Audience: All educators

Now that everyone has made it through half of the school year and gotten some time to relax over the holidays, it is time to think about New Year's resolutions. With all the educational technology available these days, choosing the ones to pursue and making changes to your regular routine can be a challenge. Below are five New Year's resolutions for every teacher to consider this year.

1. I will read about technology

This is an important one. Since educational technology has taken center stage in many discussions, for researchers, and at conferences, and doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, you really do need to pay attention and make an effort to stay in the loop. Read about educational technology on the TESOL blog and subscribe to a site like edSurge or Connected Educators. It is an easy thing to do and shows a commitment to developing yourself professionally and deepening your understanding about an important area of education rather than haphazardly getting information about this topic from random sources. Be proactive.

2. I will NOT try everything

Don't underestimate the importance of this. The quantity of information you receive on new technology for education is probably overwhelming. Attempting to read about everything and try each resource out is a worthy goal, but an exhausting one. Additionally, students can only learn and adjust to so many changes at a time, and the focus of lessons should remain on the content of the course rather than on training for new resources. Simply make a list of sites you think are worthwhile and focus on just one or two at a time. There is no rush to get through your list and many may be eliminated during the trial phase before you even have the opportunity to really use them or introduce them to students.

3. I will use technology to help me stay organized

As educators, we juggle a lot of information—between grades, assignments, administrative tasks, communication with parents, and more. Get started using technology to organize your life and cut down on paper. Use cloud storage like Dropbox to keep all your important files updated on multiple devices; calendars such as Google Calendar to track important events and deadlines; and apps, for example Evernote, to make lists and collect materials and ideas all in one place. If your school does not have a learning management system, sign up for Edmodo or a similar site to grade, take attendance, assign homework, and more all from one convenient virtual location.

4. I will use technology to help me monitor students

Teachers can track student progress in many ways, but it is hard and time consuming for us to do what computers can do so easily, which is analyze and summarize results. Sites like Socrative, Google Forms with Flubaroo, and eduCanon automatically grade students and give detailed summaries about individual students as well as each and every question. Perhaps students get various grades on an assessment, but the vast majority of students get one particular question wrong. Clearly seeing that can help you better analyze your instruction and assessment.

5. I will try three new resources this year

Use whatever number works for you, but set a goal knowing you can always add more. You want to try a reasonable number of new things while still taking the time to really learn how each works. Not all of them have to directly impact students; as discussed above, there are many sites that can make your workflow more efficient without directly affecting student work. When implementing new approaches with students, be sure to introduce them slowly so as to not detract from your course content.

As you begin classes again, think about your New Year's resolutions. If you are not already doing the five things suggested above, choose a couple that you really want to focus on in the next 12 months and use them as a starting point. Alternatively, simply take a moment to evaluate yourself and your past use of educational technology and make a few resolutions of your own. The new year is an excellent time to set your goals and start a new chapter in your professional life.

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Tara Arntsen has a master's degree in TESOL from the University of Southern California and is currently the director of the Academic English Program at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Her primary research interests are communicative teaching methods and the use of technology in education. Read her educational technology blog on blog.tesol.org.