05 June 2012

beginning a course, making habits

At this time in a course, I'm reminded how important it is for me to establish habits.

The theme of these days is ORGANIZATION --
  1. curation (where)
  2. content (what, how)
  3. time (when) 
  4. communication/collaboration (with whom)
As I work on each item, I think about the "why."

Anal, yes, but I usually avoid getting caught up short, and working through all the materials at the beginning, gives me an overview of the course -- skimming so I notice where the bottlenecks might be, major assignments and more challenging skills.

CURATION
In addition to folders on my computer, I usually select an online repository: GoogleDocs, SkyDrive, or DropBox (only if there is no private or sensitive information).

Most often, I choose GoogleDocs because I use it for other aspects of the course (see below).  I use the same username (ksuengerssu12 for this summer's courses) for everything I do in connection with the course (subscriptions to webtools, RefWorks, GoogleDocs, etc.)

I set up folders for any course contents that I want to have online, a couple places where I'll compose, share, or save online materials.

Side note: why create a Google address for each semester?
  1. the campus implementation of Docs does not include several tools (especially iGoogle, Voice, and Google+) that I want to use.  Without giving out my home phone number, I can get student phone calls via GoogleVoice and then discard the number at the end of the term.
  2. at the end of the semester, I often delete the address so I don't have a lot of addresses to check.  (I forward all email from these addresses to my campus address, so I don't miss anything and I let Google archive in-coming mail so I can keep my campus mailbox pretty empty)

CONTENT
Usually when I get access to the course site, I scan the materials and then begin downloading what I can: structure of the course (I capture screens of menus and such) and the files.

Why? I guess because I am concerned that I won't be able to access them from various locations (though I don't have anything as a Lake Erie sailboat ;)

Also, I eventually compile those files (sequenced as they were on the website) into a PDF that I can annotate and link.

TIME
And ... something I haven't begun yet ... I put the course due dates and activities into a calendar.  These days, I use a couple Google Calendars: one for readings, one for assignments, one for my schedule of when I'll start work on the assignments, etc.  I could use a single calendar and color-code each type of activity, but it is easier for me to use separate calendars in the same Google account and color each calendar differently.

COMMUNICATION
Finally, I set up any email addresses and chat methods that I may use to communicate with others in the course.  Again, Google seems to be easiest because it gives me a email address, a chat area, and, now, Google+ that will let me chat (text, audio, and group video)

Today's tasks: create and complete the calendars and read some of the course materials.

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