As a teacher, I know you are incredibly busy! As a 21st century teacher, you can take advantage of technology to help save your sanity. These tech tools to save you time will help make your first years in the classroom a whole lot easier!
Google Forms
Grading assignments and collecting student data is a breeze with Google Forms. You can make a simple quiz that auto grades, schedule conferences, and even collect parent information to make back to school a breeze! Google Forms will not only save you time, they’ll also save you a ton of space in your filing cabinet. A paperless classroom is definitely in your reach with this awesome tech tool from Google!
Google Slides
Speaking of Google tools, Google Slides is the new school PowerPoint. You’ll love the collaborative features of Slides. Students, teachers, and parents can all have sharing and editing capabilities. Save time with no-prep Google Slides graphic organizers for the ELA classroom. Writing and reading instruction and preparation is simplified with these easy to share Google Slide templates. From KWL charts to character analysis slides, your elementary students will have all the organizers they need to dive into reading and writing!
Slides are also an excellent way for students to collaborate with one another. Start stories, try peer editing, and build community with Slides. It’s such a great collaborative tool for classrooms!
Every teacher should have a school email address. Unless a situation truly warrants a phone call, save some time and send parents an email with minor concerns or special praise. An email takes just a few minutes, and you’ll have written documentation of any conversations. Although parent phone calls may be necessary at times, long phone calls can eat up your precious planning period minutes or even your lunch hour. Take back your time and use email instead of making lots of phone calls home.
Kahoot
Make quizzes and reviewing concepts interactive and fun with tech tools like Kahoot. This platform allows students to answer pre-made quizzes (from other teachers and students on the site), or you can create your own to review concepts you’ve taught in class. One way to use Kahoot is as a pre-test. See what your students already know about the topic. Introduce Kahoot for the first time with a no-risk Kahoot. Choose one of the fun, silly concepts like Disney movies or pop culture icons.
No matter what tech tools you use in your classroom, nothing replaces you as the teacher. These tech tools are designed to save you time so you can focus on what really matters, your students.
This may seem like a counterproductive tool on the surface, but when you use Facebook for community engagement, you can find so many ideas to save you time (and even money) in your classroom. The New Teacher Masterclass includes a Facebook group for our members. Building an online community of teachers can be so valuable in navigating your teaching career.
During your first few years of teaching, things can get overwhelming REAL fast. Papers can pile up, lessons can seem monotonous, and classroom management can be super tough. Let a veteran teacher help you navigate tech tools and other new teacher arenas with The New Teacher Masterclass. With step-by-step lessons, videos, and printables to save you time, you’ll be off to a great start during your first couple years in the classroom!
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