Teaching, Dreaming, Learning: 2014

Easy (takes 5-15 minutes)

1. Declutter your inblox using Unroll.me. Read more about this simple tool here.

2. Put technology to work for you using IFTTT. Read about this tool here and sign up. What are you waiting for?

3. Use Remind (formerly Remind 101) to send important reminders to your families via text or emails.

4. Do you use Google calendar? Download Boomerang Calendar to schedule group meetings with other busy professionals in one click.

5. Bookmark all of your favorite websites using Diigo. This simple tool works similar to Pinterest or even your favorites button on your computer but you can access it anywhere.

6. Are you overwhelmed with keeping track of all of your passwords? Use a password keeper app for your smart phone. I like PassCaddy but there's so many available out there. Be sure to do your research because you want to make sure you choose a secure site.

Medium (takes 15-30 minutes)

7. Google Apps. If your district offers Google, use it for you and for your students. If not, get your own account. You can save everything here and access it anywhere, have your students turn in their work for digital feedback, and So. Much. More. Read about simple Google tools for educators and twenty helpful tips for using Google in the classroom here.

8. Do you have an iPad? Put it to work for you to help manage your classroom. Read about some of my favorite apps here.

Hard (these could take 30+ minutes, but it's worth it!)

9. Create your classroom newletters or project resources using Smore. The nice part is that you can add helpful links and save hours of time making copies when everything is loaded in one place. Next year-- just make the necessary changes. I used this for a summer reading and math challenge and the kids loved it!

10. Organize your Google Docs, share, and create student documents using Doctopus. I am still learning this tool, but it is definitely worth checking out.

11. Use Flubaroo to make simple multiple choice or fill-in-the blank assignments and...wait for it....grades them too.

12. As a future administrator, I love Formmule. There are so many direct uses in the classroom too. Basically it allows you to automatically send an email with the results. Think about taking notes during classroom conferences or making notes during a classroom observation and sharing your feedback immediately. Pretty awesome.

13. Find a classroom management system that you love tand use it o organize your entire class in one place. Some popular ones are Schoology, Edmodo, Moodle, and I am loving Google classroom which will be available in September 2014.

14. Choose an online lesson book. One of the most popular resources is Planbook but you can also use Google Calendar for free. Save a few minutes by planning a lesson when you're hanging out in a waiting room.

Check out these links for more ideas on incorporating 21st century instruction, technology for back to school, and how to save time with classroom management and organization. What is your best tip for saving time?

One of my personal goals this summer is to put technology to work for me. As teachers, there are so many tools available to us, it's overwhelming! As a teacher-trainer, let me share one of my new favorites...

IFTTT stands for if that, then this. The basic premise is that if you do one thing web-based, then another thing automatically happens. You start by adding channels. Things like your phone number, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. are called channels. Then you link the channels to a recipe and just like that you have made life easier. This one is my favorites (I am signing the hubs up with this one tonight!)