10 Must-Have Tools for the Busy Teacher

This year was uniquely challenging for me. I had my biggest class ever (28 students) , and I was co-teaching all day with teachers and paras from the special ed department--also a first. Meanwhile, I started working on my PhD, and my toddler constantly kept me busy. My plate has never been so full!

If you're a teacher who often feels pulled in every direction, then this list is for you. These are my top 10 tools for juggling it all. Hopefully you'll find some to use as well!

1. Nozbe

Nozbe is the ultimate task list manager. You can organize by projects -- school, work, home, etc., create recurring tasks, and so much more. I can access it from any device, add attachments, and email stuff to my to-do list. I started out with the free version, and I quickly upgraded to the paid version. At $96/year, the paid version has a hefty price tag, but this app was SO much better than any other task manager I'd tried, and it's been worth every penny. If you're someone who has lots of projects going at once, this app is worth exploring.

2. Evernote

This is my brain online. All of my coursework and notes are in Evernote, and all of my anecdotal records and student work samples are in here as well. I was able to use the free version for many years, and then once my husband and I decided to go digital with all of our financial documents, etc., I upgraded to the premium version. At $35/year, it's pretty affordable.

3. Dropbox

 I don't think I could function without Dropbox. I switch between so many devices between work, home, and school each day, but Dropbox allows me to keep track of everything. All of my lesson plans, TpT purchases, readings for class, and more are in my Dropbox account. I'm still living off of the free space, but I'm getting the daily reminders that my Dropbox is nearly full. Might need to upgrade that soon, too. Premium accounts offer 100 GB of storage for $99/year.

4. GoodReader

 I've used this app a lot with my students, but I'm finding it to be totally clutch for my grad school stuff, too. I'm doing tons of research for my courses and scoping out dissertation ideas, and GoodReader allows me to annotate all of the PDF's I'm amassing. I've created a folder on Dropbox for all of the articles I've gathered, and I can sync that folder to GoodReader so I can read it all on my iPad. I can also send it back to Evernote when I finish. One of my dear friends told me that I'd have laundry baskets full of research cluttering my house while I worked on my PhD, but not so...It's all electronic!

5. GoogleCalendar

I have a variety of calendars on Google -- class schedules, deadlines, school events, etc. Some of these I share with my husband so we can both be aware of each other's events. Other calendars I share with my students and their parents so they can be aware of upcoming events and tests. I like that all of my calendars are color-coded so I know which calendar I'm looking at, and I can select/de-select different calendars to narrow my focus if I'm looking for something in particular.

6. YouCanBook.Me

This free site allows me to share portions of my calendar with parents so they can schedule parent-teacher conferences. I choose the days they can see, set the times they can schedule, and manage the maximum time blocks they can reserve. They don't get to see any of the events on my calendar, just whether I'm available or not. If they reserve a time slot, it will automatically add it to my calendar and send me an email. It's eliminated the back-and-forth process of conference scheduling and allowed me to manage my time better.

7. Planbook.com

Since I was co-teaching this year, I needed to find a way to share my plans easily from week to week. I tested out Planbook in August, and I loved it. I like that you can extend or bump lessons, attach files, and customize the fields that appear. It's a great resource that's keeping me much more organized. You can get a free trial of it before paying the $12 for an annual subscription.

8. Typinator

This is a tool that's new to me, but Typinator is a text expander tool. There are several pieces of text that I find myself typing or copying/pasting over and over. Typinator allows me to create typing shortcuts for all of those. For example, if I want to type my blog address as a hyperlink when I comment on someone's blog, I can simply type "~bl" and it will place the text there for me. I also use it for standard replies to emails such as when parents email me to say their child will be absent. I can type "~abs" and it will write: "Thanks for letting me know about the absence. I hope your child is feeling better soon! Today's assignments will be posted on our class website, and let me know if there's anything else you need." Four key strokes = all of that. I find typing way faster than using the mouse, so this is a time saver that quickly adds up. It's only available for Macs, and it's priced in Euros (converts to around $36 US), but I use it all the time.

9. GoodReads

Distinct from GoodReader, GoodReads is an online community surrounding books. It allows me to keep track of the books I'm reading and which books I want to read next. As I'm starting my dissertation research, I'm constantly finding book titles that I want to check out. Similarly, there are lots of teaching books and children's books that I want to investigate someday, and GoodReads helps me organize all of that. Best of all, I can use its scanning feature to scan barcodes when I'm browsing in the bookstore.

10. Edmodo

I used Edmodo a lot for collecting student work and grading tests/quizzes this year. It managed all of the submissions and kept the work organized for me so I could be more efficient with tracking these things. It also allowed me to create assignments, give and grade quizzes, communicate with students and parents, and so much more. This is a great free learning management system that was a centerpiece of my classroom this year.


With the exception of Typinator, which is only on my computers, all of these apps are cloud-based or mobile-friendly so I can get to them from any device. When I'm shifting between my iPhone, iPad, laptop, and desktop, that's critical. I may be busy, but I can get to my projects anytime, anywhere, and I'm not hauling around tons of materials everywhere I go. These tools boost efficiency and minimize life clutter.

What are some tools you're using this year to help with productivity? I'd love to hear more recommendations in the comments.


This post contained some affiliate links meaning that if you click on the link and purchase the app, a small part of your subscription cost will go to me instead of entirely to the company. I'm only recommending products that I highly use and pay for myself, however, and I hope you'll find value in these resources as well. 

Preparing for a Paperless Year!

I am in full-blown pre-planning mode. We officially reported back to school on Thursday, and I'll have 27 fourth grade students in my classroom on August 1. It's crazy to think about how fast this summer has gone and how much work is still ahead.

This will be the first year that I will attempt to go paperless from day 1. Last year, we only had 1:1 iPads for the last 6 weeks of school, so it was after we had established many of our routines and procedures for the year. As I prepare for this shift, I'm linking up with the Tune into Technology linky to share my plans for management and organization.

Managing the Students

1. Number the technology
I assign students numbers 1-27 on the first day of school. We use these numbers for everything -- mailboxes, book bins, lining up, etc. We'll also use them for the iPads. Each student will be assigned the iPad corresponding with their number, so they'll always know which one to use and which slot to put it back in when we clean up.

2. Build Classroom Norms and Routines
We'll develop some essential agreements about the iPads before we even get them out. I'll let the students decide on the rules, with a little extra guidance as necessary. The items that we'll need to touch on will include:

• how to get the iPad out of the cart
• moving around the classroom with the iPad
• using the iPad appropriately (following directions, etc.)
• putting the iPad away

You can read my previous posts on this here and here.

3. Develop a common vocabulary for the buttons and gestures, and teach some basic actions.

We'll talk about the different buttons on the iPad and their functions. We'll also talk about how they can be used together to take screenshots and quickly navigate from one app to the next. For more information about how I do this, check out my TpT freebie (the very first thing I ever made for TpT!).

4. Give time to explore
The first writing assignment my students will have this year will be to write an informational piece (either descriptive or how-to) about an app of their choosing. By giving them this assignment, I'm giving them time to play around with the iPad and explore the available apps while also getting a baseline writing sample. This has the added benefit of cultivating "experts" about the different apps among the students.

We actually start school on a Thursday this year, and I intend to get all of this started during those first two days.

Organizing Myself

As I prepare for my paperless year, there are a few items I'm working on before the students even arrive. This will help me be ready to go on day #1.

1. Create a stack of Evernote notebooks for all of my students.

I'm planning to keep all of my conferring notes, work samples, and other relevant data in Evernote this year. To prepare for that, I've created an Evernote notebook for each student, and I have them clustered together in a "stack" so that all of my homeroom students are together.

Since I anticipate using this system for many years, I'm formatting the notebook names as "2013 - Last name, First name." That way, I won't get confused when I'm quickly looking for the notebooks for this year's students as opposed to last year's. I've also created one additional notebook called "2013-2014 Overview." Listing both years ensures that the notebook will be on top of my stack when they're sorted alphabetically, and I'll use this notebook to keep track of notes and documents that pertain to the whole class. 

You can read more about setting up Evernote notebooks in my paperless series.

2. Create a checklist template for my class.

This will also be done in Evernote.

I like to have a checklist of my class roster available whenever I'm collecting forms or tracking important information. I'll make a blank checklist now, and then I can copy and paste it into future notes as needed. This is a huge time-saver down the road for me.

3. Make sure that my Dropbox folders are set up for distributing student work.

Although there are plenty of learning management systems available, I strongly prefer Dropbox for distributing assignments to students just because it's so easy on my end. All I had to do was create a folder titled "Student Assignments."

Once the daily folders are set up within the Student Assignments folder, I can share all of the folders through a link on my class website, and students can easily access everything they'll need for daily assignments. To read a complete step-by-step tutorial for how to do this, check out my previous post.

Since I set this up at the end of last year, all I needed to do was empty out the assignments I gave to last year's class so that I can start fresh this year.

4. Create a class on Class Dojo.

Class Dojo is an excellent online classroom management app that I'll be utilizing more this year. I'll tell you more about how I'm integrating it with my classroom economy in a future post, but for now, all I need to do is input my student roster and print out home access codes for my students and their parents. Then it will be all set to go.

5. Create a new group on Edmodo and prepare a welcome message.

(Edmodo has totally changed its app icon, btw. Check it out!)

I'll be using Edmodo to collect student assignments, give quizzes, conduct class discussions, and take polls. I'll need to have a group code ready to give students for the first day so they can sign up, and I'll want them to have something to see and do immediately when they log in for the first time.

****
Once I finish these 5 steps, I think I'll be ready to start the year. I have to admit, I find prepping for a paperless classroom far easier than what I experienced in the past. I'm looking forward to going on this journey with my students this year, and I can't wait to share all of the learning we'll have in store for us. It's going to be a fantastic school year!

Can't wait to read about how others are organizing and managing technology in their classrooms. Be sure to check out the other posts in the Tune into Technology linky, and have a great week!

Paperless Mission #10: Distributing Student Assignments

This is the tenth installment in my Go Paperless! Challenge Series. You can check out the other entries in the series here. Also be sure to link up with my Paperless Challenge Linky!

 

Mission #10: Distribute Student Assignments through Shared Folders

Once my students had their iPads, I needed to figure out a way to get their work out to them. At first I tried using Edmodo, but that proved to be a bit glitchy for assignments where I wanted students to work with the materials in a different app like GoodReader. I needed to figure out an easy to manage workaround. Welcome back, Dropbox!

To do this, I created a new folder on Dropbox called "Student Assignments." I then right-clicked on the folder to pull up the option to "share link."

This pulls up a new window that shows the internal content of the folder in the background. Here, you could enter in a bunch of email addresses, but I prefer to click on "Get link." This copies a link to your clipboard for you to paste somewhere else.

Once I had the link to the folder, I put it in a highly visible spot on my class website. My students use my class website constantly, so getting to the link was easy for them once they knew where to find it. 

Once the folder was shared, I started to create the internal contents of the folder. I created 6 folders inside -- one for each day of the week and an archive folder. 

I numbered the days of the week to control the order of the files. Dropbox will alphabetize the folders otherwise.

As I gather resources or assignments that I want students to access, I save them as pdf files and I just put them in the folder to match the day that I expect them to do the assignment. At the end of the week, I move everything into the Archive folder, and I start over creating the assignments for next week. 

This system has worked incredibly well for me! Here's why:

• Items in Dropbox sync immediately, so if we're in the middle of working on something and I realize that I've forgotten to give students something that would be helpful, I can just drag it into the folder. I don't have to sprint down to the copier. 
• It's the ultimate organizer for absent students. If a kid misses class on Tuesday, they (and their parents) know to go to the Tuesday folder to see what assignments are there. There's no more worrying about lost papers or assignments.
• The archive folder provides a great back-up for lost work. If a parent can't find a reading or a study guide to help before a test, there's an easy place to go to see all of the work.
• It only requires a one-time set-up. Since I'm sharing the external folder and not the individual folders or assignments, I can change out what's inside the folder without having to get a new link to share. 
• It doesn't require any log-ins or sign-ups from my students. They don't have email yet, and they don't have Dropbox accounts of their own, but that doesn't matter. Accessing shared files on Dropbox doesn't require a log-in of any sort. 

I've been incredibly happy with this system. Everything that I would have copied in the past has been easily distributed through my shared folder in Dropbox. 

What are some other ways you could use shared folders in Dropbox? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments.

Paperless Mission #8: Conduct and Archive Running Records (iPad)

This is the eighth installment in my Go Paperless! Challenge series. You can see the other entries in the series here. Also be sure to link up with my Paperless Challenge Linky!

Mission #8: Conduct and Archive Running Records 

At least once each six-week term, teachers at my school are supposed to conduct a running record as a guided reading level assessment. We use the Fiction Level Reading Assessments provided by the Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project, and before my move to paperless, this system was a mess for me. I'd have one binder that was all the student copies of texts, and then I'd have a huge paper pile of blank assessments that I could fill in as I worked with students. Invariably, I'd have a ton of kids reading on level S, for example, and I'd run out of my copies of that assessment, so it was back to the copier to make more. Then I'd have to deal with recording the data and filing them all, and it was a bit of a nightmare.

Paperless rocks. The nightmare is over.

In this tutorial, I'll share how I'm using Dropbox, GoodReader, and Evernote to conduct running records anytime and anywhere on my iPad. You might want to get a good iPad stylus, too, if you like that "pen in hand" feel.

Step 1. Download all of the running records to a folder on Dropbox.

You will also want to print one student copy of each assessment. I still keep all of those in page protectors in a binder so I can hand one over for the student to read off of, but I never make copies of these. It's a one-time paper expense that I'm happy to live with.

Step 2. Import the guided reading assessments into your GoodReader app.

Once you're done saving them to Dropbox, open up GoodReader and connect to DropBox. There's more information about this in the previous GoodReader tutorial, Mission #6.

Step 3. Choose the appropriate level, and open up the teacher copy in GoodReader.

The first time that you want to annotate the document, you'll be prompted to "Create an Annotated Copy" or "Save to This File." You will want to choose "Create an Annotated Copy" so you don't lose your blank copy. Otherwise, you'll have to download these files every time you want to use them, and that's only marginally better than running to the copy room -- trust me.

Step 4. Use the annotation tools to mark up student reading as you normally would. 

I won't lie -- the first couple times I did this, it felt a little awkward. You have to remember to save the document if you're switching between tools or trying to scroll/resize. But it does get better quickly, I promise! The more you use the tools, the more fluid your movements will be. It didn't take me long to get back to the level of proficiency I had with paper copies, and while my writing is a little messier on the iPad, it definitely gets the job done.

Step 5. Rename the file using the manage files option on the home screen of GoodReader. 

To get back to the home screen, tap the center of your screen -- away from any annotations -- and it should show you the main menu or "My Documents" up at the top left.

Step 6. Move the renamed running record over to the student's notebook in Evernote.

To get there, go into Manage Files again, and then select Open in. . . 

You'll be prompted to flatten annotations. Make sure you choose this or your annotations may be lost. 

Select Evernote, and it will launch your Evernote app. From there, you can move it into the appropriate notebook and type in any notes that you want to remember about the student's reading.

Extra Credit: Create a simultaneous audio file in Evernote.

This is something that I've been playing around with lately, and I think the possibilities for this are amazing. Once I have everything set up so that my student has the student copy of the text and I have the right running record file open in GoodReader, I go into Evernote, open a new note, and start an audio recording using the microphone icon. I tell the student to start, and then I use 4 fingers to swipe quickly from right to left across my iPad. This takes me back to GoodReader (or whatever my last open app was) without having to go through my home screen. When the student finishes, I use the 4-finger swipe in the opposite direction to pause the recording.

In the end, I have an .mp4 audio file of the student reading in addition to my annotations on the running record. This is great because it's evidence I can use in RTI and parent-teacher conferences, and it also enables me to play back the audio so the student can hear him or herself read -- something that rarely happens. We can then talk about patterns I'm noticing and ways to improve reading fluency. It's a great teaching tool.

Your assignment: Try doing a few running records on your iPad and leave me a comment about how it's going. I'd love to hear other ideas or suggestions to fine-tune this process, too. I've only been doing it for about 6 weeks, so I know there are things that could be improved. Hopefully this is enough information to get you started, though!

Thanks for reading!

Paperless Mission #5: Organize Your Files in DropBox

This is the fifth post in my Go Paperless! Challenge Series. If you haven't completed the previous missions, be sure to complete those first.

• Mission #1: Gather Your Tools
• Mission #2: Build Evernote Notebooks
• Mission #3: Email Notes to Evernote
• Mission #4: Create Checklists in Evernote

Also be sure to link up at the Go Paperless! linky.

Mission #5: Organize Your Files in DropBox

I routinely work off of multiple computers and devices. I have a desktop computer in my classroom, a work laptop, a work iPad, a home desktop, a personal iPad, and an iPhone, and from time to time, I'll use someone else's computer for something. Few things have frustrated me more than being on a computer and realizing that the file that I worked on was saved to another device and therefore unavailable. Flash drives got me by for a little while, but then there were always issues about remembering to save it to my computer and my flash drive, and if I changed something on one device, I'd need to remember to update the files on other devices. There was always a bit of paranoia, too, about whether the drive would get corrupted and everything on it lost. It just wasn't a good system for me.

Enter DropBox. I started using this platform a few years ago, and it has revolutionized how I manage my files. DropBox is an online file hosting platform. A basic (free) account gives you 2GB of storage with opportunities to earn up to 16 GB through referrals and social networking. There is also a paid version that gives you 100 GB for $9.99/month or $99/year. There are 200 GB and 500 GB paid versions as well, but that's far beyond my needs. I haven't even upgraded to a paid account yet!

Once you sign up for an account, you can download a version of DropBox to your computer that will automatically sync any files you save to it to your DropBox account online. From there, you can access your files from any computer or device with DropBox installed (there's an app version) or from any internet connection by signing in at www.dropbox.com.

How I Use It

Over the last few years, I've moved almost all of my documents over to DropBox. Here are some examples of the types of things I keep there:

• Curriculum documents - standards, pacing guides, state frameworks, etc
• e-Books/supporting documents for textbook series
• TpT creations and purchases
• Assessments and activities
• Clip Art Collections
• Guided Reading resources
• Photos
• Desk Drawer folder - for all of the electronic stuff I would otherwise file in my desk
• Much, much more!

I like having my stuff there for a variety of reasons:

1. Accessibility - no more worrying if something is on another computer or if I have the flash drive.

2. Back-up - since it's all stored in the cloud, I don't live in fear of a major computer meltdown. If my computer goes on the fritz, I'll still be able to get all of my stuff.

3. Constant syncing - If I'm working on a project on my laptop at school (which has DropBox installed), I can come home and switch to my desktop which also has DropBox. DropBox notices when you alter a document, and it will automatically sync those changes to your files across all of the devices as long as you have an internet connection. 

Evenote vs. DropBox

Evernote and DropBox obviously figure heavily in my paperless scheme, and it's definitely the case that there's some overlap between their features. I could, for example, save documents and attachments in Evernote Notebooks. But I think of Evernote as the replacement for my data and curriculum binders -- the place where I can put documents that I'm likely to need constantly and an archive of assessments. It's also a place for work that I'm annotating and evaluating. DropBox is more like my filing cabinet for all of the great activities I might need from time to time. I might pull something out and work on it, but it's more for storage.

Your Assignment

Make sure that you have a DropBox account. (If you haven't already signed up for DropBox, please use my referral link. We'll both get 500 MB of extra space!) Download the DropBox client on the computer(s) you use most, and begin to backup your files to DropBox. Empty out those flash drives and folders you have so you can get all of your work in one spot. Think of how you'll want to name your folders -- especially if you're consolidating documents from a variety of places. But getting your DropBox set up and ready to go will be a necessary step before your next mission on using GoodReader.

How's your move toward paperless going? I'd love to hear your updates in the comment section!

Paperless Mission #1: Gather your Tools

This is the first post in the Go Paperless Challenge! If you're participating, be sure to link up at my initial post. (We'll have other linky's along the way to do some progress updates as well...)

There are a few tools that you'll need to prepare to Go Paperless! Here's what I'll be using:

Evernote

I've shared my love for Evernote in the past, but this is a tool that has so many features and so much potential. It can be accessed from any computer or mobile device, and it allows you to save notes, pictures, audio recordings, and more into cloud-based, password-protected notebooks. If you haven't signed up for an account yet, you should sign up at Evernote's website. Accounts are free, but there is a premium version available. As you're starting to go paperless, I would hold off on getting the premium account. I've had a free account for a few years, and I haven't ever maxed out my uploads, although I expect that to change as I start to use the service more. Still, at $45/year, the subscription service is a steal.

Dropbox

Dropbox is an online file hosting server. A basic (free) account will give you 2GB of storage, and there are ways you can expand your storage by connecting to your Facebook page, following @Dropbox on Twitter, etc. You can also earn 500MB for each friend you refer. If you use my link to sign up, you'll get the extra space as well. They have paid accounts available for up to 500 GB, but I haven't needed to use that...yet.

I use Dropbox to store all of the files that I would want easy access to. The beauty of Dropbox is that it allows you to access your files from any computer or mobile device, and for someone who switches between computers and mobile devices constantly, I appreciate how easily I can access my work.

GoodReader

This is one of the few services that you'd have to pay for as it's a paid iPad app ($4.99), but honestly, this is probably the best paid iPad app I've used. This app allows you to read and annotate pdfs, webpages, and other documents on your iPad. One of the best things about it, though, is that it integrates well with other sites like Google Drive and Dropbox. Even if you only have one iPad in your classroom or just an iPad for yourself, I would highly recommend this app.

Edmodo

If you're planning to have your students complete assignments digitally or turn in their work online to you, this is a great platform. You can create groups, calendars, assignments, and quizzes in a secure teacher-moderated environment. Did I mention that this service is free and works on any computer or mobile device? I'm an Edmodo-newbie, but my district is going to be switching over to using Edmodo, and I'm excited to be learning about it. I'll share all of the tips and tricks that I learn along the way. 

Your Mission

If you haven't signed up for or tried out any of these services, then this is a good place to start. I'll be writing tutorials over the next several days and weeks that use these tools as I begin to go paperless. 

Have you started to cut back on your paper clutter? What other tools are you using? Be sure to share in the comments section!