Teaching in Higher Ed

Five steps to staying productive during academic year preparations

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School

This seems the time of the year when the temptations to do anything except finish syllabi and other course preparation action items are at their highest. To that end, I offer the following five steps to staying focused and productive.

Turn off email

Once you’ve addressed the emails that are urgent, it is time to unplug and exit your email program. Otherwise, the emails that come in get treated with the same importance as everything else we have on our plates. Most of us think we can multi-task – but what we’re really doing is called switch-tasking, which slows us down considerably and also can increase errors in the work we’re doing.

Keep your social media in check

Many of us faculty enjoy seeing what friends are up to on Facebook, or looking at the latest articles and tools talked about via Twitter. However, this habit can turn into a serious time drain, if we’re not careful. Consider having a social media fix as a reward for accomplishing today’s goals, or at least as an incentive for getting the next big task done. At the very least, set a timer before you login, so you limit yourself to the amount of time you want to invest in these activities.

Plan for the low energy points of the day

For me, when it hits 2:00 pm, I have a hard time fighting off the urge for a nap. Some days, I let myself have this luxury and don’t worry about it. It is, after all, summertime… and we deserve some perks. Other times, I have too much on my plate that needs accomplishing and I need to stay at work, despite the low energy point. I find the following steps work well:

  • Go for a ten-minute walk
  • Drink a glass of water and eat a small snack (a handful of nuts works well)
  • Do something mindless to give my brain a break
  • Put on some energizing music

Look at the big picture

There’s a reason we do all the unrewarding stuff. Most of us feel a special call to teach and have an impact on our students’ lives. Try reading a few encouraging letters and emails to give yourself the motivation to get through the less fun aspects of class preparation.

Get a perspective on priorities

Start each day with your master to do list in front of you. Decide what is most important to get done today and figure out how to schedule things to accomplish it. If you think about other actions you need to take before the school year starts, be sure to capture those tasks while they’re on your mind. Otherwise, you’re wasting precious mental capacity trying to keep all that in mind at the same time you’re trying to be creative with class ideas. An earlier post talks more about getting things done (GTD) as a professor:

https://teachinginhighered.com/gtd-tools-for-faculty

I hope you’ll be able to put some of these into practice. Let us know what else you’re doing to stay focused and productive during this time of the year in the comments. 

Five Keys to an Effective Syllabus

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As I create this upcoming semester's syllabi, I'm looking back at some of the ones I created my first year of teaching. Talk about an indicator of progress… There have been plenty of lessons since then and I offer the following recommendations.
  1. Begin with the end in mind. Stephen Covey reminds us that it is crucial in setting out to do anything to “begin with the end in mind.” As you develop or revise your syllabus, think about the three most important things the students should walk away with after investing months in your course. Consider not just the factual information they will absorb, but the skills they will gain as well. [Read more…] about Five Keys to an Effective Syllabus

What to Consider When Deciding Which iPad Model to Buy

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You’ve decided to purchase an iPad. Now you just need to figure out which of the many models to buy…

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CHOICES

In terms of the various iPad models, there are two broad categories of choice: storage capacity and data access capabilities:

STORAGE

Apple offers three storage capacity options on the iPad. 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. When you consider your storage needs, consider those media options that you want to have available to you, when you’re not connected to a wireless network (like the ones at your university, as well as all good coffee shops) or to the data plans offered through AT&T (additional monthly charges apply, as you’ll read about later). I tend to like to be able to carry a lot of data with me: music, books, movies, podcasts, as well as applications/programs (which take up space, too). In my case, I chose a 64GB iPad, though recognize that the top-of-the-line iPad costs about what a full-fledged laptop would, so make sure it is really what you need before you go to the expense.

DATA ACCESS CAPABILITIES

The next consideration is how your iPad will access data that isn’t stored on it locally. All models of iPads can access data over a wireless (wifi) network. Your university almost certainly has universal wifi coverage across the campus, though prior to making your purchase, be sure to check with your IT department to ensure that there aren’t any restrictions to connecting to the wifi access with an iPad. I’ve read about a few universities that don’t allow iPads to hook up, but most do.

The other way that some models of iPads can access data is via a 3G data plan, paid monthly. The 3G has to do with how fast it transfers data (the cutting edge speed right now is 4G, but iPads and iPhones aren’t up to that speed just yet). The data plan is the monthly cost that will come from AT&T for you to have the access.

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The upside

The great thing about the iPad data plans from AT&T is that you don’t have to pay for the plan those months you don’t need it. For example, if you knew that you wouldn’t need a data plan during the year, because you would access your wifi network at home, at your local coffee shop, and on campus, then you could skip nine months or so of the data plan. If you enjoyed travelling during the summer and wanted to avoid paying $10 a day for hotel wireless coverage, you could sign up for one of two data plans available from AT&T just on the months that you wanted it. It would be great if they would do that for iPhone data plans, which don’t even offer roll-over data plans for the months when you don’t need to transfer as much.

Because of this option to use data plans only in the months you need them, I think the additional $150 for a Wi-Fi + 3G iPad is the only way to go. Yes, $150 isn’t cheap, but without paying that additional amount, you won’t ever be able to use your iPad when you’re outside of a wireless network. The only people who would be smart to go the less-expensive route would be those people who have another means for gaining wifi coverage while on the road, a service/equipment offered by some cell phone companies. A few of your options, such as the Novatel Wireless MiFi card from Verizon or Sprint are described in this article. For me, I’ve got the 3G coverage when I need it (mostly when I travel), but skip the monthly fees most months of the academic year.

When I’m on the road, I often use my gadgets for entertainment, particularly now my iPad, so I go for the $25 data plan when I need it. For an extra $10, I get eight times as much data transfer capability… and if I exceed that amount in a month, I can just pay another $25 for additional capacity. The iPad also gives you a warning when you’ve reached 80% and 90% of your data plan, so you can back off if you want to avoid running out or having to buy more.