How to organise the disorganised
Welcome to the Tips for Teachers Newsletter. Each Monday an email will arrive in your inbox with a tip that you might like to try out during the coming week.
This week I want to share an effective use of technology that I learned from languages teacher Jon Mumford – one that could be really useful for students in the build-up to this summer’s exams and beyond!
What’s the problem?
Like most teachers, Jon ensures his students have access to all the resources and revision materials they could ever need to help them prepare for their exams. Previously, Jon spent many hours adding these resources – past papers, quizzes, videos, vocab lists, links, etc – to his school’s VLE in the hope his students would make use of them. But when Jon asked the school’s ICT officer for the data (something I had never thought to do!), he found that very few students were visiting the languages page – indeed, students were hardly using the school’s VLE at all.
When Jon spoke to his students about their revision, many admitted they didn’t know where to start. They found the collection of links and files on the VLE both generic and overwhelming, and so were essentially making up their revision as they went along. Not ideal.
What’s the tip?
So, Jon decided to experiment with an application called Trello.
Trello is an online to-do list with some nice extra features. It is more commonly used by productivity gurus to manage large projects. My wife and I used Trello to help plan our wedding – and we are still together (just about).
Jon set up a Trello board for his GCSE French class. He created 3 columns: Red, Amber and Green. He then created a card for each of the key topics in GCSE French: Opinions, Free Time Activities, Travel and Tourism, etc. This is what the Trello board looks like:
Each card contains resources to support students in that topic. In Jon’s case, most cards contain:
- A vocab list for that topic
- An interactive lesson using Memrise
- A quiz built on Quizlet
Trello allows you to add any link or attach any type of file to a card.
Once set up (and this took a while!) Jon can create a copy of the Trello board for each of his students and invite them to join it. Jon also becomes a collaborator on each of the boards he creates.
Now, I am often wary of introducing another piece of technology to my students. It is somewhere else that they need to visit, or yet another password they need to remember. The result can be overwhelming, and negate any of the benefits. Likewise, it can be a hassle for me as their teacher to keep on top of something else alongside all the other plates I am currently spinning.
But, having listened to Jon and done some experimenting myself, I am convinced Trello is worth considering, for the following five reasons:
1. Trello is free
For the way Jon uses Trello, it does not cost a penny either for the teacher or the student.
2. Trello helps students stay organised
This is the big one. The whole course is mapped out for students. All the resources they need are there. Because you can add links or attach any files to a Trello card, students just need to visit this one site. You can attach pdfs of past papers, links to YouTube videos, whatever you like. Students can even create a card that contains their login details for any websites you link to. And students can add their own links and attachments for any additional resources they find useful, making the Trello board dynamic and personalised.
3. Trello stops students just revising the things they are good at
It feels great to watch a video and take a quiz on a subject you know really well. And as the hours tick by and the 10/10s wrack up, students convince themselves that they are in great shape for their exams. But what about the topics they struggle with? Trello can help with this. All cards begin in the Red column. The idea is that as students revise them, they move to Amber and then eventually Green. There needs to be clear criteria for this. So, you might say to your students:
If you score between 50% and 80% on a quiz, move the card to Amber, and if you score 80%+ move it to Green. Your challenge is to move every card across to the Green column, and then see if you can keep them there!
4. Trello works on any system
There is a desktop app, an Android app, and an IOS app, all of which are free. So, students can work on Trello in a computer room lesson, on a tablet in class, or on their phones on the bus home. Depending on your school’s mobile phone policy, you may allow students to spend time on their Trello boards during tutor time, in the last 10 minutes of a lesson, or just before a Low-Stakes Quiz.
5. Trello helps students be accountable
When Jon sets up the boards for his students, they invite him to be a collaborator. That way, Jon can oversee his students’ progress. He can ask them what topic they are currently working on, where they are struggling, or use it to support students in creating a revision schedule. Students can also invite their parents to view their board so they have an easy to digest overview of what their children are working on.
Of course, this tip is not just for use in the final few weeks in the build-up to exams. Jon introduces his students to Trello at the start of the year. Then they can see what lies in front of them, and start to build effective study habits from the outset.
As Jon explains, the initial set-up takes time, but once it is in place, the potential rewards are significant.
Over to you
- Is there a lesson this week where you could try this tip?
- What would you need to change to make the tip work for you and your students?
You can watch the original video where Jon shares this tip, and visit the Trello website.
Thanks so much for reading and have a great week.
Craig
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