Getting More Productive

A good chunk of this week has been spent researching tools to make my classroom more productive, whether that is enhancing classroom procedures or getting myself more organized. I started by analyzing my own workflow and what I can do to improve on it. A work flow can exist in many different forms, and as such, can be improved in various ways (Davis, 2015). When searching for productivity tools to improve on my workflow, I used Vicki Davis's (2013) criteria:

1. Must save time or steps from a task I need to do frequently.
2. It must be multi-platform or sync with a tool that is multi platform.
3. I have to use this app daily or multiple times per week.
4. It should improve my life in some way.

The first step I took in hacking my productivity was setting up an Evernote account. It's quick, easy, and can swiftly take the place of several apps that I already have. The greatest benefit of Evernote is that all of the applications that it replaces now work in concert with each other. Here is a great video on what makes it the best:


(Bradley, 2012).

Evernote has been beneficial to me already. My mom, wife, and son all have birthdays this week, and I'm not saying that I would have forgotten anything important without Evernote; but the fact is that now that I have it, I did not forget a thing. While the applications between the bells in the classroom are a little limited, it does a great job of organizing things behind the scenes. I have notebooks, for school (college), work (junior high), and home, and those three (sadly?) encompass everything that I do on a day to day basis. I'd like to get to a point (by the beginning of the next school year, perhaps) where my use of Evernote is automatic. Right now, I find myself having to remind myself to use it, since it's so new to me. But I imagine the benefits will continue to multiply. It keeps the aspects of my life separated, but also integrates them when necessary, so that context isn't lost in a simple list.

ICYMI, I recommend.

The other far-reaching application I endorse is Google Classroom. My students already have school-sponsored Google accounts, so I have been taking advantage of a lot of Google apps. Since all of my kids had embedded assessments to finish last week, doc sharing has been crucial. Ironcially, every English teacher in my school requires kids to write out a rough draft for them to comment on, and then complete the final copy in Google docs, which subverts one of its greatest advantages. Assuming I'm working in the English department next year, I will transform this practice, as I did the last few weeks. I had students type their drafts and share them with me, and I commented on their theses, evidence, and commentary in about three minutes apiece, without having to lift a pen.

Classroom is an equally time efficient application. Here's the simple tutorial:

(Google For Education, 2014).

I set it up on Thursday, and had most of my students on Friday. We used classroom to run the warm up, and I asked a few interactive questions about their experience with Classroom, and it worked great, although mostly as substitution-level technology. Where I really think it has the power to transform is with material gathering. If you saw the workflow model I linked to earlier, I spend a good portion of my day running around gathering missing assignments from other teachers. If I can get the majority of teachers on board, Classroom can work as a centralized space for all missing materials. The boon to productivity is enormous since (let's be honest) telling kids to retrieve assignments they have already been given from teachers who may not be available to help them is a huge waste of time. The biggest hurdle is getting everyone on board, since some of the veteran teachers are tech-averse, to put it lightly. I may just have to take the time to scan their assignments and upload them myself.

I already have a few digital assignments posted to the message board, but my (lofty) goal is to have every assignment graded by a core teacher this quarter accessible through Google Classroom. I have one of my more tech-savvy students working on a database for such a list, and we will go from there. Next year, I want to integrate Classroom in an ELA classroom, with the goal to go completely paperless in the next three years, which shouldn't be too hard, since such a feat can be achieved without the aid of any other programs.

There are a host of other programs I can't wait to try out, including Spiral, a formative assessment app I assume is on par with Socrative, but has collaboration capabilities. That review is likely coming soon.

An update on last week's post: I brought Google Cardboard in for the kids to play with on Free Friday. Some were underwhelmed, but for the most part the reviews were positive. Two notes:

Make sure your kids load apps ahead of time if they BYOD.

Not much more than 5 minutes per turn. Demand doesn't allow for it, and transformative technology can quickly turn into a trip to the nurse.

References

Bradley, S. (2012, April 12). Evernote tips: The 11 amazing features that make using evernote so freaking awesome [Video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce2_gWZHBIs

Davis, V. (2013, December 23). 18 epic productivity apps. Retrieved from http://www.coolcatteacher.com/best-productivity-apps/

Davis, V. (2015, July 28). Essential habits of an excellent educator. Retrieved from 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/essential-habits-excellent-educator

Google For Education (2014, June 12). Classroom 101 [Video]. Retrieved from