Time Management

Wouldn't it be nice if someone was in charge of instructing your students to line up for lunch or pack up their things at precisely the same time every single day? Wouldn't it be nice if someone would remind your students to take their lunch box with them, stand with their hands at their side, and take all of their papers home? Your computer can do all of this for you and more!

There is an application on your computer called "Task Scheduler." It allows you to program your computer to carry out tasks (such a playing a song or displaying a message), at times that you specify.

I found the idea for using Task Scheduler on Rick Morris' blog: "New Management." http://www.newmanagement.com/music/alarmclock.html I used Task Scheduler all last school year and was very happy with the results.

How I used Task Scheduler:

• Songs to signal my students to line up for lunch and specials (library, physical education, music, ect.)
• A song to signal student to pack up their things and prepare to go home
• Reminder messages for myself (Remember to turn in lunch count and attendance)
• Reminder messages to students (Snack assistant, please pick up the snack from the lunch room)

Advantages:

• I completely quit worrying about being late! Teachers have so much to worry about. It was really nice to take something off my plate.
• The songs lyrics told the students exactly what to do. The students quickly memorized the songs and sang them everyday. I rarely reminded to students about procedures involved in these transitions because they had internalized them.
• I used songs from Dr. Jean's All Day Long Album - http://drjean.org/html/songs/songStoreRenovated.html
• The students also memorize about how long the song lasts. This provides a natural timer for completing the transition. 
• It aided my students in staying on task during transitions. 

Things to look out for:

• Some student may anticipate the song turning on. They may attempt to begin the transition early. It is important to make students aware that this is not an option. Practicing expected procedures for these transitions really helped my class with this issue.
• Be careful about the options your are selecting as you set up your task scheduler.
• For example: If you have a laptop, the default is to abort the scheduled task if your computer is not plugged in to a power source.

How to set up a classroom alarm:

See Rick Morris' post for detailed instructions. http://www.newmanagement.com/music/alarmclock.html

Ideas or Suggestions:

Please leave a comment if you have other ideas for using Task Scheduler or are already utilizing it your classroom. I would love to have your input!