When
we, as educators, first begin our undergraduate journeys toward a degree in
education, we dream about working with students and increasing their knowledge
each day. What we do not dream about is the mounds of paperwork that come with
the job. OneNote is an organizational resource designed for the classroom that
aims to improve this aspect of a teacher’s job. When first experimenting with
OneNote, it is clear that it is a great all-around resource. Some features
included are a synced calendar, a sharing feature through Outlook, and a
grouping option called Notebooks (for classes or units). While these and other
features are exciting and intriguing to me, the lesson plan template feature is
my favorite.
OneNote
provides several template options that teachers can choose from when creating
daily lesson plans. These templates can be filled in and saved to the Cloud,
allowing educators to be organized and detailed in their planning. If teachers
so choose, they can create their own templates through OneNote. If it was
necessary for a teacher to provide plans for a substitute, the sharing feature
(through e-mail) would allow for the lesson plans to be shared with the
principal, substitute, and/or students.
Creating detailed lesson plans for my
rehearsals has become a weakness of mine. I always have a general idea
regarding what concepts need to be worked on each day, but I am a poor planner
regarding warm-ups, fundamental work, and overall pacing of the rehearsal.
Because of this downfall, my students do not receive enough in-class practice
of the fundamentals of music. When experimenting with OneNote, I was thrilled
to see the option to create lesson plans. This part of OneNote will help me to
hold myself accountable for the development of fundamentals, as creating detailed
lesson plans will force me to think through a warm-up routine. Within the
lesson plan, I could assign duration of times to each section to help me
develop better pacing. I am very excited about utilizing OneNote’s lesson plan
feature, as well as other aspects of the program that might make my life as a
band director simpler!
There
are a few things that I would like to further research with OneNote. One is the
ability to store all my inventory information, including concert band, solo and
ensemble repertoire, and instruments. It would also be great to keep track of
student information (contact numbers, email, etc.) and phone or email correspondence
with parents. OneNote has the great potential to be a great hub of information
for my classroom!
OneNote image:
Microsoft Corporation. (2015). Enhancing productivity with OneNote. Retrieved from http://onenoteforteachers.com/en-US/Guides/Enhancing%20productivity%20with%20OneNote
OneNote image:
Microsoft Corporation. (2015). Enhancing productivity with OneNote. Retrieved from http://onenoteforteachers.com/en-US/Guides/Enhancing%20productivity%20with%20OneNote
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