It appears that teachers are in fact moving away from pen and paper or even Google Docs to plan their lessons. PBS Learning Media surveyed over 500 PreK - 12th grade teachers and found that nearly half of all respondants now use online tech resources for their lesson planning needs.
Teachers aren't shifting to online planning simply because they can save their documents with catchy titles to easily find them when needed for future school years.
New lesson planning tools are actually helping teachers unpack and evaluate standards so they can create assessments based on those standards. Teachers then develop learning activities which ensure that their students reach the intended level of understanding instead of letting a fun activity drive students toward an unspecified or unintended goal. The horse pulls the cart instead of getting pushed by the cart.
Only a few lesson planning resources make the next important step of prompting teachers to assess successes and weaknesses they experienced while teaching their lessons and improve by making adjustments. Teachers modify strong lessons and discard less effective lessons rather than returning to the classroom and realizing they are teaching the same tired lessons with the same tired examples they developed twenty years ago!
And now for the main event! (Skip the next paragraph if you're not ready for a shameless plug!)
Have you checked out Insight's online lesson planning tool? myCore™ has been praised by teachers and administrators alike for its ability to help teachers create stronger lessons that incorporate the Common Core or other standards into their plans. It offers hints, suggestions and even a coaching feature to help teachers when they need it. Teachers can attach supporting documents and modify archived lessons or exemplary lessons shared by the district. School leaders monitor progress and district administrators view reports that show standards alignment.
At Insight, we've observed great results from smart teachers using interactive games and online videos, images and articles. We think it's great that 74% of teachers surveyed are using digital resources to "reinforce and expand content" and to "motivate students to learn." We also know that the most effective teachers start with the standards to build strong lessons that incorporate interactive games and other resources into their plans. It just makes sense to start with the goal in sight. Contact us at www.InsightEducationGroup.com to see how myCore and other Insight resources can help you design high-quality courses, units and lessons based on Common Core and state standards.
Do you have other great suggestions for using educational technology resources? Share them in the comments section.