teaching applications

tmc · 02-02-04, 11:30 PM

are there any applications I could use as a teacher

I have tried the student applications and they aren't usefull for me to organise "My classes"

I use the basic programs, but its not quite as smooth as I know it could be
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lillibelle · 02-03-04, 07:50 PM

I'd like to know myself. I have thought about using MD reader to mark up student papers (with annotations). I have also tried One Note and thought it would be really useful for me on my Axim (for lecture notes), but there's only the desktop version. XL is OK for grades if your grading system isn't too complicated, and I can use Word for lecture notes well enough. Still I agree that software written for teachers would make life simpler. Everything seems to be designed for business.

lillibelle · 02-03-04, 07:51 PM

Um, that's MS reader. Sorry.

pswets · 02-03-04, 09:10 PM

I don't know what you teach, or at what level, so my comments may not apply. I teach university math.

I use textmaker from softmaker for notes. It is a great word processor, far exceeding p-word. (My dream list, however, includes latex/ghostview for WM 2003.)

I use spreadce for grades and attendance (used to use p-excel, but it stinks). I'm still waiting for softmaker to release their spreadsheet (the teases).

I find PocketInformant invaluable for planning and recording. I use it to plan each class during the semester, and then use the journaling feature to record what I did, what I intended to do, and why there's such a significant difference :). I've done similar things, badly, with paper before, but so far PI has made it easy and useful to journal what goes right and what goes wrong. (I also use PI to make sure I don't miss meetings or assignments from my dean!)

I'm not sure what you are looking for in "teacher" applications; what exactly are you seeking?

lillibelle · 02-04-04, 09:35 AM

I'm an adjunct at a liberal arts college--political science. We keep our kids home full time, so I use the axim when I'm home to keep up with e-mail and to type lecture notes. I find I'm pretty satisfied with p outlook and calendar and so forth. When I was using my desktop for class management, I had an access database. I created forms for entering names and grades, and then it would calculate them at the end of the semester. Some kind of prefab roll book like that for the axim would be nice.

One Note is an ms program aimed at students and teachers. It's part of Office 2003 but doesn't come with the academic version of Office (go figure). I tried the evaluation version and liked it because it has tabs like a notebook. You open one file and then go to the tab you need. Instead of having a word file for each lecture, I could have a file for each course and just pick the tab for the day's lesson. I'd need a p version on the axim, though, because I read my notes from while I teach. Something like that would also be really nice. How does textmaker work? Is it expensive?