Ways Teachers Use Technology
Using Electronic Grade Books, Lesson Plan and Test-making Software
Time-saving tools available to teachers, such as electronic grade books and lesson plan software.
In a typical school, in a fair-sized district, administrators may be cautioning teachers to not only keep up in content and up-dated teaching methods, but in their use of technology to keep records. Many teacher preparation programs are not necessarily covering these skills, in favor of presenting instructional strategies and methods, but it is my experience, in teaching graduate level courses, that many beginning teachers are unaware that technologies such as electronic grade books and software can create lesson plans and tests based on the subject they are teaching even exist. Teachers who are resistant to using these tools may feel as though they are cheating, or have the fear that they may not be able to learn (See the blog that details my experience with computer fear). Some teachers do not want to change with the times, or maybe think that the new ways are going to go away, but that really seems unlikely. Once these time-saving devices are used, it is hard to imagine going back to computing averages and weighing categories by hand and brain, or writing out lesson plans without being able to cut and paste them when time runs out for the week.
The electronic grade book has evolved over the years. One can be created on Microsoft Excel if your school has not invested in a system for the teaching staff to use. However, a certain amount of computer savvy is required; you would have to program each category you enter to reflect a certain portion of the student’s score. Of course, a basic spreadsheet can be created if you just want a neater-looking grade book. A program that is very easy to use and affordable is Gradekeeper, but it is not an online service, meaning that parents would not be able to access their children’s records from their home or office computers. A program such as Edline or SASI would provide this service to parents, with an e-mail alert for when new information about their children is published. These web-based systems also can provide tracking information about student progress in order to compare student achievement to others in the district or state.
In an effort to comply with the legislation of No Child Left Behind, many districts are revamping their curriculum programs. Many of the newer programs include software for lesson-planning and test-making. Objectives for instruction and state standards are built in, in many cases. These conveniences save hours of planning time and give ideas for differentiating instruction and allow for testing accommodations. If these devices interfere with academic freedom, then changes can be made to the lesson, with the basic framework left intact.
Many other tools exist that are making an educator’s job somewhat less tedious, leaving more time to pursue creative activities that will improve instruction.
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