Tips for Teachers: 5 Ways to Keep Kids Organized

Image by andrewkimmell

This is the latest in our series of Expert’s Columns. Stacy Zeiger is an 8th grade teacher dedicated to bringing technology into the classroom in a variety of ways (and on a small budget!). She writes about her experiences using technology with students, and elucidates what works and what doesn’t.

When students hit middle school and high school, the task of being organized begins to fall on their shoulders. A disorganized student can have trouble in school as he/she misses deadlines, loses important notes or information and becomes overwhelmed with all she/he has to do. Help your students get organized with apps and online tools designed to teach organization and other skills such as time management. These tools make organization fun and easy!

1) myHomework

Manage homework, extracurricular activities and other activities with myHomework. With access available through a smartphone and online, students can view their activities and update their schedules from wherever they are. No longer will your students be able to complain that they “forgot” about a homework assignment or that they did not schedule enough time for all of their activities. This app helps them keep on top of everything. It also features due date reminders so they never miss a deadline.

2) EpicWin

EpicWin makes being organized fun. It combines scheduling and organization with the fun of an RPG. Students choose a character and enter their tasks. As they complete tasks, their characters develop and they level up in the game. Just like with other RPG games, as students level up, they discover new places and collect new items. The difference is that they use their own lives to provide the scenarios.

Image from EpicWin

3) Evernote

With Evernote, students can organize everything – i’s not just about to-do lists and homework assignments. Often a student can remember a homework assignment, but may not be able to find the notes or other information required to complete that homework. Evernote lets students store pictures of handouts, save webpages for key information, doodle, take notes and create to-do lists to keep them organized. Its handy keyword and tag search feature makes it easy to find everything.

4) Voo2Do

Voo2Do does more than just help students create to-do lists. It also teaches them how to manage their time. Students put in time estimates for each project on the list and set the project’s priority. As they work, they can determine if their estimates were correct and whether they actually spend time on priority tasks. With the ability to enter notes, students can keep track of what they have already done or what’s left to do for each task.

5) Remember The Milk

Remember The Milk makes organizing simple for students. This simple tool allows students to enter tasks, schedule time and get reminders through e-mail, Skype and their phones. Lists can also be shared with parents or friends. Your students will appreciate having their tasks organized and the ability to see tasks in different ways, such as through task clouds, notes view and traditional list formats.

Image from Remember The MIlk

Getting organized is a process and it will work differently for every student. Encourage your students to try out multiple tools to see which works best. Soon, they will see the value in staying organized and keeping on top of assignments. They may even find that by being organized and managing their time well that they have more time for themselves.

For more great tech advice from our education expert, check out the archive!

Images from andrewkimmell, Epic Win and Remember the Milk

By Nell Wulfhart