Tools for Teachers

[tirian]

I'm looking for some software to help me organize lesson plans and track student grades.

I usually either use OpenOffice, Zim, or even Kile to write the lesson plans ... but there must be an easier/better way to organize the lesson plans and write notes on what worked / what didn't work. It would also be nice to be able to view, organize, and search them in various ways.

I'm also looking for software where I can track student assignnments and grades. I know that I could use a spreadsheet or Moodle. However a spreadsheet doesn't seem powerful enough and Moodle seems like overkill (especially since I'm not using online tests). Is there anything in the middle?

Thanks!

~Peter

[lisati]

Have you checked out the offerings from Edubuntu?

[tirian]

Yes, I checked it out: http://www.edubuntu.org/applications/8.10

But there is nothing for creating / organizing lesson plans nor tracking grades.

[ugm6hr]

For lesson plans, why not copy them into a wiki file?

TiddlyWiki exists in a single file, and allows you to edit with links etc, and create links to your various worksheets for download. Just put all images, worksheets etc in the same folder with the main tiddlywiki file, and it should be relatively easy to link to them. It also has a built-in search facility. Obviously, you can still print your plans out as a webpage. Only downside is that you would have to use images (e.g. GIMP) for any diagrams necessary, and then embed them.

As for tracking grades... Not really sure. Does the school not provide something for that?

[urukrama]

Perhaps it offers a lot more than you are looking for, but do you know SchoolTool? Edubuntu has integrated it in 8.10.

[ubuntu27]

You might be interesting in checking out the new SchoolTool Project

SchoolTool is a project to develop a common global school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source license.

SchoolTool will provide educators a robust and reliable means of managing their school or classroom, saving time on routine tasks like managing class rosters, tracking student attendance, assessment and demographic information, helping teachers coordinate their schedules and reserve resources like projectors and computer labs. The system will be accessible through a web interface or specialized desktop applications. SchoolTool's interface will be easily translated for use around the world and accessible to people with disabilities.

Home page: http://www.schooltool.org/

Launchpad page: https://launchpad.net/schooltool

[hsweet]

Well... A simple approach might be just to use the OpenOffice database (for lesson plans) rather than spreadsheet.

Even a simple setup would be search-able and you can make custom reports, etc. For ex. if you had a topic field you could very quickly pull all your lessons on a particular topic.

A fancier version could even be an online system with a SQL database.

good luck

[WatchingThePain]

Or if you post your requirements spec maybe it can be a coding project.
Obviously this is an important area for Ubuntu.

[hsweet]

Happy Girl
Why are you sending us to buy sneakers?

[stumbleUpon]

TiddlyWiki exists in a single file, and allows you to edit with links etc, and create links to your various worksheets for download. Just put all images, worksheets etc in the same folder with the main tiddlywiki file, and it should be relatively easy to link to them. It also has a built-in search facility. Obviously, you can still print your plans out as a webpage. Only downside is that you would have to use images (e.g. GIMP) for any diagrams necessary, and then embed them.

+1 for tiddlywiki

There is the MathSVG plugin from here

http://www.math.ist.utl.pt/~psoares/MathSVG.html

which allows svg diagrams and equations to be put into a tiddler without the need for external images