Do you prefer planning on paper? Are you still unsure about switching to planning digitally?
I used to feel that way too.
But I decided to try planning out my semester digitally and I'm so grateful I did! As a middle school Family and Consumer Sciences teacher, I teach four different classes each semester and there's a lot to plan for and keep track of.
Let me tell you why I LOVE planning my classes digitally.
It's accessible from any device wherever you are!
There's no keeping track of a planner, notebook, or trying to find that sticky note you wrote on. You can access your plans from a laptop at work or at home or even from your phone on the go! I love that!
It's easy to read, neat, and organized!
Maybe I appreciate the aesthetic of my plans more than the average human but let me tell ya, it makes a difference. No more potentially sloppy handwriting from trying to write quick or having to write super small to fit it in the space you're writing in. Having it typed and professional looking already makes planning less stressful!
You can copy and paste!
This saves SO much time. It's truly a game changer! I personally like to copy and paste my learning targets onto each day I'm planning so I can be reminded of what the goals are that day and there's no way I would be writing those all out in a written planner for each day!
You can link resources you're using!
This may be the biggest reason I choose to plan digitally. There's no more having to search for the worksheet or presentation you're using for that day's lesson. You can link videos, websites, anything you're using in that lesson so you can quickly access it. This is also a big time saver!
You can easily move things around & adjust when plans change!
We know plans alwayyys change and you have to adjust. There's no more crossing things out or erasing and having eraser markers in your planner.. simply cut and paste to move your plans around! Quick and easy! (Are you sensing a theme here?)
You can easily color code, bold, underline, etc!
I don't know about you but I love color coding. It super quick to do it digitally and you have all the color options in the world without having to carry around a single highlighter or pen. You can also easily bold or underline things to help text stand out. I personally like to bold and then color code any assignments we'll be doing.
It makes planning the next semester easier and faster!
Another amazing part about planning digitally is when it comes to planning for next semester all you have to do is take last semester's document and make a copy. Then you simply change the dates and adjust your plans as needed. You're not having to start from scratch with a blank planner. It is so much quicker and less overwhelming! I like to make notes in my digital plans after teaching them so that I have reminders for the next time I teach on how I can make it better. Having it typed into the document means I don't lose it and it's there when I make a copy and plan my next semester.
You have previous semesters plans to easily refer back to!
If you make a copy each time you plan for a new semester (instead of editing the same document), then you will have a record of all of your previous semester's plans that you can easily find and take up zero physical space to keep. You can go back and refer to them as needed.
I use this scope and sequence template that you can grab in my TPT store! I know it has saved me so much time and made my life easier so I hope it can be helpful to you too!
