Digital tools future teachers love for notes, planning, and organization

In this special episode, the podcast is taken over by future teachers from Slippery Rock University. These teacher candidates share powerful, practical digital organization tools that help with:

• Lesson and assignment planning

• Note‑taking and organization

• Time management

• Academic integrity and student accessibility

Future teachers share their favorite digital organization tools

What makes this episode especially valuable is that each tool is discussed from both a student and future teacher perspective, so you’ll hear how these tools support learning now and classroom teaching later.

Tool #1: Notability

Becoming a noteworthy note taker with Allie and Lila. They kick things off by sharing their favorite digital note‑taking app: Notability. Notability is a digital note‑taking app for Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, and Mac) that allows users to:

• Handwrite or type notes

• Record audio that syncs directly to written notes

• Annotate PDFs

• Use planners, graph paper, and templates

• Organize notes visually with color coding, shapes, and highlights

As future math teachers, Allie and Lila love how Notability supports:

• Working through math problems step‑by‑step

• Replaying explanations through synced audio

• Creating clean graphs and geometric visuals

• Keeping all notes in one organized, digital space

They also highlight accessibility features like zoom, typing options, and audio playback, making Notability a powerful tool for diverse learners.

Key takeaway: Notability transforms learning especially math into a more organized, visual, and expressive experience.

Tool #2: Google calendar

Time management made easy with Ryan. Next up, Ryan walks us through Google Calendar, a must‑have tool for both educators and students. Google Calendar allows users to:

• Create and manage events

• Color‑code and toggle multiple calendars

• Sync across devices

• Integrate with Gmail and Google Classroom

Ryan explains how Google Calendar supports:

• Classroom organization and predictability

• Student time‑management skills

• IEP and anxiety‑friendly scheduling

• Family and parent communication

From a professional standpoint, Google Calendar aligns beautifully with the Danielson Framework, supporting:

• Domain 1: Designing coherent instruction

• Domain 3: Student engagement

• Domain 4: Communicating with families and maintaining records

Google Calendar isn’t just about dates; it’s about teaching students how to manage their learning and their lives.

Tool #3: Google Docs

Monica and Sarah wrap up the episode with a discussion on Google Docs, a free, cloud‑based word processor that’s incredibly versatile. From a teacher's perspective, Google Docs allows educators to:

• Track student writing progress with version history

• Monitor academic integrity

• View drafting, edits, and revisions in real time

From a student perspective, Google Docs offers:

• Automatic saving

• Easy collaboration

• Access from any device with internet

• A clear record of learning growth

  
  

This episode is packed with practical strategies and tech tools that pre‑service teachers can start using today, because teaching doesn’t begin at graduation.