Monday, March 1, 2010

Are you an efficient teacher?

Technology is supposed to make us more efficient workers. Gutenberg's printing press made possible mass production of books. The spinning jenny resulted in cheaper yarn helping to usher in the Industrial Revolution. Of course, Henry Ford's famous assembly line production drove down the price of automobiles for American families. And the microwave oven allows college students to consume vast quantities of unhealthy foods during late night study sessions without making a huge mess.

Teaching, as in book-making, can be done more efficiently. And, unlike heating a hot pocket at 2 a.m., finding ways to teach more efficiently actually benefits students.

For example, in my math class I am able to assemble a standards-aligned exam using database test-generating software that sorts items by standard, objective, and difficulty. Then, after students fill in their bubble sheets, I scan them and run detailed reports according to the same criteria.

How does this make me more efficient besides processing tests more quickly (which is a huge benefit by itself)? By having such detailed reports instantly, I can isolate weaknesses early on and clear up misunderstandings before they infect other topics. My students will also know exactly what is going to be expected of them in the course, instead of having to learn a broad set of information and hope that what I assess is including in that.

Let's find the easiest, quickest way to teach and learn what we need to.

Technology can help you do it. What will you do to let it?

16 comments:

Brittany Dorn said...

One thing I'm planning on doing to let technology help me is using a computer program to record grades, attendance and other student information. This will make grading much more efficient and convenient. These programs can do all kind of crazy math and reports that I wouldn't be able to do without them that will really show my students how they are doing and help me better calculate grades.

Heather J said...

The biggest way I am planning on utilizing technology to help me with teaching is through communication with parents. Through e-mail especially I can keep an open door with parents without actually having an open door. We can communicate with each other on our own time and therefore more frequently discuss thier students problems and triumphs. Also, I can send a mass e-mail to all the parents and eliminate paper waste and the possibilty for students to lose things such as permission slips, notifications and announcments between the classroom and thier homes. E-mail can provide greater parental involvment in the classroom without the teacher feeling obligated to make parents as well as students happy in the classroom. It keeps them close and informed but at a happy physical distance so they do not become overbearing.

Jannea said...

I hope to be an effcient teacher. I will definetly let technology keep records and attendance, which I think is one of the biggest advantages for me (a hopeful art teacher) I think that the software that helps you pinpoint students weaknesses is really awesome. I wish my teachers had that when I was in school. I really could have used that kind of help!

Unknown said...

There are two parts of teaching that are important: Teaching and Assessing. Teaching requires getting the concepts wrapped around the students mind. Technology can bring visuals to life but basic communication and writing may be the most basic way to transmit information. I find that there is no easier way to show a student what a right triangle is then by simply drawing it for them. But assessment, as the blog indicates can be easily facilitated by technology. When it comes to grading, tests, and organization, technology can vast improve our effectivness as a teacher. While technology can certainly assist us is is important to keep in balanced in our teaching approach.

Amelia said...

I like the idea of giving students a test or evaluation to understand what levels students are at right from the start. I think that this type of individual addressing of each students needs can be so beneficial to their learning throughout the class. I can implement tutoring for certain students or try to fit lessons to students needs. I also would like to be able to understand students individual learning styles so that I can match my lessons to waht the students need. I know that there are many programs out ther that allow for this type of evaluation. I hope they can help me to teach my students well.

Brittany Motodani said...

Technology can help teachers become more efficient because we have anything almost instantly. With technology teachers can input grades and scores, which will notify the teacher how each student is progressing. With a program that can calculate students grades teachers will be able to see what students aren't doing to well and which ones are. Technology is efficient because instead of handwriting test you can type them and adjust them however you want to write them. Another way to use technology to benefit is to have the students use word processing to type out there assignment just in case a students handwriting is not that legible. This makes it easier for the teacher to read what each student wrote.

pixie said...

I hope to let technology help me in many different ways in my class room first I will try to open my mind to letting technology in to my classroom. I will use a program to record my grades. this will make my life much easier. I will also always be on the look out for new technology that can stream line my class room.

Unknown said...

I plan to use technology to enhance students' learning by incorporating it into the classroom. I will use real world examples to get students excited about whatever we are learning. For example, using the youtube video to demonstrate evolution in a way that my students can relate to.

Anonymous said...

I'm planning to become an elementary school teacher, so possibilities are limited in terms of using technology on a daily basis. One thing I'm really looking forward to is organizing test scores on a program that can track student progress (such as on a graph to literally map out how the student is growing). Instead of recording scores on paper, it would be more useful to implement a computer program, that way I can track where a student is falling behind and where they need most help in.

Unknown said...

As inconvenient as scantron tests are for students to take, they are definitely efficient in receiving grades and reviewing complicated lessons.
Online assessment tests I think are wonderful for teachers to help evaluate their class. Understandig preferred learning styles of students or determining a student's level of knowledge will help the teacher conduct a better learning environment and students can enjoy class more if they are being taught well.

Ali McMahon said...

Technology helps students to achieve different types of tasks, but it also helps the teacher as well. One way I will allow technology to help me is by setting up a computer program to track grades as well as attendance. This way I will not have a ton of papers foating around and know right where to go to see how my students are doing. Another way I will use technology to help me as well as my students is to put an outline of my lesson plan up on the computer. This way students will know what we are doing or what they need to do if they may have forgotten.
Ali McMahon

Ali McMahon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kmvanhootegem said...

As a teacher, I'm going to try to use computer assessments as often as possible. It gives you quick feedback, and allows you time to find new ways to teach and re-teach students that seem to fall behind. Using technology to record grades is also a huge time saver for teachers, it instills a sense of organization in your classroom, and makes it easier to access and change grades easily.

Taylor Louise Garry said...

I will try to use technology to assess the students understanding of the topics as much as possible. By using such software like interactive math games in the computer lab at the end of a lesson, the students know right away if their answers are correct and what they personally need to work on. Also, I'd use electronic grading scales to assess the child--which the parent can view and use email to communicate with their parents on the status of the student.

Unknown said...

One way that I can be a more efficient teacher is by using a program similar to excel or any other database software which allows me to see what areas my students are doing poorly on. By sorting out their test scores and the subjects in which they were tested on, I can easily distinguish which topics I need to go over with them again. Maybe my method of teaching that specific topic was not good enough, so I need to approach the learning process in a different manner. Basically any program that allows me to organize the level of success my students are achieving would make a very efficient program, and therefore a very efficient teacher.

Michelle Abuyaghi said...

I plan on using technology in my classroom to help me be more of an efficient teacher by keeping an open line of communication with the students and parents through e-mail. I believe it is important to be able to get a hold of a teacher within at least 24 hours so this is a vital need of the classroom. Also, a parent will be able to see how their child is doing in the classroom so they can discuss their child's behavior with them if necessary. If a student needs to e-mail a teacher then it definitely encourages, excites, and motivates writing. Ultimately, e-mail is another form of forming a welcoming and comfortable environment for both the students and teachers.