"Time keeps on slippin', slippin',slippin' into the future."
- lyrics from "Fly Like and Eagle," Steve Miller Band
Sometimes, I think the members of the Steve Miller Band must have been teachers, because our schedules often feel just like that. As the pressures of the day go on, it can often become very easy to shortcut processes and projects; trying to fit it all in to our schedule. Even when it feels like an overload, it is all just a matter of time management.
In Globaloria, the Course Schedule is a great tool for planning ahead and it is easier than a standard lesson plan. Using this tool can help a teacher and their class feel more organized and secure in their delivery. For new teachers especially, this is a tool that can help a lot of the tension and insecurities in tackling new things like Flash and ActionScript. It allows us to plan ahead and take comfortable "bites" of material while still making forward progress. Just take a look at Heather's , Aaron's, and MCTC's schedules for different examples of how they can be used.
A second tool that can assist in time management is the Learning Log. This tool lets students and teachers reflect on successes and struggles. As a teacher, seeing what topics have stalled your class for an extra hour or day can help you adjust the future and make it easier for all parties involved. It can even help you to see what skills the students are mastering faster to alleviate extra time on redundant lessons.
In your experience with the program, have you discovered any special tips for time management in Globaloria? Please share your insights with the community!
-Bill
3 comments:
Thank you so much for the mention! I certainly have learned a lot from the experience. I think this is very true. And it’s something that you have to remind yourself sometimes. Thanks for the advice.
Distance learning university
Bill; I have found the Learning Log as my means of "keeping me honest". I have tried to make a habit of adding to it as much as possible to help me not only keep track of what I have been doing, but to also use as a means of documenting when I review student blogs and wikis. Globaloria folks like to keep these logs short and sweet but I like to use the log as a journal and time keeper...It is a great habit to get into.
...and another thing...as part of my "previous life" I had to document every aspect of my work duties in case I had to present evidence to a client or to lawyers (yuk). The learning log is sort of a "permanently bound" evidence log that keeps my memory for me...kinda like a cya activity...
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