How might we utilize technology to automate laborious parts of teaching?
I have been thinking a lot about the automation of everything. This led me to think about how fast automation is taking over laborious tasks in so many fields and discisplines except in teaching….
Since my first teaching position, I have been trying to understand the power automation can have in education. I piloted a Khan Academy Test pilot at Island Pacific School in 2012 (links below). Now in 2020, we are months away from cars that can drive themselves, yet teachers are still marking the same amount and in the same way we did 50 years ago because “its part of the job.”
As I write this, more people are leaving their teaching positions then ever before, citing work overload. For many teachers this try hard and work hard attitude is fundamentally built into the culture. Finding shortcuts or ways to save time or energy are seen as something taboo.
Here are a couple examples of work that I have produced that may or may not be in that category
Automating report card comments
Automating formative assessment to produce data that helps me categorize and group students meaningfully
Using Visible Q and A’s for a work Session (open a google doc and project questions asked and answer on the board). Student must ask a new question. This also works well as an on-going thing throughout the school year (classroom rules list) for example.
https://isabcpdmulgrave2012.sched.com/event/167tq4J/progress-report-ipads-and-the-khan-academy-at-island-pacific-school
