I am highly qualified… at slack. What is slack you ask? Simple, it is the art of non-work, a life style of chill, and a quantum-like state of existence and absence perpetuated behind a veil of flux. In other words…slack. I have over the years perfected the art of slack; by claiming, no! Justifying its existence with a degree of verbal defensiveness: e.g. multi-tasking, high standards, perfectionism; and YES even casual assertiveness! But what it really comes down to is… procrastination; that vile multi-headed hydra that rears its horned head and spews smoke into the face of clarity and preparation. Alas, I have found a simple cure… technology. The computer will save me… sort of… stay with me as I explain how:
1. GMobileSync: Sync Google Calendar with a Windows Mobile device, you can use this with almost any Smartphone (Shadow, Blackberry, Touch) this lets you exchange info with your Google account. I’m still experimenting with this feature, other programs include: Schedule World
2. Calendar Sharing- View calendars that others have shared with you, and let your friends and family see your agenda. I have synced my Google Calendar with my Google Site and post my daily assignments for all students to access.
3. All assignments, work, reference materials, and curriculum information is kept on my Google Site: http://sites.google.com/site/maxwillssite/ I have my students access this material weekly and remind them that this is a good starting point for further research. If a student is absent I politely ask them to check the calendar and site for needed work. And it’s as good as a flash-drive for saving stuff.
Did this infusion of technology save me from the dreamy shadow of slack? In short no… I fear that I will always be a late bloomerJ but it sure is forcing me to be a lot more organized.
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2 comments:
Will,
I applaud your talent and wish I could compete, but it sounds like what I do may be better described as "slovenly" as opposed to the cooler and more respectable "slacking". Maybe I will learn something from you!
Anyway, the links you shared are awesome. My wife is an avid user of Google calendar and has become obsessed with http://jott.com/default.aspx to schedule. It is pretty cool. You can call a number and use voice commands to schedule on your calendar. This might be a hook for high school students to use an inline calendar and cell phone together.
Keep us updated on your goal to become more organized and the tools that help that happen. If I don't become more organized myself I will at least get to enjoy your brilliant writing style.
JM
I would hardly call what you've put together so far "slacking", Max. You've put together some awesome resources. I love what you wrote about Michael Wigglesworth (was that really his name?). I would love to take your class covering pre-colonial writers.
I think if your pre-colonial writers had blogs the southern ones would be more interesting thant the northern ones -especially Robert Beverly.
One resource that caught my eye was your piece on writing a biography. I hadn't really thought much about it but I wanted to have my students interview someone and write about them. What I found on your website was great. The suggestions, especially including "What makes a person special or interesting?" and "Would the world be better or worse if this person hadn't lived? How and why?", really provide for some high levels of thinking in Bloomian taxonomy. Great Job!
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