As you know by now, I’m obsessed with all things organization in service of our success—and our sustainability. I am not, however, a devotee of any particular tool, paper or electronic.
Finding the right organizational tool is like finding the right life partner. You have to want to be with it, like how it looks, and know yourself well enough to know what works for you.
The search is not easy!
Melissa, an instructional coach in Kansas City with 12 years of teaching experience, is a self-proclaimed “paper-hater.” She knows that with a big job, a teenage daughter, and a number of other personal and professional responsibilities, she needs her organization tools immediately accessible at all times. Melissa also happens to work in a screen-friendly school, so she can easily carry her gadgets everywhere.
Enter Melissa’s iPad and an app called Noteability…
Check out how Melissa uses Noteability to manage her busy days at school, with a particular focus on organizing her thoughts. Over here at Together Teacher, we love when we can write down passing thoughts in an organized way so they don’t get jumbled up with our To-Do’s. Melissa has found a great electronic way to accomplish just that. It works for her lifestyle and her school, and looks good, too!
- Catching Thoughts for future professional development ideas:While attending a great PD session, Melissa uses her iPad to snap photos of the materials, and then pulls out her trusty stylus pen to write a note to herself to review this material for a fall staff training session.Can you imagine how much time Melissa will save when she can review this (instead of starting from scratch or rifling through the file cabinet) before planning her session? Awesome.
- Catching her thoughts while reading professional articles:It gets even better. Melissa was emailed some reading materials for an upcoming leadership training. She downloaded them into Noteability, and as she sat waiting for her daughter, she pulled out her iPad and stylus and started highlighting the text. Amazing!
- Catching her thoughts for others at her school:Melissa coaches a portfolio of teachers at her school, and she keeps a running note for each one of them. She can record feedback, affirmations, and classroom data all on the very same note. Then, when it’s time to send feedback to the teacher, Melissa simply uses Noteability’s “Send as PDF” feature to send the notes right off to the teacher. No more transcribing and no more waiting!
I love my iPad, and I’m a bit of a technofile myself. However, I usually play it safe and stick to Outlook and Google. Melissa’s got me thinking I should try doing more than just looking up recipes, reading cooking blogs, and checking email!
I don’t know about you, dear Together Teachers, but I think it’s time for me to order a stylus pen!
Together Teacher Discussion Question:What are your favorite tools to catch your thoughts?
