Watch Your Drive - Getting Your Digital Life Together

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With school in flux for the fall semester, it’s vital to prepare for whatever schedule students are hit with, whether that is distance, hybrid, or in-person learning. Since the format of the 2020-2021 academic year is likely to change as we go, setting up systems for hybrid learning prepares students for all school models. Tidying up one’s digital life prior to Day 1 limits frustration and maximizes efficiency in the upcoming year.

 

  1. Clean up your Google Drive. Create a folder for this school year, ex ‘Freshman Year.’ Then, create sub-folders for each of your classes: ‘Algebra 2,’ ‘English 9,’ etc. Create folders with this naming system for all previous years as well. If you are lazy and/or just want to get back in the pool, create a file called ‘Old Stuff’ and move everything from previous years into it. You now have two folders: ‘Old Stuff’ and ‘[Your Current] Year.’

  2. Fix up your email. Make sure your inbox isn’t inundated with Pinterest articles and Urban Outfitter sales. Go through all the services you don’t use and click ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of the page. This will limit junk and allow you easy access to important emails. Also, is your email accessible on your phone? If not, add it. So many of my students miss important deadlines and communication because they don’t check their emails on their computers often enough. Most schools are Google based so they can be added to iPhones: Settings - Passwords & Accounts - Add Account.

  3. Set up a binder as if you were in regular school. Refer to Blog Post: Organize for the Fall Semester. Still use a planner, even though you might be working from home. Write all assignments, tests, and scheduled meetings in your planner.

  4. Make sure your devices are in check. Is your laptop camera working? Do you receive texts through iMessage on your Macbook? Are your parents' phone calls ringing through your shared iCloud? Fix these problems before school starts. 

  5. Learn how to function digitally. Pictures can be scanned and turned into PDFs with an awesome iPhone app called GeniusScan+. It’s $8, but the best app I ‘ve ever bought. If you take pictures of work and text photos to yourself on your computer, you can easily create a single PDF. Selecting the files in the order you want from your desktop. Double click on the selection and click ‘Quick Actions’ followed by ‘Merge PDF.’ Please do not send your teachers random photos of your work as it is hard to find and harder to grade. iPads with the Notability app and an Apple pencil are also incredibly helpful. Students can quickly download a worksheet, fill it out, and send it back since Notability and Google are integrated platforms. Most teachers seem to be comfortable with this technology during distance learning, but many resist its implementation in the classroom. The basic iPad model will do, no need to purchase an iPad Pro unless you want other features as well.

 Best wishes for a successful fall semester!