8 Tips and Tools for Organizing Your Digital Files for Teaching

File Cabinets / Jared and Corin / CC BY-SA 2.0

I taught two graduate workshops for teachers this Summer. Both included ideas for organizing teachers’ digital files. (Organization was not a main feature of either workshop, but instead a by-product.)

#1
In the SMART Board 101 workshop we talked about keeping teaching units organized with the Attachments Tab in Notebook software. When you create a unit with Notebook software you can place other (from Notebook or other applications) files in Notebook’s Attachments well. The next time you teach that unit you will have all the files you need at hand.

#2
In the Teaching in a Digital World workshop, the teachers learned how to create and use wikis (and other tools). They liked the idea of creating wikis to organize their work. They also decided they would like to create wikis with information for substitute teachers.

#3
Looking online for organization ideas for teachers, Evernote, of course, stands out as a major tool for organizing. But other tools and techniques can also be found.

#4
The Organized Classroom Blog describes a method for using Pinterest as a filing cabinet for your teaching ideas. For this project you create pins that do not have links to websites.
Get Rid of Your Filing Cabinet?
http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/get-rid-of-your-filing-cabinet

#5
Techie Teacher & Character Coach also includes a post for organizing digital files. Ali, the blogger, describes her file and folder system.
Resources #1: Organize Your Digital Files
http://techieteacher-charactercoach.blogspot.com/2013/01/resources-1-organize-your-digital-files.html

#6
A guest blogger on Owl-Ways Be Inspired uses apps and applications to help her organize her files. She likes the iDoceo App for student grades, attendance, and anecdotal records. She also uses an online lesson planner that allows you to tag the Common Core Standards. She likes and uses Dropbox, Notability, and the Common Core app from Mastery Connect.
Getting Organized: Go Digital
http://owlwaysbeinspired.blogspot.com/2013/08/getting-organized-go-digital.html

#7
I use LiveBinders for curation, but it’s also an excellent tool to collect your unit resources and organize them!
LiveBinders – Your 3-ring Binder for the Web
http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home

#8
Laura Santos at Core Inspiration likes to use Symbaloo and Blendscape to organize her online resources. Both tools are web-based, have visual appeal and are classroom-friendly.
Tools for Organizing Your Online Teaching Resources
http://coreinspiration.blogspot.com/2013/10/tools-for-organizing-your-online.html

How do you organize the digital files you use for teaching?