Blog Entry XI: Productivity Tools

One thing that I hear often when it comes to teaching is how there is so much to do and not enough time for it. A lot of people don't really know that there's a lot of time and dedication teachers spend outside the classroom. The large amount of work that needs to be done in time frames can prove to be quite overwhelming for some teachers. I think that technology helps with this issue. Yes there will be some extra time spent learning the technology, but I think that the outcome is well worth the investment. SMART Boards for example, may take some time to learn, but will overall benefit you in the classroom. As someone that wants to teach math, I really like the idea of using SMART Boards in the classroom. It helps save time during instruction because I don't have to rewrite problems on the board. I can simply open a file and all of the example problems I want to discuss with my class pop up. SMART Boards are easy to use and can definitely help increase productivity because it helps you prepare in advance, which gives you more time for classroom discussion. In Jake's presentation, he mentioned the usage of a SMART Board and how it can increase productivity in the classroom. This is something that my math teacher did when I was in high school. 

Google for Education offers so much to the classroom I can't see myself not trying it out. It's free, offers easy organization tools for lessons and grade books and offers easy communication between students and teachers. Being able to connect with parents easier is great for productivity as well. Whether it's a private discussion between you and a parent or it's an announcement for all parent, there are apps available that can be used by both teachers and parents for easy communication. This article provides seven free apps that can be used to connect parents and teachers. Some of these apps also have other features such as grade and attendance tracking. 

Jake also mentioned in his presentation that educational technology is at its most useful when it is not the goal of the lesson, but a tool used to solve a problem or meet a goal. Instead of thinking that teacher productivity cannot be improved, we should use technology as a tool to help improve productivity to create a better learning environment. It's not an easy task to accomplish, but it's possible and something that all teachers should work towards.