As an elementary music teacher, I teach five grades, each consisting of 4-5 different classrooms. Each grade may learn similar concepts or they may be at completely different learning areas throughout the year. Since I began teaching, I wanted to stay organized but somehow wasn't able to always stay on top of it. This made for a messy desk, difficult classroom transitions, and even classroom management issues. As I became more experienced, my organizational skills became more experienced. However, it wasn't until I was introduced to an app called iDoceo that I truly felt organized for the first time. This app is amazing! If you teach multiple classes, multiple lessons daily, this app is for you. It is not free, but is under $10 and worth every penny. The app allows you to upload each class, create and change seating charts, keep behavior logs, input and change lesson plans, upload documents and photos, play videos, keep information on students, sync a google or apple calendar and add to an existing calendar, enter grades and pull percentage data, and it's all in one nifty place: your iPad. It wasn't until I discovered this app that I truly was able to "plan" out an entire school year before the year even started. This was a goal of mine and finally came to fruition. How much easier is it to see when the assessments take place and work backwards?! I highly recommend looking into this app for anyone looking to be more organized.
As Bauer (2014) mentions, technology has really made learning and professional development much more available now. I'd like to touch on the online learning aspect. As a teacher and mom, time is of the essence. Knowing I'd like to someday teach college and starting my Master's has been a goal since I graduated with my Bachelor's. However, it took me over 5 years to find a credible online program to do this. My other option was to drive over an hour to attend classes. Kent State has made my goal a reality and I am very grateful for this. I do enjoy the "freedom" of online coursework. I am able to pace myself with the time I have making sure to complete the work by the deadline. However, I really miss the face-to-face interaction of being in a classroom. I am not able to ask questions and get immediate feedback. I am not able to discuss project ideas with classmates and hear their ideas for insight. Although the discussion board is available, and I have used it, it is simply not the same. This is something anyone considering online coursework needs to think about. For me, at this time in my life, online learning is essential and quite workable. However, if a younger student asked me for advice, I would advise them to enroll in an on-campus degree if possible. We, as educators, know how important SEL is to education. Just because we are adults, doesn't change this. As online learning becomes more popular, I think universities will need to address this aspect and add a virtual collaboration component. My husband works for a company that does exactly this. They bring global companies together through the use of their existing technology to meet face-to-face, share documents, and ultimately, build that social connection. This is just one example of many solutions available.
Bauer, W. (2014). Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thank you for the iDoceo recommendation!It sounds like a great tool. My schedule is different every day, and it can be confusing trying to remember all of the extra duties in my day, and an app like that would definitely make my life easier. I also frequently have to cover or cancel classes to help with lunch duties or to chaperone field trips, so that would help my keep track of all those changes as well. I'm looking forward to checking it out!
ReplyDeleteI also miss the face-to-face learning that can take place in a classroom. While an online degree program is the only workable option for me right now, I wish it didn't have to be.