Time management - and the persistent topic of "balance" in faculty lfie

Over the years, the issues of balancing the multiple demands of faculty life is a recurring theme. Today, I read "The Importance of Time Management" by Nate Kreuter on the Inside Higher Ed site (access the essay directly at http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2012/05/30/essay-importance-time-management-academic-careers). I found myself nodding my head during the entire read. Of course, this meant that I simply had to share this essay with Communication and Higher Education readers.

There were many insightful comments, but my favorite comments included,

• "If you’re lucky, when you begin an academic appointment your expected contributions within each category will be clearly articulated in writing, possibly in your contract, in your department’s tenure requirements, or in college and university policies."
  
•  "Ideally, tenure-track faculty members are shielded by their departments from oppressively large service responsibilities."
• "Departments that require too much service from faculty members too early in a career are setting those individuals up for failure."

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My ultimate favorite thought from Kreuter was the reminder that "time management should also include more than teaching, scholarship, and service. Effective time management also means reserving time for recover, and time for fun, time for family, and time for friends."

Remember to read more great essays like this one at Inside Higher Ed.

See former posts about balancing faculty life (NOTE: these are only a FEW of the mentions we've had on this issue):

• Weekend work - February 2011 
• Research power hour - September 2011
• Strategies: A two week reflection - June 2010
• Deadlines - June 2010
• Writing, reflection, and impact on our research - April 2010
• The research spurt - March 2011
• Faculty and funding - April 2011
• #facultylife - August 2011
• Faculty life follow up - August 2011
• Academic adolescence: Communicating on the tenure track - February 2012

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Space, work, and energy

Throughout the years our university has worked to rebuild from the massive impact of Hurricane Katrina. I began my time at our university in 2007 when we inhabited FEMA trailers with library study carrels as "desks" -- half of the FEMA trailer building was shared by two departments and over 20 faculty members with one common phone line. It was cramped, loud, and always busy.

29-B...the half nearer the phone pole, was the former home for 23 faculty in Arts and Humanities and my first "office" location

During the next three and a half years, faculty were slowly moved out of the cramped spaces to a variety of available locations across campus. Our department was split across three buildings and struggled with connecting. These locations were not always ideal, but they were often followed by the thought, "It's better than those trailers!" Eventually, all of our department was relocated to actual buildings with semi-shared office spaces. My next space housed six faculty members with semi-private walls (did not reach the ceiling), but which seemed so wonderful!

Semi-private offices on the second floor of a rehabilitated building on campus - slightly cramped, but better than before!

Today, we see the exciting removal of those original temporary FEMA buildings. We also experience a remarkably regular pattern of moving on this campus. We are constantly shifting as one building gets torn down, a floor gets remodeled, or space is reallocated.

This past semester, I was marked for another relocation (my third in five years). After several successful grants, a new minor to run, and additional years to accumulate STUFF, this move was not met with the same excitement as my last move (out of the FEMA building). My last move (described in "Communicating through and with our work environment"--see link below) was a year and a half ago. It was exciting since we could feel the positive growth and recovery all around us. I stated then, "My excitement over the move has startled me. I didn't realize how much my work space impacted the feelings I had when I went to work or as I tried to tackle certain elements of work." However, with this latest move (and my 10 boxes of grant equipment/materials), I couldn't muster up any excitement. I was, after all, told we would probably only be in the new locations for about six months before moving again as another construction problem would push us out of that space.

So, I fought off my ennui with caffeine. Pulled my hair into a pony tail, donned my old blue jeans, and came into campus during "break" to unpack my office. Six hours of moving and unpacking later, I can gladly say that there IS still a fun energy that comes from a new space. Even when that space is temporary, even when that space will be shared with at least one other faculty member, even when covered in dust and wondering if the air conditioner will work at all this summer.

The latest location. Nice windows and more space, though it will be shared with at least one other faculty member (no walls or dividers).

More grant equipment and materials means the space is GREATLY appreciated. This newest location is on the second floor of a different rehabilitated building on campus. We will be here until at least December 2012 before we move again.

We are making it. We are recovering. We are building back a university that was brought to its knees a few short years ago. In short, we are willing to face the temporary discomforts and the occasional stress to have the honor to work with our amazing students and to help, even in a small way, with our institutional mission. 

Ponder your work space. Consider a small move. Reposition your desk, bring in new artwork, shift around your shelves, or bring in lamps instead of always using the overhead lights. Try to absorb all of the positive energy from your space that you can--even if it is only YOUR space for a short while.


Consider also:
"Communicating through and with our work environment" - November 2010
"Hurricane preparedness through technology" - June 2011

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Planning for break

After a semester ends, I sit and look over the list of "to do" items that must get done before the next semester begins (and these are items that, in some cases, were pushed to the background throughout the busy semester). Like many academics, I teach in the summer. Since I am at a smaller institution, that means I am on summer rotation every year, teaching two to three courses. This schedule can easily lead to some burnout. I try my best to stave off the lack of energy that can defeat the potential productivity of my "break" times.

I have almost two weeks before the summer classes begin and a list of items to tackle BEFORE another group of new students file into their desks. These items are almost always related to research, writing, and grants. I do tend to prioritize my teaching and classroom work throughout the semester. This need to write (generally while facing deadlines) can lead to a mental meltdown when I am already exhausted at the end of a term.

I am trying to embrace a few days of complete down time before tackling the writing. I used to avoid a transition time and just dive right into the next deadline. These days, I am finding I need a bit of a mental reprieve AND that a few days away from my "to do" list really can help me to be more productive.

Around my household, we have dubbed these days "off" as "anti-academic" days. At the end of term, I avoid my email (hey, it is only for two days!), I read only "fun" fiction or biographies that I can't find time for during the semester (this break it is going to be The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova -- I loved her book, The Historian), I garden, I watch my favorite movies (though they do clearly mark me as a nerd as these include "Lord of the Rings," "Star Trek," "Sweeney Todd," and, of course, all things super-hero!), and I spend hours skating at the park. In short, I get as mentally far away from the task lists and the oppressive deadlines as I can--even if it is just for a few short days.

Do you plan for a true "break" in academia? If not, you might give it a try. Those true breaks allow for a calmness and a focus in your writing and course design.

And now, I'm swapping out this keyboard and mouse for a garden trowel and book.

Consider also: "Vacation on the tenure track" and "Our work during our breaks"

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Working through deadline distress

 You feel it coming. That slow throb in the back of your mind. It grows to a low rumble, a background noise that sounds like a subway swooshing along below your feet as you walk from place to place. Soon, though, that subterranean speeding sounds inch closer to the front of your brain. The low tone begins a steady, pulsating metamorphosis until it changes entirely. It is no longer a sound, a throb, or a background noise. It is all you can think about. It emerges completely with a roar, clawing its way to the front of your mind and to the top of your "priorities" list. This beast, this deadline, lives and grows throughout its life-cycle.

One of the best parts of faculty life is the ability to move through different types of projects and tasks. Each day can be different. But there are times where this variability can create stress. In fact, as soon as I embrace a large project I tend to have only a few moments of pure excitement about that project before that low throb begins way in the back of my mind. It won't be long, I now know, before the deadline distress emerges.

How do we balance the need to put our whole focus on one project while others are clamoring for our attention (seemingly) all of the time? I usually feel some level of guilt while working on Project A when I know Project B is waiting or Task A is waiting. This leads to distress about meeting ALL of the deadlines and they all start clawing and pushing their way to the front of my mind. It becomes exhausting.

To stave of the hordes of deadline-dragons, I am always on the lookout for organizational strategies and try every productivity app, program, and book that comes out. I admit it, I am mildly obsessed with personal productivity and find books like "Eat that frog!" constantly living on my e-reader. I have a few tried and true strategies that work well for me. Here's how I juggle some of these tasks as these crazy end of the semester deadlines all screech for attention at the same time.

• Get organized. No surprise here, if you're a long-time reader. I love to organizing everything. I have a master folder of all of my publication calls, grants, and any "to do" items like submissions to conferences. Keeping these short descriptions all in one place helps me focus and forces me to avoid stacking too many things on my plate at once. I typically put these in order by which item would gain me the most points in my tenure/promotion/annual review packet. This gives me a feeling of control over the tasks.
• Mark on a master calendar (digital or paper, the idea is to note the deadline date) the last day of submission (for grades, publication, revisions, etc.) and then work my way to an earlier deadline, several days (if possible, I will work two weeks ahead) in advance of the actual deadline. This is my deadline. Yes, I basically lie to myself to get going! It is like setting your alarm clock's time forward so you feel more rushed and supposedly get out the door faster. It is a lie, but it always works well for me.
• Break the task/project down. Again, this can be done digitally or on paper. I list the major elements that relate to this task and give them each a mini-deadline well in advance of my actual deadline (if possible, some emergency items do come up). I try to also note any thoughts about each part of the project, brainstorm ideas, and revisit this little calendar for each project as I start working so I can track where I am and where I need to be. This also allows me to note that some things just take more time or simply fall off of my radar all together. 
• Let some things fall off the calendar. Some things won't get done. This is a hard reality for the uber-organized. A search committee duty is sprung on you or you get called to serve in the stead of your Chair at a meeting. You get sick. An assignment flops and you have to spend unexpected time working with a class. Allow the lower-priority items to be the ones that fall off. Then, schedule a time (usually after the semester ends) to revisit the item, but if it is crunch time on a grant, a huge class grading cycle, and a conference is taking place, then sometimes I have to table a lower-priority item. I am working on NOT feeling guilty about this, but admittedly struggle with a feeling of failure when this happens. This is currently the case on a collaborative project that is incredibly interesting, but that I just can't get to it among higher level priorities. 
• Get it back! When something does fall off, I work diligently to create a plan to pull it back together and communicate with any interested parties. I also try to ignore the low rumble of the deadline that was shoved forcefully behind all other deadlines. This is an ongoing challenge for me. It is related to "saying no" and learning boundaries, which was written about in the earlier blog, "The super power of productive faculty" - Sept. 2011. 
• Figure it out! Why did ProjectXYZ fall off? Did you lose interest? Was the semester too busy at that point? If so, this knowledge allows us to avoid scheduling during that time in the future--block those dates in the calendar and protect them. Tracking your lack of productivity is as important as tracking your productivity. It informs us about our work cycles, energy levels, and options for the future.   
• Make the deadlines mean something. Rewards. Bribery. Self-delusion. 
• Rewards. When I meet a mini-deadline or major deadline, I get a new e-book or a few hours wandering around my amazing city playing "tourist" and absorbing the culture. 
• Bribery. I am not ashamed to bribe myself, "finish writing this last page and you can go sit outside with a cup of tea and a new novel." When we're weary, a little bribe can go a long way.
• Self-delusion. One of my most effective techniques is to tell myself how the future will be better once the task is accomplished, "Think how much easier it will be once ItemX is off my mind!" or "I'll have so much more time when I finish ItemX." As if there aren't 20 other items to take ItemX's place. Strange, but somehow it works every time...
• Remember the goal. Check back (often) with your TENURE and PROMOTION requirements as you organize, prioritize, and focus in on certain projects. Explore what your institution considers "progress" and consider re-prioritizing what may or may not be allowed to "fall off" the calendar. Ask a mentor or senior faculty that you trust to help you prioritize if you are struggling in your first years.

Yes, it is the end of the semester, but you do not have to fall prey to the demons that emerge during deadline distress. Slow down, plan, prioritize, and focus on the bigger goals.

Happy end of the semester!

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The iPad in the Public Speaking course

Regular readers know that I have had my iPad for about 9 months as part of our university Quality Enhancement Plan and I am rapidly wondering how I ever taught without it. A few weeks ago, I gave a presentation about using the iPad in the Public Speaking course. Since then, I have received emails and inquiries about apps, iPads, and instruction. I thought we might all benefit from sharing our favorite apps and iPad (or other tablet) use in the college classroom.

Below you will see the Prezi used in my presentation along with links to my most used apps below.

iPad in Public Speaking classroom on Prezi

The apps depicted within the Prezi above (and a few more) are:

• CourseSmart. My students use a text that has an e-version, and the app to explore their e-library is very user friendly. Plus, the app is free! Students can easily access the text without carrying around a book and that makes it more likely the students will explore the text, have access during class, and look up/bookmark terms. 
• The Attendance App. This was previously explored in another blog entry (see "Easier attendance: There's an app for that" - January 2012)
• YouSeeU. Again, the YouSeeU site has saved the day for my online course and now they have an app for students! (see also "Online Public Speaking?! - YouSeeU to the rescue" - October, 2011)
•  Blackboard. We are currently using Blackboard 9.1 and my students love having access through an app. While I can't do EVERYTHING I want through the app (like grade or re-set exams), I can certainly post announcements and materials and review work submitted by students.
•  The iPad camera and video chat options are great when teaching online and you have many choices. There is, of course, the iPad's (iPod's, iPhone's) Camera/Facetime features which foster connectivity. The students can easily record their speeches right to the YouSeeU site using the camera feature (they just click it over to video camera mode) and can access each other or the professor with Facetime (or the Skype app, or Oovoo app, or Yahoo IM app, etc.).
• There are tutorials about public speaking such as Public Speaking Pal. Since we have an iPad initiative, my students get this little app pre-loaded (along with most of the apps on this list) on their iPad.
• Students can incorporate presentation apps, too. My favorite is Prezi (rather obviously) and this helps students to work with presentational aids and visual cues throughout the semester. The app is user friendly and intuitive (called Prezi Viewer)
• Students can explore speaking notes through apps like Promptster Pro and many others offered through the App store. 

I have a folder for the public speaking class with timers, notes, speech samples, books, and apps (the majority of which are free) and refer to the folder every day when teaching. I have another folder of general class items, such as the attendance app, the Blackboard app, a few grade book apps I am testing out, etc. 

I find my tablet is a great resource as a teaching tool. When integrated purposefully, it can enhance the class environment. 

Using the iPad has been an on-going journey for me. Consider a few of the many blogs about this process below:

"iPad and higher ed: making the transition" - January 2012

"From paper to app: productivity plans for a new semester" - January 2012

"Teaching presentational aids with Prezi and the iPad" - March 2012

"Easier attendance-there's an app for that!" - January 2012

"The lost ink pen" - October 2011

and "Gadget girl" where I first ponder if an iPad could work for me - February 2011

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Qualitative inquiry, instruction, and educational technology

Are you looking for an innovative way to explore qualitative methods with your students (or just for your own nerd-ish pleasure, like me?). If so, consider exploring Creative Qualitative Inquiry: Innovative Graduate Level Pedagogies Shaped by Educational Technologies by Dr. Thalia Mulvihill and Dr. Raji Swaminathan in The Journal of Educational Technology. If you're looking for further opportunities to delve into qualitative inquiry then you might also consider the authors' Qualitative Research Conversations Blog (a great resources for graduate students with apprehension about their dissertation, the proposal, or the defense when it comes to qualitative methods) or follow this line of inquiry on Twitter @QRConversations.

Read also: "Data Monster" - November 2011

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Finding the intangibles

This career is one where we must embrace delayed gratification. We await decisions on research articles that can take months, we pursue service activities that are on five and ten year plans, we advise students knowing it will take years before they cross the graduation stage, and we seek grant funding for ideas that can take years to materialize.

There are some days, however, where the typically intangible and elusive rewards of faculty life can come rushing at you. I simply adore such days. Yesterday I had one of THOSE glorious days that began with a former student stopping me on campus to tell me he was graduating, that he not only remembers my class but uses the skills we explored in his "regular life" -- AND that he felt he got his job because of the skills we covered in a class activity he found particularly memborable. It made me forget all of the stress (temporarily) as I waltzed toward my next class feeling puffed up with pride for the student's success and for my tiny part in his amazing journey. This little encounter made me feel that the sometimes (okay, OFTEN) stressful, and generally (okay, MOSTLY) strenuous activities of the faculty world were somehow all worthwhile.

It wasn't long however (in fact, the exact time corresponds to my morning review of my task list for the day) before I was feeling defeated and deflated again. I missed that puffed up feeling...how could I get it back?

The lesson of the day was simple. Find, no matter how challenging, the rewards of faculty life each day. Is it in your research, a collegial conversation, a grant idea, an effective meeting where your idea was successfully voiced, etc.? It could be anywhere! You don't have to go through the day bemoaning the problems (although I certainly do my fair share of internal ranting) or trudging along waiting on the delayed gratification to finally arrive. Find the sometimes buried rewards in your tenure track journey. Explore the little successes when the larger ones are too far away to have a meaningful impact.

Read also:
 "Delayed gratification of faculty life" - May 2010
"Focusing for a fresh semester" - January 2012

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Conferencing on a budget

There is something amazing about conversations with others in your discipline. I love April, though it is often the busiest month of the entire year for me, it is the time when I can connect with others on similar lines of research at conferences. There is an energy of renewal around conferences that I love to see. Wearied professors mix with energetic professors, meet with sponsors at booths touting new products, reflect as they chat with former colleagues and siphon a bit of the graduate student energy. I always leave every conference with a huge list of things to do. This list is not draining, it is not intimidating, it is exciting, engaging, and promising. Research ideas, teaching approaches, new techniques to old problems...I use the lists all year long to push my research line and my pedagogy.

Conference attendance is a valued part of my tenure packet. I can see the tangible products from every conference I attend and note the many resulting webs of research that have spun right off of an idea sparked at a conference.

Plan time in your busy semester to embrace a conference in your discipline. This can be a struggle for many of us. Don't cut out that conference just yet. Conference on a budget!

•  Skim over your options. Consider locations closest or cheapest to you by planning a year or two ahead of time and work to be frugal during the conference if you cannot be reimbursed by your institution. Most organizations have a list of locations for the upcoming years on their web sites. Explore these so you can be prepared to maximize the money you spend. Regional conferences offer a lot of resources and are generally much lower in cost than those national conferences.
• Pack oatmeal, granola bars, dried fruits, soups, etc. that can be eaten in the room with just hot water or as snacks during a long day of panels. Yes, it may feel like you are back in graduate school, but you are at the conference for the panels and people not the food! Being frugal with breakfast alone can save you a hundred dollars during conference week and you can then use your dinners to connect with friends and dine out. 
• Hit the store when you arrive. Scout out the closest grocery, market, or drug store. Avoid vending machines. Buy your favorite soda or bottled water at the store to save a ton of money. It is easy to use www.yelp.com (the app on the iPad is great) and type in grocery as soon as you hit the hotel.
• Ask your institution's faculty development committee (or your equivalent), your Center for Excellence in Teaching (CETL), or Lyceum committee (or equivalent) if they will pay airfare or lodging. Even if they cannot cover per diem, they may be able to share some of your costs if you offer to talk to the campus about what you learned or host a faculty development session to share some ideas. It never hurts to ask and often junior faculty are unaware of such resources.
• Go to the heavy hitter on your campus--whoever grabs the most grants and travels the most. Ask them how they started out and if they know of resources. You will likely gain points for your ambition and make a great campus contact even if you come out without any funds. 
• Be aware of the conference extras. Registration, membership, and journals can add up quickly-so can parking costs and internet access! Plan ahead...FAR ahead. Each year we sit down and explore our options based on conference location, costs, and "need." Need is determined by the level of importance the conference has in terms of tenure, networking, and renewal of energy. To offset some costs, always try to pre-register and stick with the necessities for membership. Ask for the conference discount for parking and explore the hotel chain's "member rewards" programs to shoot for free internet access during your stay.
• Buddy up! Other junior faculty are likely in the same situation. Consider partnering up and sharing resources. You may not want to share a room, but it can be a huge cost saving option in more expensive cities. Additionally, you can see what journals a colleague checks off for membership and check different options to swap later.
• Re-evaluate. After you conference, tally up your expenses so you can make an informed decision about that same conference next year. Was it worth it? Does the energy you gain (or ideas, or networking, etc.) work as a sufficient reward for your efforts and costs?

The energy and information gained at a conference ARE priceless,  but in today's economy we have to build our tenure dossiers carefully. With a little planning and effort, you can grow your dossier without breaking the bank.

Happy conference season!

Previous discussions of conference season:
"That Conference Energy" - March 24, 2011
"Conference Season Begins" - April 4, 2010

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Maximizing time

This week my institution has spring break. This is later than most universities because we enjoy a late February Mardi Gras break and we must space apart those weeks off (I know, you are now turning green with envy over life in the Big Easy--but we do not get a Fall Break, so there IS a trade-off). During any break I like to maximize my time by rotating from one task to another. I always set myself a large amount of work to do over any break regardless of my on-going promises not to overbook a break! If I didn't have a full agenda planned, I would not know what to do with myself, as described in last year's post, "Stages of Spring Break," where I described my approach to spring break since age seven--with the consistent approach of working while others rested to chase the illusion of "getting ahead" on the work load--and the pre-planned/scheduled activities designed to help me enjoy the break.

This year, I tried to avoid over-scheduling and failed miserably (and rather predictably). So I am working to rotate from one task to another to avoid burnout and stay focused. When I get too overwhelmed with the grant (due April 15), then I switch to grading and when that becomes a bit tedious, I rotate to editing the methods section of an article. In this way, I should be able to mark off about HALF of the overly ambitious, incredibly out of reach list of items to accomplish over the break--and that, my friends, is surely a victory!

My computer time is up and I'm not off to a rotation toward grading...happy spring break!


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Service loads: a detour to tenure?

You are bounding along the tenure-track, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (as I was described my first few years along this journey). You review your requirements, explore your calendar, and set out for success. You begin realizing, however, that you are not moving as quickly (nor bounding so boldly) as you once were. Why is it that you can't seem to grade those papers throughout the week? Why is it you are writing that research article on a Sunday morning? Why are you up late designing class activities?

My first few semesters on the tenure track had me often confused -- I was once the girl who met every deadline early, never forgot an appointment, and flew through course preparation with an exciting energy that made work fun. Then, slowly, I saw my workload shifting. I found myself pulled in a lot of directions and much of the work being incorporated into hours outside of the office. Had I lost my touch? The uber-organized pride themselves on deadlines and charts -- yet I could not make my time lines and to-do lists match up with my actual output.

I was exploring this the other day after talking with a few new (bright-eyed and bushy-tailed) junior faculty members. In the light of their radiant new energy, I felt rather dingy and lackluster as I worked to avoid dulling their shiny energy with my weariness. How could it be that each semester got more challenging?

My scapegoat: SERVICE.

Yes, Service gets all of the blame this time around!

Service requirements can eat tons of time throughout a week. This semester, I'm on several committees and on two searches. Last week I was in meetings for HOURS each day! Then, you add an overload of classes to teach, office hours (where I am very blessed that my students DO come by so that time is dedicated to them first), and the struggle to squeeze in time to research and write grants. At the end of the day, it seems the interminable meetings might be the giant ogre in the path on our journey toward tenure.

To keep service components in place and polish up my brightness level so I can be eager, shiny, and beaming in my energy again, I decided to more carefully monitor my service hours per day.

• If I am already attending a meeting on an especially convoluted teaching/office hours day then I am declining (or noting my lack of availability) for any meeting requests for that day, regardless of their times.  I am going to instill a one meeting maximum on heavy teaching days!
• I will prioritize committees where I bear a burden for work (like our QEP or a search committee) while de-prioritizing meetings where we don't produce a required document or event (like CETL)
• I am not open to any new committees, so my apologies to all but this girl must draw the line and a few university and department committees should be it, even at a small institution where the smaller number of faculty usually means higher service loads. 
• I will spread the wealth! I think my committees have given me a lot of benefits (see previous blog entries, "Service: Who participates?" - March 2010 and "Service, stress, and pre-tenure paranoia" - April 2011 ) and other (newer) faculty should have the chance to experience such benefits. I will decline while recommending someone who may be especially poignant for a certain committee. 
• I will try to let go of my controlling ways and encourage others to steer the boat. 
• I will remember the words from my March 7, 2012 post "Muscle through Midterms" where I reminded myself of the joys of service, where I noted "even the (often laborious, somewhat thankless) Service is on my "pro" list of university  life. Knowing that your voice has a place in shaping the university through committee contributions can be incredibly rewarding."
• I will continue to learn, grow, and explore within the academy by pursuing my goals with clear communication highlighting why I am or am not able to work with certain committees. I will foster and retain solid relationships so everyone can see the benefit of a well-run committee without being placed on too many to be effective. Let's hear it for strategic workplace communication!

Consider sharing your tips for effectively navigating the tenure track and hopefully you'll let some of your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed energy rub off on the rest of us...I can already feel mine replenishing! 

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Teaching Presentational Aids with Prezi and the iPad

Today, I walked calmly to class with my iPad under my arm and a cup of coffee in my hand.  This may not seem empowering, but considering my normal toil to and from the classroom it was definitely an empowering start to the day. While I may be easily appeased, WALKING itself does not normally create such a feeling of peace and empowerment. But, considering that this time every semester, my introductory public speaking course covers how to deliver a speech using presentational aids to reinforce and enhance their message-- which means for the past few years, I lug around a stack of poster boards, an easel, a projector, laptop, models, objects, handouts, and other samples. And it never fails. Every semester the day I have to carry all of this it will rain with torrential wind. I had enough. I incorporated all of those (years of) saved poster boards detailing what worked and what didn't and took pictures with my iPad and put them right into a Prezi.

I've been moving along my Prezi journey the past year or so and have enjoyed incorporating it into my classes as it is easy and intuitive. This morning I smiled at the forecast for rain and heavy winds, charged up the iPad and got to work. I created the following Prezi and used it in class finding the students could see Prezi use (one type of presentational aid) and I could save myself the headache of carting around all of those sample presentational aids. I put a few objects/models and handouts in my bag (which miraculously zipped shut--a never-before-seen feat on Presentational Aid day!), and strolled to class.

The Prezi worked well and I wanted to share it (and the idea of moving all of your old, cumbersome teaching props toward an e-medium). We used the various prompts as discussion points to highlight effective and ineffective examples of aids and to brainstorm possibilities for students. The students were able to see multiple types of presentational aids and the discussion was really strong with everyone engaged.

Why didn't I think of this sooner?! So, I'm passing it on in the hopes that a simple digital migration might just make your entire morning. It certainly made mine!

PREZI: "Presentational Aids: Chapter 10" -- http://prezi.com/4waavpujtzvp/presentational-aids/
And embedded below:

Presentational Aids on Prezi

[Additional posts about Prezi--this educator's journey along the Prezi path...
First Prezi Post: "Prezi: The PowerPoint alternative?"  
Second Prezi Post: "So you want to learn Prezi?" 
Third Prezi Post: "Prezi returns" 
Fourth Prezi Post: "Prezi's 'Zoom Back To School' contest" 
Fifth Prezi Post: "PreziU - Sharing resources for Prezi use"]

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ADOBE mini-contest winner!

Congratulations to "SUBMISSION C - Mobile Game Design Using Flash and Photoshop" for the prize-winning submission to the Adobe in Higher Education contest co-sponsored by Communication & Higher Education blog and A Millennial Professor's View of Higher Education blog. We hope you enjoy CS5.5! 


Thank you to everyone who submitted their use of Adobe in higher education and thanks to everyone who took the time out to vote for your favorite submission. 

To see the ideas submitted for the mini-contest, check out the ADOBE MINI-CONTEST post.

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Muscle through midterms: faculty survival tips

There are many things that I love about university life. I appreciate the ability to have a new, fresh group of students every semester. I love the interaction we can share in the classroom and the growth I see at the end of a term. Researching various areas of interest and sharing new ideas can be the best part of a busy day. Yes, even the (often laborious, somewhat thankless) service is on my "pro" list of university  life. Knowing that your voice has a place in shaping the university through committee contributions can be incredibly rewarding. There are many joys in this career. Midterms, however, are not one of them.

Image created using Picnik.com

Let's face it. As midterm week approaches everyone on campus has lost their shiny outlook on the new semester. We are all holding on, tenaciously, to stay on task. Most of us start to feel overwhelmed and productivity can stall. Our students, staff, faculty, and administrators can fall victim to the midterm slump. The students start getting sick, they start missing classes, they start sending you a million emails such as the one I got this week:  "wat did we do 2day? i was sick." You may start to wish you could copy and paste "It is on the syllabus" into every correspondence you have. As the midterm week gets nearer, students' tones start to become more frantic. Students you haven't seen for weeks start to show back up in class. Your committee load gets heavier. And, it never fails, something happens to derail your productivity such as the news that you will be moving offices or the appointment to a search committee (or two!).  Despite life's attempts to pull you away from your productivity, you can muscle through midterms. Here are some tips:

1. Plan early for midterms. Now, unless you have a time machine (if you do, PLEASE let me share that resource!), this may not be applicable to you at THIS point in the semester, but you can work it in your course preps for next term. To plan effectively, try to stagger the timing or your assignments in your courses (or the types of assignments (essays, multiple-choice exams, projects, presentations) so you don't experience a flood of grading 200 essays in less than a week.
2. Approach midterm week with a plan. I schedule the most time-consuming or mentally draining grading first thing each morning of midterm week. Then, my tasks get easier as the day goes on AND I can move more efficiently first thing in the morning, so I am actually working faster with a higher quality response process. 
3. Beware the time eaters! Emails, tweets, IMs, phone calls and drop-ins can all whittle away at the entire week! If you are not in office hours, don't have your email open or your hand hovering near your phone. Schedule appropriate DAILY time to manage the increased communication from your students. Doing this will allow you to keep on task and not find yourself drawn away on a 20-minute time suck answering a student email. You will answer it effectively and within 24-hours, but it won't derail your grading/writing/research if you schedule it in. 
4. Of course, this does not mean you become unavailable. You are prioritizing and protecting your time, so stay focused and keep that office door wide open during office hours. Stay on IM during office hours. Have your email in-box ready during office hours. But don't spend an entire day on the small tasks while falling even further behind on the big tasks.
5. Bribe yourself! "When I finish my midterm grading, I will _____ (sleep for the entire weekend, wear pajamas and watch my favorite movie, get a nice dinner out with friends, get a weekend in the garden, explore a local museum display, etc.)" I find a little carrot dangling in front of me can often be JUST enough to power through a few more essays or emails and stay on target for the week.

You can muscle through the midterm slump! Stay focused, work diligently, and the balance to this sometimes hectic week WILL come. 

See also Tools to Avoid the Midterm Slump from last fall's midterm season.

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Clean it up!

Despite being somewhat over-extended this semester, I had a goal to re-examine my assignments. My idealistic intent was to streamline my grading (avoid writing the same comment 125 times), re-focus my teaching in order to yield better work from the students on several projects. The idea was simply driven from an increasingly challenging schedule. As I get busier and have more new course preps, it is essential to manage my time more effectively.

I did a quick review of my instructional materials, lessons plans, rubrics/evaluations, and made a few notes about student issues/problems on assignments throughout the previous semesters. I realized quickly that a few assignments needed help.

The descriptions sounded fine (to me) when re-reading the syllabus, but the work I was getting wasn't what I anticipated or was lacking key elements. This issue was the driving force behind a complete re-examination of my assignments and I found out I didn't really know what I wanted on one particular assignment that students have struggled with. 

If you don't know what YOU want (as an outcome) from the assignment, the assignment descriptions, rubrics, and even lesson plans could feel murky to students.

Image from http://www.threeneatmaids.com/

A quick fix is to explore the primary outcomes of each assignment. Identify the skills/concepts you want the students to have and work backward to craft a rubric and your "teachables" leading up to the assignment. You can still leave a lot open to interpretation, to allow for student-driven direction, creativity, and variety, but you will find your descriptions are cleaner, more focused. Your evaluations/rubrics measure what you teach, and the assignment reinforces/tests the concepts and skills you taught. It cleans everything up nicely so the students can see a direct line from what is discussed in class to the actual assignment. Slowly work your way through your assignments and their ancillary materials to center them around the core skills/goals and make sure your grading matches your teaching.

This doesn't take much time and can end up SAVING you time when it comes to grading, teaching, and office hours/student emails.

Vote now for the Adobe in Higher Education idea YOU most enjoy!

Readers,

Greetings everyone!

Here are the entries for the "Great Ideas for Teaching With Adobe Products" Contest! Vote for the BEST IDEA via the Google Form listed at the end of this blog post.

Thanks for your support! :)


The contest ends on March 4, 2012! Please type any questions in the comment section below.


Drs. Edwards and Helvie-Mason

SUBMISSION A - Surreal Animation

Idea Category: Classroom Ideas (Face-to-Face or Hybrid)

Adobe Product: Photoshop

How the Adobe Product Was Used: Students create the animation in Photoshop and then export the video to be edited in either MovieMaker or Premiere Elements.

Idea Description: Students collaborate in pairs to create an animated dream-like surreal animated collage using Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft MovieMaker or Adobe Premiere Elements. Students will compare and contrast the concepts of dream-time or the subconscious in work created by Aboriginals and the 

Surrealist movement with an emphasis on Salvador Dali and Frida Khalo. 

View examples here: http://vimeo.com/17954450

SUBMISSION B - Smart Boards And Adobe Connect

Idea Category: Online Instruction/E-Training

Adobe Product: Adobe Connect

How the Adobe Product Was Used: We use adobe connect for education,  for IT remote help, and inter-departmental online meetings

Idea Description: Adobe Connect is a powerfull virtual classroom application which is very suitable for distance learning university programmes. But  in math involved lectures it should be improved that the whiteboard pod can  recognize the math writings turns them into regular math equations and formulas which is input via a smart board. Also the chatpod should be improved for written math conversation between students and the lecturer. For example when i write a latex code between a tag it should render the formula and shows the actual equation.  This should be improved because smart boards are not so smart to recognize the handwritten formulas.

SUBMISSION C - Mobile Game Design Using Flash and Photoshop

Idea Category: Classroom Ideas (Face-to-Face or Hybrid)

Adobe Product: Photoshop, Flash

How the Adobe Product Was Used: 

We use Photoshop to create the graphics that we use inside Flash.  We especially use it for creating seamlessly tiling textures for use in a blitting tile based game engine.  We create sprite graphics that we can use for our character and projectile animation needs.  We use the tools in Photoshop to understand how both additive and subtractive color theory works and pixel density affects the clarity  and sharpness of images and graphics used for projected display and print media.

We use Flash to understand animation, from keyframes to tweening, timing and secondary motion.  We come to grips with the advantages of vector graphics and the drawbacks in terms of performance.  We explore the use of Action Script 3 extensively for use in animation, interaction and game design.  We finish by publishing our files for use on the web, stand alone PC through AIR and for mobile devices through Android and iOS releases.

Idea Description: I currently teach a class in Game Design.  I use Photoshop and Flash almost exclusively to bring the concepts taught in the class to life.

We first take a crash course in Photoshop, learning how the program's tools and functionality work to understand color theory, image resolution and raster graphics.  We create projects that are directly applicable to our game development by learning how to make seemlessly tiling textures, using layers to seperate out parts of a character for use in animation and building graphical user interfaces and heads up displays from scratch.

Afterwards we delve into the world of Flash where we explore all the options and tools that it presents to understand how framerate can affect animation.  We discuss using keyframes to build animations and using tweens to move from keyframe to keyframe.  We explore the differences between vector and raster(bitmap) graphics, the advantages and disadvantages of each as it pertains to game development(especially for mobile devices).  We discover the display list and how we can use it for different effects. We import graphics from Photoshop and become aware how easily we can update our movie clips, character animations and textures while moving from one program to the other.

Once we have become familiar with the graphic and animation capabilities of Flash we then dive into Action Script 3.  We use this as a base to begin learning object oriented programming.  We begin by studying the fundamentals of variables and functions and continue on towards building custom classes and interfaces that allow us an amazing level of interaction and complexity between our existing graphics and user input, be it through keyboard, mouse or touchscreen.  Flash using Action Script enables us to consider new ways to bring ideas to life, where Adobe has opened every creative avenue and inroad is an opportunity for a budding game designer to express themselves in an ever expanding marketplace of potential.  

Our final project is to take the Flash projects we have worked on and publish them for use on both Android and iOS devices.  The ease with which we are able to do this through Flash has really motivated my students' desire to learn how to develop games using the Adobe products.  The time is ripe to take advantage of such a rich feature set to not just build our dreams into reality, but to carve out careers and a deeper appreciation for the world we live in.

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

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