Going Paperless - Help!

This year, we heard lots about how many copies we were making, paper we were using, etc. I am blessed to not be limited on any of these aspects, but they are hinting that this might not be the case for next year. I don't like the papers just as much as the next teacher, and fighting and praying to the copier gods that it wouldn't jam on me for the billionth time is very frustrating. The things that cause me the most paper are by far TESTS! In the past, we have used Edusoft grading system with scantrons to automatically grade our tests for us, but we have been told this will be cut next year. We have been so upset about this because it saves me HOURS of grading!

So let me break the numbers down for you...

A test is usually two to four copies (front and back) and scantron. They get their test back with a report on it as well so for a total of four to six pages per student, 115 students, that is anywhere from 460 to 690 copies per test!! Let's not forget the two to four page study guide as well, so that's another 230 to 460 copies. For a grand total of anywhere from 690 to 1,050 copies per test!!!I know that's a lot of copies, and when we design the test we make it take up as little room as possible by shrinking diagrams and columns. But what can I do to help limit this? We do copy tests front to back so this cuts the paper in half, but as a school we are charged by the copy and then by the paper separately.

The first thing that comes to mind is a class set. So now I would only need 30 copies of the test, and if you are keeping up that is 60 to 120 copies for the test, but I would still need the scantron and study guides. This is what a lot of my other team teachers use. My concerns with this is that in math, you need to be able to highlight, cross out, show your work, etc. to questions to solve sometimes. (And in a perfect world, my students would do this 100% of the time!) But I do have several students that don't even write so much as their name on the test, or show any work! (that's a whole other topic in itself) We also do test corrections, so how do I get them a copy of the test so they can do these for questions they missed? I am not comfortable with posting a test to my class website.

With Edusoft, some teachers have them take the actual test on the computer. My same concerns apply to this as well as we take our MAP assessments on the computer as well and some students don't focus. Plus I think this opens up questions about cheating through the internet as well. And this is a luxury we don't have for next year, gotta love budget cuts.

This is only accounting for tests and study guides, no graphic organizers, EXIT slips, quizzes, assignments, etc. We also did a "default activities packet during part of the year that was 9 pages of critical thinking, puzzles, math related activities that students could work on when done with an assignment and  could earn a prize at the end of the quarter if they did them all. WHEW!

So with all of the other technology we have available, there has to be something that would help?! Right?!

OCTI 2013 is here!

Oldham County Technology Institute is here! Two days worth of professional development that I am actually going to enjoy! Lots of apps, websites, collaboration, and observing technology in the classroom.

Today we had a session on apps and websites to use in the classroom. What I loved about these sessions is it gave us a lot of resources in a small amount of time. They talked about 50 apps and 40 websites in two hour long sessions !They talked about the highlights and important information about each app or website, and then you can go out on your own and discover the apps/websites more in depth. I created an app folder called "Apps to Try" because I had so many new ideas. After each session, we had breakout sessions that focused on one of three different things that were discussed during the session.

Tomorrow we are observing in the morning, and come back for a "technology smack down!" and Teacher Productivity app seminar. I am presenting Teacher Assistant during the "smack down", 3 minutes to tell about your app. Whoever has the best app wins a prize.

Here are some of the links to presentations that we had!

1. 40 Apps in 40 Minutes - a little information about a lot of apps! divided into topic groups! I made an apps to try folder on my iPad of apps I was enticed by and have gone in and played with each one to see if I liked them or not.
2. Notability  
3. 40.5 Sites in 40 Minutes - similar to 40 apps, but about websites.
4. The Flipped Classroom - using videos to flip your classroom
5. Computing in the Educational Cloud - Dropbox, Google Drive

QR Codes - Self Checking Assessment

Hmmm...Where will this take you?!

First of all, I can not take all of the credit for coming up with this idea! My grade level partner, Laura, introduced me to using QR codes and scanners for students to self check assignments. I have loved using these, and the kids love them too! It takes what is normally boring math practice and turns it into a fun, technology activity for the kids. And it takes almost no time at all to plan!

QR codes, short for quick response, are a type of matrix barcode that are tide with different types of information. You can use them with plain text, websites, app downloads, contact info, etc. All you need is a code generator and a app device with a QR reader app downloaded.

My favorite code generator website to use is QR Stuff. They have 20 different ways you can enter information including the ones I mentioned before and YouTube, PayPal, social media, etc. I use plain text so when it it scanned only words will appear. This also let's the students not have to use WiFi to access a link, sometimes ours is a little spotty. Laura has done it to were the text is in a Google doc and they have to click on the link to see the text. Both methods work.

I download the barcode as a jpeg, and paste them into the document I've typed the worksheet on and cut them out. I tried this past time downloading them and printing one to a page and they came out really big which I thought would help, but they weren't as easy to scan. During the warm up of the next class I reprinted a small version and they worked much better.

My favorite app to use is called Scan because it is available on Apple and Android devices. I have told the students to download the app at home because they can not access the stores at school, and saves time. This app also shows the history of what you scanned. It is very user friendly and we haven't had any problems with it.

Here is a link to my NEW TeachersPayTeachers store for a FREE download of an activity that I have created that uses the QR codes! Cross-Multiply-QR-Self-Check

Why am I doing this?

As a teacher, my free time is usually spent grading papers, lesson plans, paperwork, etc. During the school year, who am I kidding the summer too, I spend a lot of my time at school or thinking about school. But I knew all of this would happen when I signed up. So why am I adding one more thing to my to-do list? I want to help teachers see how easy it is to incorporate the use of technology and still maintain a high level of learning and expectations.

When I was in elementary school I somehow managed to be placed in what my district called 21st Century Classrooms. These were teachers that had 5-6 computers in their classroom and one teacher computer plugged into a big screen TV (the original SmartBoard lol). These teachers used technology more in their lessons, had us do computer based projects, etc. I learned all of my quick keys, how to use Microsoft Office and Work proficiently, and could type without looking at my keys or typing with two fingers. But even with this, we still had a limited amount of technology to use or what to do with it.

How far we have come since then.

In my classroom alone I have a student and teacher computer, projector screen, Interwrite Tablet, WiFi and a speaker system. All of the teachers have access to two full computer labs, two mobile labs, and soon to arrive iPad lab (can't wait for this one!) This is the most technology I have ever had or seen in a classroom, and I am in heaven! I try to incorporate technology into a lot of my lessons in hopes to engage students and prepare them for an often times technology driven world. When I am competing against video games to hold the attention of an adolescent, ADHD middle schooler, I will try whatever might work if it means they are learning!

Here I am going to research, review, and analyze products I have used in the classroom. Pros, cons, what I would change, etc. If you have a product that you love, want to try, or have used but want to change, let me know and I would love to help!