Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Digital Professor Series: Part 2-Digital Grading
So amongst all the components of my digital conversion project, I'm going to describe my move towards digital grading. Not that these are in any particular order of importance, just this is what I've been working on for the past 2 days. First of all, why? I don't want to do something digitally just because it can be done, but because there is some kind of benefit, either in productivity or pedagogically. Here are the reasons I came up with:
1. As higher education moves toward more online and distance learning (in the case of my institution they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming), there will naturally be less paper passed back and forth between students and professors.
2. Grading lab reports is already the bane of my teaching existence. Just looking at the physical stack of 20-24 lab reports is daunting. Digitally, they don't take up a whole lot of space. Also, by having students turn them in digitally,it means they will probably come into my inbox over a 24-48 hour period rather than in pile at the beginning of a lab period. Maybe, just maybe I might even start grading them as they come in.
3. I can get them back to students via email within seconds of grading them rather than having them wait until the next lab period. So, theoretically, students could get feedback before turning in their next lab report.
4. Less paper. I really could care less about helping the environment. Most trees in the US are grown for the specific purpose of turning them into paper. While they are growing we get the added benefit of them participating in the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle. However, I do think it's silly to waste resources.
5. I won't have to put up with students asking if they can borrow my stapler. Get your own stupid stapler!! The sell them at Walmart. Asking me if you can borrow a stapler right before you turn your report in tells me you just printed it 5 minutes ago in the library. Digital documents don't need to be stapled.
6. I don't have to think about taking stacks of papers to grade. If I'm at home in the evening and want to grade 1 or 2 while on my iPad I can. There isn't as high of a barrier to grading.
7. Documents transferred digitally have time stamps and leave trails. They don't get lost, eaten by pets, and there is no question as to when it was received.
So, now that I've convinced myself and you that this is something worthwhile, how will I do it? Remembering my guiding principles, it can't be clunky, can't rely on the student to have achieved Power User computer status, or take too much extra effort.
Here's the workflow I've developed:
1. The student gets me the document digitally in whatever native format they produced it in. This likely is a Word document, but it could also be a Pages, RTF, or a PDF. This will probably occur via email, but there are a number of ways to get the bits to me. That really doesn't matter.
Aside: "why don't you just use the track changes tool that is built into Microsoft Word?"
I'm glad you asked. I don't use MS Word as my primary word processor. Choosing this tool would mean that my students would HAVE to use a particular platform to complete their work. This goes against one of my guiding principles. Secondly, Track Changes behaves unpredictably if you are mixing different versions of Word, and thirdly, most students don't even know this feature exists. Fourthly, I can't draw big happy faces with my finger using Track Changes like I can when annotating a PDF.
2. The document gets converted to a PDF if it isn't already. This is super easy on the Mac as this functionality is built right in. I've even built a simple Automator action that will convert the file and dump it into a specified folder with a single click from my email inbox.
3. Our lab reports make use of a rubric that is shared among all the instructors in our department. It's a simple spreadsheet. Before, I'd have to Xerox at least 25 copies for each lab section. I'd fill the rubric out and staple a copy to the report along with any comments written on the report itself. Well, I just used Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF form of this rubric with drop down menus for each scoring section. This way, instead of typing the actual number in a text box, I can quickly have a score inserted for each section. I created a simple script in Acrobat to append this rubric form as the first page of the student's lab report PDF that was created in step 2. As part of this script, any PDFs in this folder get updated at one time. I don't have to do this individually for each report. This file is dumped automatically into a specific folder in my Dropbox. No manual syncing or thinking. It just works!
4. This new combined PDF has a "!-" appended to the filename to indicate that it needs grading.
5. To actually grade the report, I can open it on my iPad using a program called PDFExpert. I prefer GoodReader, but it can't do forms. I can fill in the rubric, annotate the report itself with comments, underlines, strikethroughs, etc. I can do the same thing on the Mac with Preview.
6. Once I'm done, I save a copy of the file replacing the "!-" with "$-" to indicate it's done. From both PDFExpert and Preview, I can have it emailed to the student with 2 clicks.
7. The student can view the report and all the annotations with any ubiquitous PDF reader. All the campus computers have this capability, it's built in to all Macs, and if by chance doesn't have Adobe Reader installed, it's a quick free download and trouble free installation. It doesn't matter what operating system they are using. It just works!
8. The last thing I do is save a locked or "flattened" copy of the PDF on my system. This becomes the canonical copy in case there is any question as to the content of the graded paper. I wrestled with the idea of sending this un-editable version to the student rather than the editable one. It turns out that sometimes, depending on what software is used, some of the comments get lost and are not visible to the student. Again, I don't want to have to think or be constrained to a particular software workflow to make sure the student receives all the feedback they need. A student just has to realize that even though they can change their score on the form from a 24 to a 40, if it doesn't match what my canonical copy says, it doesn't mean anything.
My initial plan is to test drive this one the first lab report of the semester. If things go well, I'll do it for all the formal reports. As for the worksheet labs, my hope is to use our copy machine to scan the reports to PDF en masse and do a similar thing, but we'll have to see about that.
1. As higher education moves toward more online and distance learning (in the case of my institution they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming), there will naturally be less paper passed back and forth between students and professors.
2. Grading lab reports is already the bane of my teaching existence. Just looking at the physical stack of 20-24 lab reports is daunting. Digitally, they don't take up a whole lot of space. Also, by having students turn them in digitally,it means they will probably come into my inbox over a 24-48 hour period rather than in pile at the beginning of a lab period. Maybe, just maybe I might even start grading them as they come in.
3. I can get them back to students via email within seconds of grading them rather than having them wait until the next lab period. So, theoretically, students could get feedback before turning in their next lab report.
4. Less paper. I really could care less about helping the environment. Most trees in the US are grown for the specific purpose of turning them into paper. While they are growing we get the added benefit of them participating in the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle. However, I do think it's silly to waste resources.
5. I won't have to put up with students asking if they can borrow my stapler. Get your own stupid stapler!! The sell them at Walmart. Asking me if you can borrow a stapler right before you turn your report in tells me you just printed it 5 minutes ago in the library. Digital documents don't need to be stapled.
6. I don't have to think about taking stacks of papers to grade. If I'm at home in the evening and want to grade 1 or 2 while on my iPad I can. There isn't as high of a barrier to grading.
7. Documents transferred digitally have time stamps and leave trails. They don't get lost, eaten by pets, and there is no question as to when it was received.
So, now that I've convinced myself and you that this is something worthwhile, how will I do it? Remembering my guiding principles, it can't be clunky, can't rely on the student to have achieved Power User computer status, or take too much extra effort.
Here's the workflow I've developed:
1. The student gets me the document digitally in whatever native format they produced it in. This likely is a Word document, but it could also be a Pages, RTF, or a PDF. This will probably occur via email, but there are a number of ways to get the bits to me. That really doesn't matter.
Aside: "why don't you just use the track changes tool that is built into Microsoft Word?"
I'm glad you asked. I don't use MS Word as my primary word processor. Choosing this tool would mean that my students would HAVE to use a particular platform to complete their work. This goes against one of my guiding principles. Secondly, Track Changes behaves unpredictably if you are mixing different versions of Word, and thirdly, most students don't even know this feature exists. Fourthly, I can't draw big happy faces with my finger using Track Changes like I can when annotating a PDF.
2. The document gets converted to a PDF if it isn't already. This is super easy on the Mac as this functionality is built right in. I've even built a simple Automator action that will convert the file and dump it into a specified folder with a single click from my email inbox.
3. Our lab reports make use of a rubric that is shared among all the instructors in our department. It's a simple spreadsheet. Before, I'd have to Xerox at least 25 copies for each lab section. I'd fill the rubric out and staple a copy to the report along with any comments written on the report itself. Well, I just used Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF form of this rubric with drop down menus for each scoring section. This way, instead of typing the actual number in a text box, I can quickly have a score inserted for each section. I created a simple script in Acrobat to append this rubric form as the first page of the student's lab report PDF that was created in step 2. As part of this script, any PDFs in this folder get updated at one time. I don't have to do this individually for each report. This file is dumped automatically into a specific folder in my Dropbox. No manual syncing or thinking. It just works!
4. This new combined PDF has a "!-" appended to the filename to indicate that it needs grading.
5. To actually grade the report, I can open it on my iPad using a program called PDFExpert. I prefer GoodReader, but it can't do forms. I can fill in the rubric, annotate the report itself with comments, underlines, strikethroughs, etc. I can do the same thing on the Mac with Preview.
6. Once I'm done, I save a copy of the file replacing the "!-" with "$-" to indicate it's done. From both PDFExpert and Preview, I can have it emailed to the student with 2 clicks.
7. The student can view the report and all the annotations with any ubiquitous PDF reader. All the campus computers have this capability, it's built in to all Macs, and if by chance doesn't have Adobe Reader installed, it's a quick free download and trouble free installation. It doesn't matter what operating system they are using. It just works!
8. The last thing I do is save a locked or "flattened" copy of the PDF on my system. This becomes the canonical copy in case there is any question as to the content of the graded paper. I wrestled with the idea of sending this un-editable version to the student rather than the editable one. It turns out that sometimes, depending on what software is used, some of the comments get lost and are not visible to the student. Again, I don't want to have to think or be constrained to a particular software workflow to make sure the student receives all the feedback they need. A student just has to realize that even though they can change their score on the form from a 24 to a 40, if it doesn't match what my canonical copy says, it doesn't mean anything.
My initial plan is to test drive this one the first lab report of the semester. If things go well, I'll do it for all the formal reports. As for the worksheet labs, my hope is to use our copy machine to scan the reports to PDF en masse and do a similar thing, but we'll have to see about that.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Digital Professor Series: Part 1-Guiding Principles
For the longest time I've wanted to put down in writing and chronicle my journey toward a more efficient, productive, and stress/free life. A lot of this centers on my adoption of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology developed by David Allan. It's not an overnight conversion. There is no magic system, tool, or piece of software that if duplicated and followed to the letter will produce mystical feats of productivity. On the contrary, my system has been slowing changing, stalling, restarting, and evolving some more over the past year or so.
Guiding principles:
1. The system has to be simple. If it's too clunky I won't use it.
2. It has to be modeled after how I generally work already. My workflows have generally come about without much thought. Over the past 6 years, stuff comes in and I need to do something with it. A lot of my tasks and projects fall into general categories and often repeat over time. I have lectures to prepare, stuff to grade, funds and resources to procure and manage, meetings to attend which produce tasks, etc. Since I've generally kept up with this stuff using the systems I've thrown together on the fly, why reinvent the wheel when I can simply refine it.
3. Use as few software programs as needed, but don't force myself to use aspects of a program if they don't work for me. For example, I could probable stuff most of my GTD system into Yojimbo, but I don't think that works best for everything.
4. The system has to work seamlessly and flawlessly across my digital universe. Whether I'm at work, home, or on a mobile device, I have to be able to get my stuff, and it has to stay in sync.
5. My system can't go down. Will a corrupt database file, a dead hard drive, or prolonged Internet outage throw me into a tailspin?
6. Does my system promote endless tinkering, or will it just exist in the background so I can get things done. Many bloggers and sites seem to focus all of their time on the next great piece of software that will change your life. You can spend hours browsing, downloading, and playing with program upon program, while forgetting about the work your supposed to be doing. People have coined a term called "productivity porn" to describe this unhealthy and unproductive behavior. I just want the system to work.
Guiding principles:
1. The system has to be simple. If it's too clunky I won't use it.
2. It has to be modeled after how I generally work already. My workflows have generally come about without much thought. Over the past 6 years, stuff comes in and I need to do something with it. A lot of my tasks and projects fall into general categories and often repeat over time. I have lectures to prepare, stuff to grade, funds and resources to procure and manage, meetings to attend which produce tasks, etc. Since I've generally kept up with this stuff using the systems I've thrown together on the fly, why reinvent the wheel when I can simply refine it.
3. Use as few software programs as needed, but don't force myself to use aspects of a program if they don't work for me. For example, I could probable stuff most of my GTD system into Yojimbo, but I don't think that works best for everything.
4. The system has to work seamlessly and flawlessly across my digital universe. Whether I'm at work, home, or on a mobile device, I have to be able to get my stuff, and it has to stay in sync.
5. My system can't go down. Will a corrupt database file, a dead hard drive, or prolonged Internet outage throw me into a tailspin?
6. Does my system promote endless tinkering, or will it just exist in the background so I can get things done. Many bloggers and sites seem to focus all of their time on the next great piece of software that will change your life. You can spend hours browsing, downloading, and playing with program upon program, while forgetting about the work your supposed to be doing. People have coined a term called "productivity porn" to describe this unhealthy and unproductive behavior. I just want the system to work.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
iPad is here
I'm posting this blog from my new iPad 2. Very cool. Now that summer is underway and I can actually think a little bit, I'm going to be starting one of my big summer projects. As I move to my "less paper" office (not quite paperless), I'll be posting a series of blogs called "the digital professor" which will talk about my conversion. I'll be discussing the apps I use, how it fits into my GTD workflow (Getting Things Done), and how I just "let go" of stuff I don't need. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
One page filled
I just took a few minutes to do a simple ritual that I began when I started my academic career. Although it only takes a few minutes, I have come to really enjoy and appreciate it. I write down the names of the graduating seniors on one of the front pages of the Bible I keep on my desk at work. I can’t believe that after only 6 years at Saint Vincent and 1 year at Central Michigan University, I’ve already filled the first page. I am humbled every time I think about the trust that God has in me to place me here to teach these wonderful students. I have to remember that my ministry to them extends beyond teaching them about molecular orbital theory and chemical synthesis. I’ve known these students for 4 years. That’s four years of them watching me as I conduct myself int he classroom, in the lab, and how I interact with my family when they come up. Although I don’t do it as often as I should, I do read over the names and pray for each one of them by name. Many of them I’ll stay in contact with through email or through Facebook. I won’t see some of them ever again. Anyway, it was a nice break in the midst of grading. Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Why I'm Skeptical of Our Institution's New Website
So, I attended a meeting today for faculty that were interested in blogging for our college's new website that is going live next month. Initially I was interested as it might encourage me to blog more often (you can see from my personal blog here that I don't update it very much). However, after attending this meeting and learning more about where our admissions office is trying to take the website, I must say that I'm much more skeptical. Although I think those spearheading the effort have the best of intentions, I think they are missing the point. People read specific blogs because they...
18 year old teenagers (or their parents that will be most influential in their college choice) have absolutely no interest in reading the rantings of philosophy professors discussing the theological implications of Kant's favorite type of tea, liberal history professors blaming George W. Bush for absolutely everything, or lunatic chemistry professors talking about why the Mac is superior to the PC (it is by the way). Potential students are not going to base their decision on where to attend college on how spiffy the website is. They don't care about our mission statement, they don't care that we have a very nice coverlet gallery, and they don't want to read letters of welcome from our administration. They come to the website to see if we offer a particular major, find out how much it costs to go here (that in itself is very complicated as nobody pays sticker price anyway), and maybe apply online or download an application. There was an interesting article on INSIDE HIGHER ED on why college websites suck. You can find it here. I also found this interesting venn diagram from cartoonist Randall Munroe that explains it very simply.
I don't mean to be such a downer on this. I really want to support my institution, but I have a feeling that it is going to be a dismal failure. One thing that was brought up by faculty present in the meeting today was concerning WHO would be the judge of whether something was appropriate or inappropriate. Our institution is not known for embracing controversy or drawing attention to itself. I said that the first time a blog entry gets yanked from the website because it is a bit controversial, this whole thing is over. No faculty member is going to want to have his or her work approved and sanitized before being published. I haven't even mentioned that most faculty members barely have time as it is to attend meetings, advise students, do research, and whoops, almost forgot, actually teach and interact with our students.
"Well Dr. Vohs, since you seem to have all the answers, what would YOU suggest we do with the website?" Well, I'm glad you asked.
- are familiar with the author's work (either books or newspaper columns) and want to read more content from them that is updated more frequently.
- read other blogs on related topics and those blogs reference and link to other blogs the reader finds interesting. This process continues until the reader realizes he or she is now following something like 5324 blogs like my wife.
- stumble upon a specific entry after doing a Google search on a specific topic. This often happens to me when I'm researching a particular piece of software I'm considering. I'll find a blog post that describes the author's experience with the software. I'll read it and move on, never to read that blog again.
- are related to the blogger and read their posts out of pity or obligation (Hi Honey!)
18 year old teenagers (or their parents that will be most influential in their college choice) have absolutely no interest in reading the rantings of philosophy professors discussing the theological implications of Kant's favorite type of tea, liberal history professors blaming George W. Bush for absolutely everything, or lunatic chemistry professors talking about why the Mac is superior to the PC (it is by the way). Potential students are not going to base their decision on where to attend college on how spiffy the website is. They don't care about our mission statement, they don't care that we have a very nice coverlet gallery, and they don't want to read letters of welcome from our administration. They come to the website to see if we offer a particular major, find out how much it costs to go here (that in itself is very complicated as nobody pays sticker price anyway), and maybe apply online or download an application. There was an interesting article on INSIDE HIGHER ED on why college websites suck. You can find it here. I also found this interesting venn diagram from cartoonist Randall Munroe that explains it very simply.
I don't mean to be such a downer on this. I really want to support my institution, but I have a feeling that it is going to be a dismal failure. One thing that was brought up by faculty present in the meeting today was concerning WHO would be the judge of whether something was appropriate or inappropriate. Our institution is not known for embracing controversy or drawing attention to itself. I said that the first time a blog entry gets yanked from the website because it is a bit controversial, this whole thing is over. No faculty member is going to want to have his or her work approved and sanitized before being published. I haven't even mentioned that most faculty members barely have time as it is to attend meetings, advise students, do research, and whoops, almost forgot, actually teach and interact with our students.
"Well Dr. Vohs, since you seem to have all the answers, what would YOU suggest we do with the website?" Well, I'm glad you asked.
- Simply the website. If people can't find out the information they need, they'll look elsewhere. Forget all the marketing stuff, forget all the buzzwords, just give visitors what they need.
- Forget the blogs. There is more value in faculty having their own hosted blogs, free from outside influence where they can speak their minds on topics that interest them. Faculty members will develop their own brands and followings, and people will know that they are faculty members at our institution. This enhances the institution's reputation.
- Focus on what we do best. We have a great institution with great faculty. Support us in our mission to be great teachers and scholars and our reputation will speak for itself. No social media gurus or consultants needed.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Guy Bourque
Yesterday I learned that a young man who I taught in Sunday School for a few years lost his battle with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes the build up of mucus in the lungs and digestive tract. People with CF also have a form of diabetes that makes it hard to put on and maintain body weight. Even after getting to know Guy, you’d never know there was anything wrong with him. People living with CF, for which there is no cure, must endure a crazy regimen of medications and respiratory therapies. Guy also had to use a special vibrating vest a couple of times a day to break up mucus in his lungs. He NEVER complained, whined, or moaned about his condition. He used his condition as a type of personal ministry to others. He never blamed God for his lot in life. When we first moved to our church in Latrobe, we took on the Singles/College ministry. Guy and his sister Raych were among the first in our class. He seemed really excited about having our class every week, and he was at just about every activity we did. If I was having one of those grump sunday mornings where we had had a rough time getting the family out the door for church, Guy was always there to great us, wearing his cowboy hat of course. He also always had a really corny joke to tell to put me in a better mood.
There are many adjectives that could be used to describe Guy. Although the world would probably use some rather unkind and unflattering ones, I would have to say that Guy was the most kind-hearted and genuine young man anyone would have the pleasure of knowing. Guy was not a smooth operator or a ladies’ man and had what I would describe as an unhealthy obsession with Indiana Jones; however, he had a heart of gold and never said an unkind word to anyone. He was a hard worker. Everything he did, he did “as unto the Lord.” Whether it was singing in church, working at Walmart, or participating in the Civil Air Patrol he did it with gusto. I never heard him complain about his job either. During the last couple of years, he started having more frequent stays in the hospital. A simple cold or respiratory infection would send him to the hospital for a week or more. He’d be hooked up to numerous IVs and be stuck in bed, but when I’d call him on the phone to see how he was doing, he never complained. He would point me to a Youtube video he just uploaded, a bible passage he had read that day, or tell me how he was flirting with the nurses, but never say how miserable he must have been feeling.
When we decided to leave that church about a year ago, leaving that class and Guy was probably the hardest part. We kept in touch on Facebook for a while, but he dropped off in the past couple of months. I know he had some personal battles recently among all of his health issues. We got the call that he was in the hospital a couple of days ago. His sister did not seem optimistic. When I heard about his passing, my heart sank. Those of us who knew him will miss him. As I laid in bed last night, tears came to my eyes as I thought about not ever seeing him again. But then I smiled. I was thinking about the one-man Gospel music festival Guy would be putting on in heaven. He had his guitar, his harmonica, and would be singing in perfect tune. Not sure if he would have the cowboy hat though. Maybe a white one? Guy would have no more IVs, no more hospital stays, no more pain. However, he would be able to sing and play for his Savior for eternity. We’ll miss you Guy.
There are many adjectives that could be used to describe Guy. Although the world would probably use some rather unkind and unflattering ones, I would have to say that Guy was the most kind-hearted and genuine young man anyone would have the pleasure of knowing. Guy was not a smooth operator or a ladies’ man and had what I would describe as an unhealthy obsession with Indiana Jones; however, he had a heart of gold and never said an unkind word to anyone. He was a hard worker. Everything he did, he did “as unto the Lord.” Whether it was singing in church, working at Walmart, or participating in the Civil Air Patrol he did it with gusto. I never heard him complain about his job either. During the last couple of years, he started having more frequent stays in the hospital. A simple cold or respiratory infection would send him to the hospital for a week or more. He’d be hooked up to numerous IVs and be stuck in bed, but when I’d call him on the phone to see how he was doing, he never complained. He would point me to a Youtube video he just uploaded, a bible passage he had read that day, or tell me how he was flirting with the nurses, but never say how miserable he must have been feeling.
When we decided to leave that church about a year ago, leaving that class and Guy was probably the hardest part. We kept in touch on Facebook for a while, but he dropped off in the past couple of months. I know he had some personal battles recently among all of his health issues. We got the call that he was in the hospital a couple of days ago. His sister did not seem optimistic. When I heard about his passing, my heart sank. Those of us who knew him will miss him. As I laid in bed last night, tears came to my eyes as I thought about not ever seeing him again. But then I smiled. I was thinking about the one-man Gospel music festival Guy would be putting on in heaven. He had his guitar, his harmonica, and would be singing in perfect tune. Not sure if he would have the cowboy hat though. Maybe a white one? Guy would have no more IVs, no more hospital stays, no more pain. However, he would be able to sing and play for his Savior for eternity. We’ll miss you Guy.
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