How to get the most out of Technology in (and out of) the classroom

Technology can be a great time saving tool for teachers, if you ask the right questions

Reducing teacher workload is, to my mind, a complex issue that doesn’t have just one answer – if only – but instead needs to be approached in many ways. And tech could be one tool that could prove particularly useful. So, how might this look?

Well,  one of the big ways that technology can help teachers is in assessment and data analysis. Whether it’s fast, formative, ready-made assessment tools like Socrative, Kahoot or Quick Key, or full-on tracking and assessment systems, capturing data digitally can potentially make analyzing it and turning it into something meaningful and useful a whole lot easier. Like any tool, though, it is how it’s used that is the real key to this.

What tech can also do is to make it easier for teachers to share stuff – and we have a lot to share. From planning and resources, to ideas and vital info, I’m not sure where I’d be without it all. Cloud is also used to plan lessons with colleagues, who struggle to find time to sit down in school, and even collaborate with other teachers.

And lastly, where I’ve seen technology really have an impact is in how teachers communicate with parents. Texting services, virtual learning environments, the humble class blog – all of them go some way towards enabling teachers to get messages out to parents and careers quickly and simply. Schools building their own dedicated apps are also a growing trend. Of course, these all require parents and careers to download, install or engage on the other end, but the potential is there.

In a way, all of the above comes with a mild health warning, because, yes, tech can make our lives simpler in lots of ways – but it can also do the exact opposite. Keeping oneself in check is what’s needed here because our natural disposition as a bit of a gadget geek can be to use tech solutions just because they are there and I can.
Forcing oneself to question if tech is really needed for the job, or if one can do it better without, helps to maintain some sort of balance and not add to workload – because that is definitely big enough already.