In the time of B.C.C. (before computers and calculators), teachers regularly sat at their desks absorbed in a task that tested their patience and compassion. They were adding all homework grades, test scores, recitation grades, and subtracting the demerits. The reason they were "testy" was that they were doing the calculations by hand. And, about the time they had summed 43 of the 44 scores for a single student, someone would invariable interrupt them with a question such as "Do we need to spell all the words correct?" It seems that adding all those scores took about five weeks, which meant teachers had about one week of relief before they started the process again. Today, teachers can determine the grades of a class at the speed of light by using a computer. With similar agility and speed a teacher can prepare a personalized letter to each parent detailing a student's progress (or lack there of) on official-looking paper along with a computer printed envelope. During the past 25 years, we have heard many predictions of how computers will affect learning in the classroom. It appears, however, that the power of a computer in a teacher's hands has often been overlooked.
In the first 14 chapters of this book, we have focused on how to integrate computers into curriculum with a focus on how students can use the computer as a tool. We now want to shift our focus to how teachers can use computers as a productivity tool for management. Using computers as a productivity tool is one of the six National Educational Technology Standards (http://cnets.iste.org/index3.html). The fifth standard states that teachers will "use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice." The other standards are addressed in the first 14 chapters. In this chapter we will address this last standard to describe ways teachers can use computers to enhance their productivity.
