Teacher Doc Management with and for the iPad

We have been talking, within the Academy, about creating, sharing and vetting lesson plans and other documents.  There are a number of sites and blogs out there, but we are thinking about how to condense, contain and organize the vast amounts of content out there. 
Escondido has a Google spreadsheet. Since it is in a spreadsheet, you could sort by subject, grade level or price (they are only reviewing free apps going forward).


Today I was thinking about some sort of tabbed web site with a tab for each month of the school year (I am trying to do some forward planning!).  But then again you could have other sorts... here are just a few I thought of:

• Grade level
• Content area
• Month by month

Then you have types of docs:

• teacher productivity apps
• student apps
• productivity
• learning games
• production
• portfolio
• processes and procedures
• lesson plans
• student work
• samples
• actual final product

If my 5th grade math serves me, that is 33 different combinations.  A clean looking blog is Apps in Education.

Lisa Johnson, who has the blog TechChef4u  offers some guidance and templates for iPad lesson plans. She sums up her process nicely and even has this graphic (created with an app) to go along with her ideas. She also pins a lot of ideas to Pinterest, which frankly gave me the idea that all of this information needs somehow categorized.

Cave Creek Unified in Phoenix created a website for teachers to celebrate learnings with their iPods. I love the idea of a site but like this one, I am afraid it would just be a list.  

Another review site is iear.org  . They also include student reviews which is a great idea.

Lessonopoly, a lesson planning resource from SVEF  has only 14 lessons that come up on an iPad search. I know the technology is fairly new to the classroom. I guess it is up to us!

I don't have an answer yet, but am putting it out there, in case anyone has any ideas they can point us to. Maybe we just find the one we like best and point to that. But I do like the idea of Academy teachers creating something local.

It is technology and education, not technology vs. education!

My amazing friend Tracey just sent me this article. Tracey and I worked together in telecommunications for years. Her husband, Michael Bobrowicz, is another teacher like me who left high tech to become a teacher. Like me, he has faced many of the challenges, and enjoyed the personal rewards of, this change. He is teaching an SDC classroom in Pacifica. The discussion about technology in classrooms is reaching a tipping point in our district, and I'd guess in many districts around the world. It doesn't have to be a divisive issue.
Brandon Busteed writes in the Huffington Post Education Blog that A technological revolution is happening in the world of education; it is changing schools for the better. But, it will never change the definition of and need for great teaching. His article, entitled, In Education, Technology Changes Everything and Nothing, he discusses research findings that show what we (teachers) all know, Simply put, great teaching is about emotionally engaging the learner in a way that is individualized. Our opportunity to innovate and improve education is deeply tied to these fundamentals. A great teacher is a great teacher -- whether she is real or avatar.

It is important in discussions and debate to remain respectful and keep the goal of education in mind. We are here to create lifelong learners. We do what we do, however we do it, to make a difference. Technology isn't a fad, it isn't going away. But it is a tool, not a solution.

The Atlantic forum highlighted that the debate about great technology vs. great teachers is unnecessary. Instead, the conversation needs to be about technology and teaching. So now education leaders need to create a seamless interplay between teachers and technology. This will not be easy, but ....at least [we are] left with a clear sense of purpose.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad