4 Revolutionary Teaching Tools That Make Life Easier
Teaching tools that make a teacher’s life easier.
Yes. Teaching is a tough job! To some extent, it eats up your life. Instead of enjoying a vacation somewhere, you end up staycationing, perhaps checking student outputs at home.
You may probably have ranted on how ineffective your classroom management skills are to a class of 50 or even 60 students. You keep on revising lesson plans because they need to be polished before implementing them in the classroom. You research for suitable activities. You make instructional materials. You assess students and provide feedback. Basically, 24 hours a day is not enough for you. You need an hour or two because… you are a teacher.
Fortunately, living in the digital age allows us to rely on the advancements of technology in almost all aspects of life, even in our teaching profession. These teaching tools can help teachers work faster, easier, and smarter. Some of the teaching tools that may help you with your profession are as follows:
1. Lesson Plan App
Hurray! Finally, you can create your lesson plans right on your mobile phone! You can download your favorite lesson plan app from Play Store and manage your lessons, activities, schedule, and even assessments from there! Some advantages of this app include:
- Paperless transactions
- You have it wherever you go
- Plan lessons with attached files
- Organize timetables with ease
- Cuts down your prep time
2. The Smart Board
Say goodbye to refilling markers and say hello to the smart board. The smart board is an electronic device that uses touch screen feature and allows teachers to run programs by simply tapping and scrolling the screen. While the traditional blackboard and whiteboard are widely used by most teachers, the smart board has impressive advantages such as:
- Neater and easier to maintain
- Audio-visual
- Interactive
- Caters to different learning styles
- Easy access to online information
3. Online Teaching Resources
I remember the time when I consumed most of my prep time drawing, coloring, and laminating activities for my year 4 students. Now, prep time is as easy as abc! There are over a dozen online resources to choose from! Just click on your desired activity, print, and go! You can already enjoy your cup of coffee without thinking of an appropriate activity to deliver to the class.
Here are some teaching resource websites that can aid you with your lesson. You may be asked for monthly or annual subscription to download the activities.
www.superteacherworksheets.com
4. Online Classroom Platforms
Imagine attending a class even without entering the classroom. Of course, it’s possible! Online classrooms offer a convenient, reliable, and rich learning environment just as regular classrooms do. When I did my master’s degree, there was an online class about inclusive practices in education. My professor posted an online discussion and students exchanged ideas and opinions based on the lesson being discussed. What I liked about that online class is I can ask my professor a question anytime and anywhere. I do not have to wait for him in school to ask questions and discuss ideas about the course.
You may consider these platforms for your online classes:
www.wiziq.com/Virtual_Classroom
While technology has been invading our lives as teachers, always remember that the mark of a great educator is significantly dependent on his passion to initiate change and touch lives of people. I hope you find these teaching tools helpful.
Class dismissed!
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