? If you don't yet have a grade-book on a computer, you're making a big mistake. If you've ever gotten out a calculator (when Excel would do the job more quickly and error proof), then you are wasting time. If you don't know Excel, take time to learn it. It will not only allow you to calculate grades more quickly, it will also allow you to run analyses to figure out what your students do and don't know
Test-Taking
Survey Monkey is an example of a free online tool that allows you to create surveys and view the results online. Do you have a multiple choice test you want all of your students to take? Create the test on Survey Monkey and then pass it around during Silent Reading (or some other quiet time). By the end of the day, you will have graded results, and you will have saved yourself plenty of time
Worksheets
Are you making your own worksheets? Obviously, you need to put a lot of effort into lesson planning but worksheets are another story. Go online and save time. My favorite website is EdHelper.com where for just $20 a year, I can access a ton of different worksheets. I like to keep a few in my classroom for students who finish early.
Extra Help
Do you have a student who's struggling or who's way behind? Sure, you probably give him or her extra help before or after class, but what is that student supposed to do while you're teaching? If you've got a laptop or a tablet, you can provide them with interactive computer games that test knowledge. They'll get immediate feedback on what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong.
