11/08/2013

Workflow is not native for Digital Natives

November 9th marks my district's Powering Up with Technology Conference and yet again I will be presenting. This conference has a special place in heart because it was the first event where I saw the potential of technology in the classroom and it was the first event that I was brave enough to be a presenter. Now there are a couple of new firsts: being a co-presenter and blogging about an upcoming presentation.

Workflow became a discussion between David Neagley, my colleague and co-presenter, and I early on. As we were selecting tools that made our workflow more efficient, David was using many of these tools with his students in his AP Biology class. I had utilized some of these tools during my years as a technology integration teachers. In building a collection of tools that are essential to student workflow, I realized how the generation that lives with technology in their hands still need opportunities to learn how they can be productive with multi-platform tools.

While more tools will be covered in the session, I thought I would focus on the tools I will be covering in the session.

1. Edmodo: My account was opened early in the history of Edmodo, but I tried to use it as more of a social media tool which was an error. When it was used a way for the classroom to become paperless, that is when I met success. Student workflow improved because they could easily track their project assignments with the grade book. No longer did they have to rely on storage through the computer or flash drive. The backpack feature became their portfolio option.

2. Evernote: Many know my certain love of Evernote. Unlike Edmodo, students have more control to build their workflow as they build notebooks and capture their learning. One of the struggles with all students is research and this process can be easier with a Chrome Extension like Evernote Webclipper or Clearly.

3, Wunderlist: A tool that again I signed up for, but couldn't find a purpose to use until I started working on projects with David. Sharing project lists allowed us to avoid duplicating work and see instant progress of our lists. This helps students keep track of their own assignments and progress.

Here is a sneak peak of all the tools that will be covered: