A1: Planbook

Planbook

Analyzing the Popular Teaching Planner

UBC ETEC 523 - A1 Assignment by Mark Fawdry

What is planbook?

Planbook is an online platform for teachers that has been designed for use on PC and mobile. Planbook gives teachers several user-friendly tools to plan, assess and collaborate. It serves as an easy way to create a weekly schedule and lesson plans, regardless of grade level or teaching situation. Templates can be created for descriptions of routines, and attachments can be added to lessons. Should an educator be teaching the same grade level twice, there are options to copy lessons from previous years or create lesson banks.

Rationale

Why do teachers like me use planbook?

A professional goal of mine has been to find ways to make my teaching practice more ecologically sustainable. This goal initially lead to me discovering Planbook, a digital planner that would replace the many papers I had been using to plan in previous years. Despite great intentions, I have now learned in the Masters of Educational Technology program at UBC that the ecological footprint of using a site like Planbook is likely more harmful to the environment than saving some paper. I now choose to use Planbook due to its ease of use, flexibility and ability to share plans with others. I've had several other teachers notice me using Planbook and they have asked for demonstrations.

+Reviews From Other Teachers

Testimonials featured on website

Planbook Mobile

Accessible

Connect

Available on IOS and Android

All stakeholders involved

Planbook's mobile design is simple for all users and allows teachers to view/create their plans on the go.

Teachers can share their plans with other teachers or administrators. Grades and assessments can be viewed by students as an effective form of communicating student learning.

Mobile Intelligence

While Planbook has an engaging and useful mobile app accessible for teachers, there is a lot of potential to make more use of the mobile intelligence being integrated into other apps. AI could be used to predict upcoming lessons and data entry. The Planbot in the help section is a great example of mobile intelligence that Planbook has integrated, though its intelligence is quite limited depending on the wording used in a question. Planbook relies heavily on its excellent tutorials to guide their users, which could be woven into the main page to support users. AI could also be used to make suggestions to modify lessons to best meet the needs of students. Microphone use with predictive text for typing could also benefit someone using Planbook. There is no academic research on the effectiveness of Planbook's mobile app on teacher planning. My thoughts regarding enhancing Planbook's mobile intelligence stem from personal experience with the program in a professional setting.

Final Thoughts

Planbook is a practical and organized program for teachers with varying degrees of comfortability with technology. I use Planbook on my mobile device and PC, and find that it compliments my planning and assessment style. Many colleagues have asked for demonstrations on how to use it, but many do not follow through as they prefer a different method of planning. The program is dense and contains a lot of different functions, which may be overwhelming for educators. Integrating intelligence elements into their design could attract more users. In the future, I hope more research is conducted around the educational benefits of Planbook and others digital planners.

References

Planbook. (2025, July 17). Experience Planbook: Product Demonstration [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW6RG1Iqh38 Planbook - the leader in lesson planning. (n.d.). https://planbook.com/