We talked with 7th-grade geography teacher Amanda Mendenhall about how she uses TeacherMade in her classroom. TeacherMade is the best tool for converting your existing worksheets to online digital activities. TeacherMade’s easy-to-use interface makes it easy for you to upload your PDFs, Word Docx, and image files into our user interface. From there, you can add your own text-enhanced questions to your existing assignments. 

Read on to see how Amanda uses TeacherMade in her social studies classroom.

What is your name, and why do you use TeacherMade for online learning?

My name is Amanda Mendenhall, and I am currently a 7th-grade geography teacher. I have been teaching for 15 years, and TeacherMade has made my life less stressful. I can focus on the content and make sure that my students understand the information given. I can balance life inside and outside the classroom because of the ease of TeacherMade.  With the use of TeacherMade, I can engage my students and make content that isn’t always interesting, fun to learn.

How does TeacherMade make your life easier?

With TeacherMade, I am able to balance being a teacher and being a mom and wife.  I spend less time trying to find engaging activities for my students to keep them excited about learning. 

How easy is it to make an online interactive worksheet?

I can take an assignment and make it interactive in some manner for my students.  I can use pre-made assignments, or I can create my own. I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time I want them to be interactive with my lessons.   My students love that I can embed links, and they can do individual research.  I love that I can control where they get the information we are trying to learn. 

How did you improve student feedback in your classroom?

My students can see the score they make immediately (if I allow it to release the score).  I love that they allow me to give them feedback, and it allows me to control the release of scores.  Sometimes, as teachers, we don’t want students to have the correct answers immediately, but once I return an assignment, it gives them the information they so badly want.  My students crave the feedback they get when I return the assignment to them.  They like to see if they can find a mistake I have made (gotta love middle schoolers).  I love that I can fix those mistakes from them with ease, as well. 

How do you make worksheets that connect to Google Classroom?

TeacherMade has made working with the LMS system my school uses so easy.  This feature allows me to assign the assignment to each of my Google Classrooms with just a few clicks.  I can assign or reassign all students to just a few students. This feature makes my life so easy.  I can collaborate with other teachers that help my students as well.  They are able to reopen assignments and help them when the student rushes through an assignment.  They are able to see the same things I am able to see and give more individualized help. 

Why should teachers make the switch to digital worksheets with TeacherMade?

In conclusion, TeacherMade has made teaching a more enjoyable career again.  When COVID hit, and the world of education switched to more technology-driven instruction and less hands-on, our kids lost a lot of love for learning.  Now, we are just the mean teachers who make them do their assignments instead of playing games on their devices.  With TeacherMade, I can allow them some freedom to use that device to learn and have fun.  They love doing the matching projects and researching the world through TeacherMade.  I am able to manage the workload with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, thanks to TeacherMade.