Time Management
I find that my students have a huge issue with time management and creating a school/personal life balance. They often ask for extension because they cannot turn assignments in on time. I have created a calendar for my students that tends to help them tremendously. What have you done for your students that has been beneficial?
I have encountered the same issues, where many students tend to either procrastinate or have a hard time setting up time for studying. specifically for the group project, I have created a calendar on the type of goals that needs to be achieved every week in order to reach the end of the class without having to rush in completing the assignment. While I provide guidelines and direction, I let the team organize their own work toward the weekly goal achievement.
Robert,
That is true. I began creating calendars through Outlook so I could push it to students' phones. It seems to work better.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Letrice,
I do the same, I create a calendar that can be pushed into their phone. I try to teach them to use Outlook or Google as a way to manage their life. I actually have a tutorial that talks about time management and the use of calendaring. I agree, they seem to use it and it is a skill they can use later.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I never thought about putting together a calendar that can be pushed to student's phones. That's a great idea! I've always done it in a very old fashioned way--in Word or Excel.
I always tell students to give themselves a good cushion of time when they schedule their schoolwork as well. If they think an assignment will take one hour, they should probably schedule in ninety minutes. That way, if there are any technology issues that delay getting the assignment done--or if the assignment simply takes longer than expected--they can still get it done in the block of time set aside. I know that when I don't finish something in the time I've allotted, I get frustrated and I start rushing. I don't want my students to feel that way. And if the assignment ends up going faster than expected or no technology issues arise, then they have some free time to relax.
Jennifer,
You could start with planning a week for them then "wean" them off of your calendar and on their own. They really don't know how to manage their time or calendar. This is a skill they can put on a resume!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Time management seems to be a major issue for a number of reasons. They have a perception that online learning is easy and does not require as much work as campus based education. Because they do not have scheduled class time, they tend to leave their work until the last minute and then post just before the deadline. Finally, they know very little about stimulus control. The same computer that is used for online learning is also used for social networking and other recreational activities. Thus when they sit down at the computer, there is nothing to trigger their online learning.
DAVID,
You are right about time management. Who told them online was easier? You make such a great point about stimulus control. I have problems with that myself when I am online.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I agree with your calendar idea, and I do that for my students too. The students felt overwhelmed by looking at the calendar so I went back and on the entries on the calendar I listed the approximate times that the task may take to complete. By including the times a student could then look at the list of tasks and if they only had a few minutes they could find a task that they could complete in the time allowed. That way the student feels a sense of completion and accomplishes something at the same time.
Patricia,
That is a great way to help students "ease" into the calendar. I think I may borrow that one. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I use Excel to help manage my courses, grading and meetings.
Lisa,
Do you keep your students' grades in your LMS? Does it download in to Excel?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I provide them with a real world expectation of what their employer would expect in regards to their field. I also provide them with reminders and give them their consequences up front. I let them know that it is their choice as to whether they meet the deadlines, but also expect to accept the consequence of their choice if they choose not to submit their work on time.
