Apple Watch: Is it worth it for Teachers?

I am a forgetful person, too much on my mom-teacher brain at all times. As my husband would say, I have too many 'tabs' open (both in my brain and on my laptop). I use an Erin Condren Planner (see my Instagram and Plan With Me posts) and Google Calendar but that doesn't always help when I am in the thick of things and forget that GT meeting or parent phone call.

As mentioned, I am a mom and a teacher. And I use my Apple Watch for both of those wonderful roles of mine and more!

In this post, I am just going to focus on how I use my Apple Watch as a teacher. CLICK HERE to read my blog post on how I use it as a mom.

How do I use my Apple Watch in the Classroom?

1. Schedule Alarms (Class Change Alarms)

2. Appointment Alarms/Reminders

3. Timer

This list is limited to watch I use my Apple Watch on a daily basis, but I have used many other features from time to time. But let's start here.

#1: The topmost reason I use my Apple Watch in the Classroom is for my Schedule Alarms to remind me of class change times. My school is based on the classical education model and doesn't believe in using bells to end class time. So it is up to teachers to remember when class ends and dismiss our students at the right time. I tend not to watch the clock when I am teaching so this was a concern for me when I first started at my school.

I tried timers at first setting it at the beginning of class for 50 minutes, which would be the end of class time. But as most of us know, the beginning of class is the time you can be most forgetful to do a task, like attendance (God bless all office staff members who have to remind us constantly to take attendance! LOL).

I tried reminders on my laptop through Google Calendar, but either I wouldn't be by my computer at the time, they weren't loud enough for me to hear them, or I would ignore it as an incoming email not realizing what alarm it was. I needed something on my person and something I couldn't ignore.

You are probably asking yourself why not my phone? It has the same features and you already own it. Well, I tried that too. But from getting emails, coworker texts, scam phone calls, etc during class time I just couldn't stand the constant dinging. It felt unprofessional to have it on my person, not on silent, and me checking it for the time.

The Apple Watch allows for me to set a separate set of alarms just on the watch and they can be silent, just vibrating on my wrist. It's an indiscrete way to set a reminder that class time is ending in 5 minutes or at that time. Because as teachers we are also aware that if you tell students too early that class time is about to end they will start packing up and checking out in their minds.

#2: The second way I continually use my Apple Watch in the classroom is for Appointment Alarms/Reminders. As mentioned, I use Google Calendar for meeting schedules and school appointment times, which I am sure most teachers also use at their schools as well. This is a great way to organize your day and see what is upcoming. But again, if you are walking around the classroom, or out making copies away from your computer, it's easy to forget a non-routine kind of meeting or observation follow-up, last-minute parent conference, etc.

That is why on my Apple Watch I have the face of the watch set up to show "Your Schedule." Not only will it send me a reminder before the appointment time, but until that time hits, it will also display on the watch face the time and name of the appointment as a continual visual reminder.

|Lavendar Globes Background

by Stormye Puffer @mrspuffer|

#3: The last way I use my Apple Watch on an everyday basis in my classroom is the timer. On my whiteboard at the front of my classroom, I keep a timer for class-wide activities. But have you ever been walking around the class to come to one of your students who needs continual reminders to stay on task and say you will be back in 5 minutes to check on their progress? Most of us have. But how many times have you actually gone back in the time you stated? For me, rarely. I always forgot. Something took my attention away and I forget to follow up.

Now, instead of leaving it up to chance that I will remember, once I tell my kiddo that I will be back in whatever amount of time while I am still at their desk (because let's be honest, I will forget if I don't do it right there) I will set a timer on my watch, show my student, and then go about doing what I need to do. Once the timer goes off, I'll rack my brain for why I set it and then remember who I need to check on.

It keeps me on task and upholding my promises to my students to check on them regularly if that is the support they need.

Overall Opinion: Is the Apple Watch worth it for teachers? For me, ABSOLUTELY! I have not regretted the purchase once since getting it. With all of this said, is it an end-all-be-all for all teachers? No. Simply, an Apple Watch is expensive. I put off getting one for years because of the price. However, if you either have the money ready or save up a few months to purchase the watch I do think it has been a really helpful tool in my classroom.

I hope that helps any teachers, like myself, who are on the fence about getting an Apple Watch for their teacher lives.

All the Best,

Emily