Like so many parts of life in the twenty-first century, teaching is a profession in flux. Subject to broad forces such as economic migration, new learning theories, government intervention and technology, the life of a teacher is one of balancing competing objectives without compromising the learning of the students in their care.
And, like many other industries, the pace of change has increased in recent years. Teaching faces an explosion of disruptive thinking: the flipped classroom, BYOD, mLearning, eLearning, mobile phone apps and tablets. These all present opportunities and threats and, yes, deciding what's what is another job for hardworking teachers.
Thankfully, some of the new technologies emerging on computers and mobile devices are beginning to offer efficiency-enhancing help to time-poor educators. Scan the social web and you'll find thousands of teachers sharing tips and advice on what's out there and what's helpful. Here are five ed tech tools that every teacher could consider bringing into the classroom this year.
Evernote is the ultimate tool for the modern classroom; pupils can connect to the app on their own devices and on the go, the ultimate tool for flexibility and sharing.
Evernote allows pupils to go paperless, textbookless and to learn on the go. The note taking and note storing app brings students' notes together, whether they are handwritten, typed, photos or web clippings, whilst tagging their notes into subjects, topics and projects.
As a teacher you can run collaborative documents smoothly and help your pupils become great researchers. Evernote is a free tool with the option for a paid for premium service (£35 a year or £4 a month) which may be useful for a teacher as it allows bigger upload capacity, larger files and notes, offline notebooks and the opportunity to share and edit each other's notes.
Social networks that pupils interact with outside the classroom are beginning to change the inside of the classroom. Edmodo works on this idea and offers an interactive tool that engages pupils, encouraging the self-learning trend. A platform for teachers to communicate with their students by sharing documents, handouts, notes, ideas, hold polls or discussions and remind them about homework and schedules.
Crucially, Edmodo enables teachers to provide information for different tiers in each class which provides a really valuable supportive teaching network for students to depend on. Pupils can learn in their own time and at their own pace with all the resources provided through Edmodo. Edmodo is a free tool with extra paid for features if you need them.
Skype opens up your classroom, breaking borders and connecting you with other classrooms from across the world. Teach your pupils about culture and the world in the best way through a direct and first-hand experience.
Skype provides all the innovation that you need, explore collections of projects and teachers from all around the world and join together for debates, discussions and joint projects. With impressive partners such as Penguin books, Microsoft, Science Museum London and Peace One Day Education there are some great resources on hand and opportunities for interviews.
Skype offers an amazing first-hand educational experience and it's absolutely free!
SAS the big data experts have invested in the education space as part of a big CSR project. The output is an online interactive learning resource geared towards making education as engaging and accessible as possible.
SAS Curriculum Pathways can be used inside or outside the classroom, it is a standards-based resource to assist with teaching, providing smart online content and resources which help to teach critical thinking in topics that are difficult to convey through traditional teaching methods. Focusing on the STEM subjects, the tool has various tailored teaching methods such as virtual labs, tutorials, interactive materials, quizzes and videos which make learning engaging and fun.
A definite must if you're trying to incorporate a less traditional style of teaching this new term, and you're looking to stimulate your class! For a free tool the resource is incredibly in-depth.
Google hangouts turn your classroom into a virtual and interactive classroom. Teachers can organise their different classes into circles where you can share any class information, handouts or maybe even videos of your class for absent pupils or those who want to go back for revision.
The free tool allows teachers to teach multiple classes with Google hangouts, helping those schools with less budget or teachers. Make your classroom interactive by making it live.