By CLAIRE KNIBBS, Executive Assistant
As a former educator with an MAT in Early Childhood Education, I often reflect on the demands of teachers today, and wonder how we can make life easier for our teachers who are expected to meet rigorous demands with little time and resources.
One challenge that I know can be minimized is the mountain of paperwork required. Just imagine how many forms/documents the average educator fills out in a week. Think about a classroom teacher with about 20 students, from getting to know their students academically, behaviorally and socially to administrative forms, to lesson planning and grading, to parent communication. The paperwork can be insurmountable. Here are just a few of the common forms needed in the classroom:
Lesson Plans – for each subject taught, differentiated for student needs
Administrative – Enrollment/Registration Forms, Emergency Contacts, Medical Information, Substitute set up, Course Instructor Feedback, Applications, Course Evaluation, Personnel/ New Hire, Travel Requests, Conference Requests, Field trip Requests, Acceptable Use Policies- pics, videos, student work, Teacher Evaluation Tools, Teacher Goal Setting
Parent Communication – Field trip permission, Newsletters, Reminders, Schedules, Fees/ Fines Statements
Grading/ Reporting – Gradebook, Feedback, Report cards, Interim/Progress Reports, Transcripts, Academic History
Getting to know your students – Student Surveys- interest, reading, Parent surveys
Assessments – Behavioral, Formative, Summative, Pre/Post, Data Tracking
I bet you had no idea how many possible documents could be involved on this side of teaching! Think of what this means for just one teacher to create and complete and then think about the number of teachers in just one school or an entire school district!
Now imagine taking these forms into the digital age. Consider the amount of time and resources that could be saved by moving to electronic fillable forms with pre-populated fields. The essentials are already filled in so that the teacher can just add as needed. This method could also be a way of creating a standard across all levels and systems. This efficient method could also then be submitted and stored in the school system’s business software database. This would be a much improved user experience for teachers and staff.
Every minute lost filling in the fields with information that is already in the system, is a minute we could be focusing on the children! The technology is available, why aren’t we taking advantage of it.
Teachers will have more time and energy to focus on what’s most important, their students.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help, or just call us today at 678.408.1245.