I try to find a focus for my weekly vlogs when possible. This week’s focus was Teacher Productivity Hacks. I have more, lots more coming on this topic, but this week I went through my regular routines and discussed how they save time. Overall, I spend more time preparing and organizing to save time (and stress) later – I like to think of these as time investments.
Teacher Productivity Hacks #1: Print to SMART Notebook Document Writer
If you are SMART Notebook user on a PC, you should have the option to print to the “SMART Notebook Document Writer.” This will take any Word document or PDF, and convert each page into a slide in SMART Notebook. I use this feature weekly to display worksheets and activities that we are working on in class. (Be careful if you want your pages to print landscape orientation instead of portrait. You may have to change this option.) If you are a Mac user, you can simply drag and drop your PDF into SMART Notebook
#2: Save Time Grading Tests
Some tips were shared in my vlog, and on my Instagram. But, I have an entire post dedicated to this topic coming soon!
#3: Quick & Easy Homework Passes
Here is a fun and simple teacher productivity hack. I make my homework passes out of business cards. I have been using Vista Print for years for this purpose (not sponsored). After choosing a pre-made template, add your own information to convert the business card into a homework pass. (Vista Print often has sale codes available.) Last time I made a new set of homework passes, I paid $10 for 2,000 cards. As a result, homework passes are no-prep, and are not easy to duplicate.
Teacher Productivity Hack #4: Print Notes for Absent Students
Out of all the teacher productivity hacks I’m sharing today, this one is my favorite! Teaching Geometry means that most lessons are full of new information for students. I mean completely new. Students need a good base of background knowledge to be able to complete practice exercises, and we take notes very seriously. Since I use SMART Notebook, I have all the notes on my computer, and can easily print them out. Every day that we have new notes, I print out notes for all absents students during my morning prep. I peek at SchoolTool (my school’s attendance management system) for my later classes to estimate how many students are going to be absent, so unless students are dismissed early, I don’t have to worry about absences again throughout the day.
#5: Save Notes for Students
This tip goes along with number 4. After I print out the notes for absent students, I save a copy of the notes as a PDF. When you’re in the SMART Notebook file, go to “File,” “Export As…,” and select “PDF.” Save a copy just in case, and you can always upload the PDF to your class website.
These also come in handy when students are assigned to ISS. In my school we must send their work before school begins, but I won’t have notes until after teaching the lesson. When possible, I like to use the PDF of the notes saved from the previous year.
#6: Communicate with Absent Students
To easily communicate with my absent students, I created a slip to attach to any work that absent students need. It explains what students missed, what needs to be turned in, when it needs to be turned in, and if the student missed a quiz. This eliminates questions that students would understandably have after receiving multiple pages of work after an absence. Of all these teacher productivity hacks, this one saves me the most time.
#7: Make Absent Work Easily Accessible
If you follow any teachers online to see how they organize their classrooms, you’ve probably seen an absent student system that includes a crate and file folders for each day of the week. Absent work is filed for each day, and students look for the materials from the day they were absent. This is certainly easier than what I do. However, I don’t think this would work for my students. Also, there is nothing to grab their attention to remind them to look in the bin.
What I do is staple a folder for each class period to my bulletin board (pictured above). I put the packets I make for absent students in the folders. This grabs their attention, and when it doesn’t, it grabs mine and I can remind students they have absent work. (This is usually the case for the students that are rarely absent, and therefore forget the absence procedure.) My process also streamlines where students have to look to find their missing work.
#8: Organize Up-coming Materials
Previously, I shared a video about how I organize worksheet/lesson materials. What I have changed since then is including the answer keys. This has been very helpful. Firstly, it keeps everything I need for the day in one location. (Before I would start teaching, forget the key, have to look for the key, etc.) Secondly, it separates each day’s materials without having to use a ton of paperclips.
Teacher Productivity Tip#9: Prep for the Next Day
Most afternoons before leaving, I prepare for the next day. I move the lesson materials I need for the next day to the front of my classroom, and I put the papers that students will pick up in their respective bins. I update my whiteboards with the next day’s standards, objectives, and information that students need, such as homework assignments. Doing this each afternoon helps relax me, and makes my next morning much less stressful. It only takes a few minutes, but it saves me more time in the morning when I’m moving slowly and have a whole day on my mind.
Systems are the ultimate productivity tool. Do you need help creating systems that work for you and your students? Be sure to jump on the Productive Teacher Toolkit waitlist! Enrollment will be opening soon, and you don’t want to miss all the system creating goodness waiting inside for you.See these tips in action in my vlog:
