Do you have too many responsibilities as a teacher?
You just want more time to do what you came in this profession to do, which is teach and create engaging lessons for students.
Instead, your job has you filing paperwork, sending emails, attending meetings, filling in lengthy lesson plans that take away the magic that is creating these amazingly creative lessons.
This is leaving you feeling overwhelmed, burnt out and uninspired. This is not the job you envisioned and it’s leaving you searching for the exit door.
You want to get back to focusing on planning creative, engaging lessons for your students.
You need a system that will make all of these tasks manageable for you.
“When you automate as much of your life as possible, you can spend your effort on the tasks machines cannot do yet. Each habit that we hand over to the authority of technology frees up time and energy to pour into the next stage of growth.” -James Clear
Introducing Trello!
Trello is a free website that allows you to manage projects by making lists.
Trello has 3 main components. Boards, lists and cards.
Think of a board as a whole page. On a board, you are able to make lists. Each list allows you to add cards. Cards allow you to attach files and links, leave comments, make labels and add photos. You can a
I share tons of tips and tricks for better managing your workload in my free workbook “The Ultimate Guide To Simplifying your Teaching Tasks.” Download it now!
Keep reading for 5 ways to use Trello in your classroom.
1.Manage Lesson Planning Responsibilities As a Teacher
Let me ask you a question… Do you store your lesson ideas somewhere?
If you don’t, then you need to start now!
You should have a growing bank of lesson ideas that you can pull from at any time. Want to know more? Download my free workbook, “The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Teaching Tasks” by clicking here!
Trello is a great place to do this because you can categorize them based on:
- the type of activity
- the standard or skill it covers
- The level of difficulty
- Whether it is an activity that teaches students or reinforces a skill that has been pre-taught
Etc…..
Once you have created your cards, you can start keeping track of your students’ progress.
“Civilization advances by extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them.” -Alfred North Whitehead
2.Manage your Grading Responsibilities as a Teacher
Because of Trello’s organizational capabilities, managing your students’ grades can be done quickly and easily.
You can create a whole board for each student. Just note that the free Trello membership only allocates 10 free boards. After you make 10 you need to upgrade to the paid membership.
I personally will create one whole board labeled “Grading”, and will make one “list” for each student.
Within Trello’s lists, you can add cards. You can make a card for:
-Different assignments
-Each term/semester
-Each Language Skill ( reading, writing, speaking and listening)
Check out my ELA Progression Guide.
3.Present Student Choice to students
Use Trello to share choice boards for students.
- Start by making a board and labeling it “Student Choice”, “Early Finisher”, etc…
- Make a list for each category of activity (Reading, Game, podcasts, etc…)
- You then will make a card for each activity you want to offer to students.
- Be sure to share the board with your students. Students can attach their work or a picture of their work in the comment section of the card they chose.
Check out my Podcast Response Bundle to include in your Trello Choice Board for your students.
You should also check out my blog post on using Trello to manage students’ passion projects. Click here to read the post!
4.Keep Track of Parent Communication Responsibilities As A Teacher
If you send weekly or monthly newsletters, you should definitely be using Trello!
- Start by making a Board and label it “ Monthly/Weekly Newsletter”
- Make a List for your newsletter template (Make it the first list on the far left)
- Make a list for each week or month
- For each card you create, include a paragraph and/or photo of the events that occurred.
- When it comes time to make your newsletter, simply copy and paste the contents of each card into your newsletter template
5.Store meeting and professional development notes
Do you have a long paper trail of notes taken in meetings? Or a ton of emails shared with you by the professional development presenter? MAybe you even lose track of action items set in a meeting with a parent or colleague.
With Trello, it is super easy to keep track of your meeting notes and emails.
- Start by making a board and label it “Meetings” or Professional Development”
- Make a list for each type of meeting (IEP Meeting, parent meeting, pd, etc…)
- Each meeting should have its own card.
- You can attach meeting notes or emails received during these meetings
- You can also make checklists and include a due date if there are actions required of you post-meeting.
Did you like these tips?
Did you enjoy reading about these tips and tricks for using Trello? Were you already using Trello in your classroom? Do these seem like strategies you would actually use in your teaching? Please leave me a reply in the comment section of this post. I love hearing from my readers!
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