Latest from Tech & Learning in Productivity

9 Ways School Leaders Can Use AI

Steve Baule — Tue, 13 May 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Educators have heard quite a lot about the use of generative AI in education, however most of that has focused on the impact on instruction and the teaching and learning process. However, generative AI is more ubiquitous in its impact than being limited to instructional programming and the classroom.

Here are some of the effective ways that building leaders can use these new and emerging AI tools to improve their leadership efforts.

1. Streamline Administrative Tasks

One of the simplest uses of generative AI is to reduce the amount of time necessary for leaders to respond to email, parent communications, and other routine tasks.

AI-powered tools can automate administrative tasks, freeing principals' time to focus on instructional leadership and building relationships. This can include scheduling meetings, managing calendars, drafting routine communications, and processing basic forms.

For instance, an AI assistant automatically schedules parent-teacher conferences based on teacher and parent availability, sends confirmation emails, and manages any rescheduling requests, significantly reducing the administrative burden on the principal's office. Tools such as Grammarly or Copilot can be used to review or assist leaders in writing letters, and can generally be integrated into productivity software tools.

2. Personalize Professional Development Recommendations

AI can analyze a principal's performance data (e.g., teacher evaluation scores, school improvement plan progress, feedback from staff surveys) and identify areas for growth. Based on this analysis, it can recommend specific PD resources, such as relevant articles, online courses, workshops, or mentorship opportunities.

For example, an AI system identifies that a principal's school has lower-than-average scores in inclusive teaching practices. It then recommends the principal enroll in a virtual workshop series focused on differentiated instruction and strategies for supporting diverse learners, along with suggesting articles on creating a more equitable school environment.

A number of AI tools, including MagicSchool and Taskade, have specific PD planner tools.

3. Summary Tools for Professional Reading

As the workload for many building administrators has expanded, expectations seem to have constant scope creep. Leaders can use AI tools such as Scribbr to obtain the Cliff’s Note summaries to provide a summary or even a bulleted list of key points tied to their professional reading. Those summaries can then be a decision tool to decide which articles, books, and blogs are worth spending additional time delving into.

4. Enhance Communication

AI can facilitate more efficient and personalized communication with staff, students, and parents. This could involve using AI-powered chatbots to answer frequently asked questions, generating personalized newsletters, or translating communications into different languages, though it is always important to have a human review any AI-generated translations.

For example, an AI-powered chatbot on the school website could answer common questions from parents about school policies, enrollment procedures, and upcoming events, providing immediate support and potentially reducing the number of phone calls and emails to the principal.

5. Improve Teacher Evaluation Processes

AI tools can assist principals in conducting more objective and comprehensive teacher evaluations by analyzing classroom observation data, student performance data, and teacher self-reflections. This can help ensure consistency and fairness in the evaluation process.

An evaluator can use an AI system to analyze video recordings of classroom observations, for instance, identifying specific teaching behaviors and providing data-driven feedback aligned with the school's evaluation rubric. This can supplement the principal's direct observations and provide a more holistic view of the teacher's practice.

Amazon Rekognition and TeachFX are both tools for observational analysis.

6. Data-Driven Decision-Making

AI tools can process and analyze large datasets related to student performance, attendance, discipline, and demographics to identify trends and patterns that might not be immediately apparent. This allows principals to make more informed decisions about resource allocation, instructional strategies, and intervention programs.

For example, AI analysis of student achievement data reveals a significant disparity in math scores between students from low-income backgrounds and their peers. The principal can use this information to allocate additional tutoring resources and implement targeted math interventions in the affected grades.

7. Early Identification of At-Risk Students

Just as principals can use AI tools for broad decision-making in the example above, building leaders and instructional coaches can use AI algorithms can analyze various student data points, such as attendance records, grades, behavior patterns, and engagement metrics, to identify individual students who may be at risk of academic failure or social-emotional challenges. This allows principals to implement early intervention strategies and work with other staff to identify students in need and offer to connect the student and family with appropriate resources to provide support.

8. Curriculum Enhancement and Alignment

Principals can use AI tools to analyze curriculum documents, learning standards, and curriculum maps, and assessment data to identify areas in which the curriculum can be enhanced or better aligned with learning objectives and student needs.

A building leadership team can use AI tools to analyze the school's science curriculum, for instance, and identify gaps in the coverage of state science standards based on student performance on standardized tests. The principal can then work with the science department to revise the curriculum to ensure all standards are adequately addressed.

9. Model Lifelong Learning

Lastly, but potentially most importantly, building leaders should be overt and transparent about how they are using AI tools to provide their school team with a model of an educator trying to figure out how to integrate these new tools into their administrative and instruction programs.

As an example, when a principal shares a slide deck that was generated with an AI tool, they should identify the tool and potentially how they used it so other staff can see the possibilities of AI tools and know when and how their school supports the use of AI tools.

Nimbus Note Provides Platform for Productivity, Creativity, and Teamwork

TL Editors — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 10:22:52 +0000

Comprehensive note keeper offers loads of organizational features

Pros: Students can organize notes and filter searches by folder, color, and tags; syncs easily with the creator’s web clipper and screencasting tools.

Cons: Things can get cluttered easily if students don’t maintain good organizational habits.

Bottom Line: Customized notes sync across devices to enhance productivity and promote a paperless classroom.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

(Image credit: Common Sense Media)

Free Digital Notebook Helps Kids Organize and Track Assignments

TL Editors — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 11:19:44 +0000

(Image credit: NOTEBOOK - Take Notes, Sync)

Notebook - Take Notes, Sync

Pros: Full-featured and free, the tool comes with an intuitive, beautiful interface and syncs across all of your devices.

Cons: There are occasional syncing issues, and the placement of the drawing tool is a bit awkward.

Bottom Line: From the novice to the super-organized student, Notebook's versatility is a rare free find.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

(Image credit: Common Sense Media)

Rocketbook Reusable Notebook Brings Handwriting & Drawing into Digital World

TL Editors — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 09:51:04 +0000

(Image credit: Common Sense Education)

Rocketbook

Write, draw, scan, and send pages with perpetually reusable notebook

Pros: Automatically send scanned notes to different places; erase and reuse pages as often as needed.

Cons: Ink is easily erased or smudged if moisture gets near it; there’s no way to organize notes within the app.

Bottom Line: Portable, reusable notebook lets teachers and students write and erase text, virtually forever.

By Common Sense Education

Edit, Collaborate and Sync Documents With Google Drive

TL Editors — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 09:21:38 +0000

(Image credit: Common Sense Education)

Google Drive

Nifty tool for collaboratively editing and syncing files across devices

Pros: You get much of the functionality of Microsoft Office; collaboration on files is elegant, and it all stays safely synced on all devices.

Cons: Poses potential privacy issues for classrooms with multiple students sharing one device.

Bottom Line: Google Drive is a smart choice for budget-conscious schools, with its free productivity tools and file syncing.

By Common Sense Education

(Image credit: Common Sense Media)

Todoist Helps Teachers and Students Manage Classroom Workload Efficiently

TL Editors — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:38:37 +0000

(Image credit: Common Sense Education)

Todoist

Calendar meets to-do list in versatile multi-platform organization app

Pros: Features like templates, recurring tasks, reminders, and the ability to share tasks across teams go beyond the everyday to-do list.

Cons: Kids might be overwhelmed by all the features and might get so distracted putting things on the list that they forget to actually do them.

Bottom Line: Mastering all of the features will take some time, but it's a dynamic app that promotes both individual and team productivity.

By Common Sense Education

(Image credit: Common Sense Media)

Organize, Share, Collaborate with Dropbox

Tech & Learning — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 10:10:00 +0000

Dropbox

Handy cloud storage and document sharing

Pros: Users can access files from any device or computer and can easily share with others.
Cons: Simpler solutions exist for file storage and sharing, and many offer more free space than Dropbox.
Bottom Line: Dropbox can make work and life in the digital world more efficient, but it may not be the best cloud-based solution for kids.

Powerful Productivity App Evernote Helps Teachers & Students Organize Information

Tech & Learning — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 11:09:00 +0000

Evernote

Impressive organizational tool has limitless uses

Pros: Evernote makes it easy to access notes or saved information across devices.
Cons: The tool is only valuable if used effectively.
Bottom Line: This free information-management tool can help kids become tech-savvy and learn to better organize their digital lives.

4-Part Checklist to Create A Killer Calendar Invite

Lisa Nielsen — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 09:00:00 +0000

If there is anything innovative educators need more of, it’s time. By being as complete and accurate as possible when creating a calendar invite, no one wastes time searching for location or materials.

Creating calendar invites is an activity that today's modern learners should be engaging in daily. Doing this correctly is a skill that saves everyone time and should replace outdated practices like moving staff and students by bells and paper planners.

[8 Tips for Quality Posts During Conferences & Events]

Special Note:

Vanity addresses

Ensure guests know the real name and cross streets of the location. Using vanity addresses only (i.e. 1 Rockefeller Center, 2 Times Square) is particularly unhelpful.

Entrance or Floor

If the building entrance or room is tricky to find, remember to include helpful information for finding the meeting location in the calendar invite as well.

Your Turn

What do you think? Would killer calendar invites help you save time? Do you include these elements in the calendar invites you create? Have you taught your students this important skill? Any other useful tips?

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.

Keep Students On the Cutting Edge of Learning

Lisa Nielsen — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 10:18:25 +0000

While Internet Explorer has joined the "product graveyard," Microsoft Edge has entered the scene as more than the standard web browser. Innovative Educators will appreciate the learning tools and extensions proven to improve reading comprehension, strengthen writing, level the playing field for struggling learners and help teachers personalize learning in less time.Learning Tools are built into the Windows 10 Edge browser. They allow your device to read aloud text using a voice of your choosing. The tools also allow for content to be accessed via "Reading View" which increases text readability by removing distracting content, adjusting font and line spacing, as well as identify syllables and parts of speech.

Here is an overview of some of the features and benefits.

In the next several screenshots, I will share various ways students and teachers can use Edge to enrich teaching, learning, and make content more accessible.

Grammarly Extension

When you add an extension like Grammarly you have a tool that will check spelling and grammar. It will also define and give synonyms for any word. Just double click.

Read Aloud

Right click on any word to begin read aloud.

Customize Voice & Speed

Next you can adjust the speed and add voices.

This is the screen where you add voices. I selected Catherine from Australia.

Track Reading with Highlighted Text

It's important to notice when the screen is reading to you, the line it is reading is highlighted and the word it is reading is emphasized.

Translation

If you have students for whom English is not their first language, you can use the translation feature to read the text aloud.

We all know that machine translation is not perfect, and that's okay. It still helps make language much more accessible than without it. Do a lesson on this with students to help them do as good of a job as possible to make meaning of what they're reading.

High & Low Tech Techniques to Organize Lessons & Track Standards

Read with fewer distractions

Here is another view. Notice also that as it reads in this view, the spoken word is highlighted.

Focus Assist

You can help students limit distracting notifications by selecting "Focus Assist" in the action center.

View Syllables & Parts of Speech

Using the "Grammar Tools" accessible from the "Reading View" you can choose to have syllables and parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives) displayed.

Annotate a Webpage

Teachers will enjoy being able to be untethered from the board in the front of the room with the ability to annotate a web page right from Edge using the pen shaped "Write Notes" tool. The tool allows you to highlight, draw, add comments, and then save or share the screen with others. To unteather use Skype to share your screen (or that of a student or expert) with the projecting device.

Student Anecdotes

This video highlights some student feedback on using learning tools.

Simple Writing/Note-Taking Tool Includes Text-to-Speech Option

TL Editors — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Bear

Write, edit, and sync content on the go with flexible note-taking tool

Pros: Quick, easy setup will have you taking notes and using features in no time, and the clean user interface helps keep clutter at bay.

Cons: The lack of voice recording capabilities may frustrate some users, and it will take some practice to become adept at the features.

[Free Platform Provides Simple Way to Discuss & Analyze Videos]

Bottom Line: For an app that doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, it's surprisingly versatile and useful for many types of writing and note-taking.

High & Low Tech Techniques to Organize Lessons & Track Standards

Lisa Nielsen — Thu, 31 May 2018 08:00:00 +0000

How do you keep track of all your units, lessons, and track what standards you have addressed?

Bullet Journal

When I asked #NYCSchoolsTech educator Eileen Lennon how she does this, she shared her analog method. She has a section in her bullet journal track lessons across the year. This provides a great, at-a-glance tool for parents, administrators, and also the students themselves.

Here is what she shared.

OneNote Notebook

The actual lessons themselves are all stored in her digital notebook using OneNote. There is a link to every lesson in the lesson agenda accessible from her laptop, phone, or any device. Because the lesson agenda is digital and hyperlinked, she has access to all materials anytime, anywhere and can make changes and updates to adjust to student needs on the fly.

[Apple, Google, & Microsoft... Oh My! Which is Best for Your School?]

She spends her Friday prep period each week planning for the next week's lessons.

Here's the table of contents.

The Notebook

If you're like me, you want to see the actual notebook. You can dig in and look around the actual notebook here.

Your Turn

What do you think? Are there some ideas here you can see using in your practice? What digital and analog organizational system do you use?

G Suite Admins: How to Enable the NEW Gmail Experience

John Sowash — Wed, 30 May 2018 11:18:14 +0000

Gmail has been resistant to Google's typical product tinkering and fiddling tendencies. Gmail has remained pretty much the same for the past 6+ years.

That doesn't mean Google hasn't been thinking about the future of Gmail. Inbox by Google was a smart way of trying out some new, experimental features without putting long-time Gmail users into a panic. Inbox is a fun experiment, but not for everyone.

Based on user feedback on Inbox, Google has begun moving some of the most useful and popular features from Inbox into regular Gmail.

A new clean, modern user interface
The ability to "snooze" an email
Smart replies based on email content
Better integration with Google Calendar and Google Keep
An updated Task manager
New security options for sensitive messages.
Better offline support

Log into the Google Admin Console
Visit Apps > G Suite > Settings for Gmail > Advanced settings
Look for "New Gmail Early Adopter Program" and select "allow."
Save your changes

Once this setting has been applied users can sign into their mail accounts, click on the "gear" icon and select "try the new gmail."

Users will be able to move back and forth between the new and classic versions of Gmail until Google retires the classic version (most likely 6-8 months from now).

cross posted at electriceducator.blogspot.com

John Sowash creates useful resources for educators on his blog, The Electric Educator. John is the author of The Chromebook Classroom and founder of the Google Certification Academy. You can connect with John on Twitter (@jrsowash) and Instagram.

Simple Tool Boosts Productivity of Teachers, Students

TL Editors — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 09:00:00 +0000

Bear

Write, edit, and sync content on the go with flexible note-taking tool

Pros: Quick, easy setup will have you taking notes and using features in no time, and the clean user interface helps keep clutter at bay.

Cons: The lack of voice recording capabilities may frustrate some users, and it will take some practice to become adept at the features.

Bottom Line: For an app that doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, it's surprisingly versatile and useful for many types of writing and note-taking.