Teachers...how do you manage all your paperwork?

Newteacher

Hi all. Hope this hasn't been asked recently...

Ok so it's summer and I've hauled every last scrap of paper home with me determined that I'm going to return in Septemer with a paper free existance having filed all my plans, notes and schemes in order in one place.

As I trawl through the paperwork I'm shocked at the sheer quantity of paper a teacher can accumulate over anger years.

Also I realise that I have notes stored on old computers, iPad, phone, USBs, google drive, my email label system , google classroom, Evernote and on my school desktop.

Where do I start ? Has anyone successfully completed such a daunting teacher Marie Kondo project?
All advice gratefully received. 😀
Ps I'm actually organised behind all this as I know where everything is but would love a one stop system. Thanks

gaiscioch

Newteacher wrote: »

Hi all. Hope this hasn't been asked recently...

Ok so it's summer and I've hauled every last scrap of paper home with me determined that I'm going to return in Septemer with a paper free existance having filed all my plans, notes and schemes in order in one place.

As I trawl through the paperwork I'm shocked at the sheer quantity of paper a teacher can accumulate over anger years.

Also I realise that I have notes stored on old computers, iPad, phone, USBs, google drive, my email label system , google classroom, Evernote and on my school desktop.

Where do I start ? Has anyone successfully completed such a daunting teacher Marie Kondo project?
All advice gratefully received. 😀
Ps I'm actually organised behind all this as I know where everything is but would love a one stop system. Thanks

While I have a single physical copy of all my notes, which I store in the classroom, everything else is stored on edmodo. I have them all sorted into sections/topics under their respective class in edmodo, and all students have access to these notes/guides/mindmaps. Every couple of weeks I'd print out relevant mindmaps etc for particular classes from that single copy. This means that along with that single copy, there tends to be superfluous notes because students were not in, etc. They can add up, but I usually put them at the back of the relevant shelf in the school cabinet and before I print again I see how many copies I had superfluous from the last time. Edmodo really is a godsend of clarity and organisation, though, as all my notes are in a single place which can be accessed from any device.

r93kaey5p2izun

I've used Edmodo on and off but never stuck at it because my students don't make any use of it. I used to love it for clear filing of documents though. However last time I was on it the "library" area (think that's what it's called) had changed. You could no longer sort documents into folders in the library area (you could still do it in individual classes) so it was a nightmare to find everything related to a topic in the central area. Maybe it has changed again as I haven't been on it in a few months but that put me off.

Personally I'm still ultimately relying on USB and hard drive because of unreliable internet access. I don't keep a physical copy of subject notes because I change them regularly.

mirrorwall14

We have unlimited storage on google drive with our school account so I do everything on it now. It's all automatically saved using googles version of word/excel/ppt which is just great and I start from the correct folder so it's building into a big resource as we go. Digital resources for students are shared using google classroom

icebergiceberg

All my stuff is on computer. I like to have stuff prepared for classes way in advance in case copier breaks down and so on. I am then in control of that. Unfortunately, by the end of the year it would take me weeks to go trough the tonnes of stuff I have accumulated just to find what I actually need. It's not worth the time. Therefore I chuck everything into the bin and start again.

evolving_doors

icebergiceberg wrote: »

All my stuff is on computer. I like to have stuff prepared for classes way in advance in case copier breaks down and so on. I am then in control of that. Unfortunately, by the end of the year it would take me weeks to go trough the tonnes of stuff I have accumulated just to find what I actually need. It's not worth the time. Therefore I chuck everything into the bin and start again.

Ya I have a whole filling cabinet of ' useful stuff'! Now when I have spare copies left over they go straight into recycling. The hardest thing is getting to fix/tweak a handout/test after the lesson.
Big organisations like Intel can go completely paperless but I like the tactile nature of paper.
My dream though would be MCQ tests with automatic correction. Anyone do this?

icebergiceberg

Gebgbegb wrote: »

Ya I have a whole filling cabinet of ' useful stuff'! Now when I have spare copies left over they go straight into recycling. The hardest thing is getting to fix/tweak a handout/test after the lesson.
Big organisations like Intel can go completely paperless but I like the tactile nature of paper.
My dream though would be MCQ tests with automatic correction. Anyone do this?

I don't know very much about MCQ tests ( but am interested in any responses to your question) but from your description if it minimizes teacher work then it has to be a GOOD THING.

With the advent of the the information age has any company actually become paperless? Is Intel actually paperless? Has there been any noticeable decline in the amount of paper used in schools now that every school has more and more computers? From what I see that has to be a no.

cmssjone

icebergiceberg wrote: »

With the advent of the the information age has any company actually become paperless? Is Intel actually paperless? Has there been any noticeable decline in the amount of paper used in schools now that every school has more and more computers? From what I see that has to be a no.

I find that I am using a lot less paper. I used to write my solutions, photocopy them, and then hand them out to the class. I now upload them to Google classroom and they can view them on their phones/tablets. A lot of other teachers in my school have also adopted this method.

Wanderer78

i think the whole lot of you should burn your paperwork and go off and enjoy your summer. the school year is long enough!