Teacher’s Bag of Tricks

Salindger posts an interesting article at 43folders.com that expresses the frustration of technology in public education. The post has a couple interesting points, but more useful are the comments. Dozens of educators chime in with their suggestions for tech tools and work-arounds. It got me thinking: How do educators work around the limitations of web-blockers, out-dated hardware, and software restrictions? Post your suggestions in the comments section.

Teacher’s Productivity Hampered by technology. No love. | 43 Folders

As computer projectors trickle into some schools (and flood into others), many teachers are wondering: What am I supposed to do with this thing? Our staff did a pair of seminars to share ideas and find some new resources for use with projectors in the classroom. Whether you use one to replace your old-school overhead or dive head-first into Web 2.0, there’s a little bit for everyone. Check out the wikis to find some new tech tricks, or add some cool sites of your own.

Projector Activities (K-3)

Projector Activities (4-6)

You’ve captured everything that might possibly grab at your attention. Now it’s time to sift through that pile in your inbox and make some basic decisions about what each item means to you. Here are some questions to help you give meaning to each piece of stuff you’ve captured.

Is this actionable? If the answer is no, then it belongs in the trash, or in a filing system where you can get to it at the right time.

For actionable items, the next question: Is this an isolated task or part of a project? Teachers are project managers, therefore many items can be categorized into different project folders. Here are some suggestions:

• Every student is a project.
• Every committee is a project.
• Planning lessons is at least one project.
• Preparing grade reports is a project.
• Special events like parent nights, field trips, and holiday parties are all projects.

Another question for actionable items: Will it take less than two minutes? If the answer is yes, then complete the task and move on. Make sure to capture any stuff that results from completing the task. If the task is going to take more than two minutes, then it needs to be deferred or delegated.

Deferring the task funnels it into one of three places: the calendar, the next action list, or the “waiting on” list. Each of these holders has a different relationship to your time. The calendar lists future events, the next action list quickly shows you things to do when you have moment free (like in a planning period). The “waiting on’ list quickly shows you what you should not be doing (because you’re waiting on some one else to complete those tasks).

Vicki Davis shares her implementation of David Allen’s Getting Things Done with multiple inboxes:

I have an inbox at home and one at work. I also have an “inbox” in my planner as a place for any papers I collect “on the go.” When I go home, they go in the inbox there.

Check out her full post for more about her system and her thoughts on GTD.

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Make Life Easier: Callwave, Email Tricks, and more

Next in our series on Getting Teaching Done, Google hosted a talk with the man who sparked the GTD fire. It’s 45 minutes long and it’s a great way to learn about the process and the inspiration for Getting Things Done.

A new series on the blog, Getting Teaching Done is all about
enhancing productivity in the classroom. From planning to teaching to
assessing to meetings, teachers have plenty to do and extremely limited
time to get it all done. By capturing, processing, organizing,
reviewing, and acting, we can keep our classes running smoothly and our
students learning.
Much of what we will cover is inspired by the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. His strategies and ideology
promote low-stress productivity and creativity through the use of a
trusted system of capturing and processing things to be done.
Other sources of inspiration include:

The title says “New Teacher”, but the topics and suggestions are useful for grizzled veterans, as well. Dr. Glen Moulton and Michael Kelly of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence talk about the challenges of teaching and answer questions from new teachers around the country. To top it all off, Moulton and Kelly keep things light with a healthy dose of wit and sarcasm.

New Teacher Hotline

Thursday was our final day in the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program. Here are some final points that stood out to us:

• By working a consistent system without deviation, we can be an effective team. A dedicated recorder, time-keeper, and team leader are essential to keep us on track. Story-telling is not part of the equation.
• We need to intentionally publicize in order to educate staff members and parents about who we are, why we exist, and how we operate. If we don’t share our story, other people will make up their own stories about us.
• Helping students is serious business and critically important, but it is also exciting and fun. We need to do all we can to decrease pressure, alleviate stress, and celebrate success, even small, day-to-day success.

Our child study team is attending the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program, a training experience targeting at-risk interventions and strategies.

• Life skills and academic content can live together in the same lessons and activities.
• Brainstorming is most effective in 5-7 minute stretches. That lull in the action after 90 seconds is the transition from left brain to right brain, so keep going to get creative ideas. Save the “yeah, but” comments for later.
• Keep parent conferences positive and collaborative, not confrontational. Remember, the parents of at-risk students are likely moving through the grieving process for their students. Be firm but sensitive.

A quick rundown of some key ideas from the Masonic Model Student Assistance Program.

• Developmental assets analysis helps to put a student’s life skills in perspective and leads to greater adult compassion for that student.
• Every school should have a comprehensive plan in place for crisis prevention, intervention, and postvention.
• Educators can carefully ask students to assist in identifying at risk students.
• The more a student knows about her classmates, the less likely she is to act out in violence against them.