With summer break just around the corner, now is the perfect time to take a step back, evaluate your year of online teaching, and prepare for the year ahead. Try these tips to organize your files and start next year with a bang.
Assess what worked in your virtual classroom.
Reflect on what worked well and what didn’t. Maybe an application you were using for your classroom wasn’t ideal. Perhaps a worksheet you assigned didn’t translate well to a virtual or blended learning environment.
Take a mental inventory and jot down some ideas about what you would like to change, which will help you move forward with organizing, planning, and deleting content and files.
Focus on one task at a time.
Cleaning up every file at once can feel overwhelming. Instead, break this task into smaller, more manageable steps. Systematically review files in various locations on your device and learning management system.
Move disposable files into the Recycle Bin. Reflect on the mental inventory you took so that you can delete files or apps with confidence. Continue this process in chunks until you are satisfied.
Organize what is there.
After a thorough cleaning, move on to organizing the files and apps that remain. Files you use most often should be the most accessible, so place them on your desktop or in another shortcut location.
Create folders that work with your own personal organization system. For example, you may choose to organize your files by class or by the date they were assigned to students.
Rename confusing files and folders.
Some files may have a nomenclature that made sense to you six months ago but no longer applies. Update any ambiguous file names to more specific and recognizable ones.
Think about your own personal organization system as you determine nomenclatures.
Save student work.
It can be beneficial to save all student work in one folder once the school year is over. The students’ work will still be saved if you need to reference it moving forward, but you will have a clear space for the next school year.
Do any of these tips resonate with you? Share your virtual organization hacks in the comments section below.
Danyelle Roadman is an art teacher at Lincoln Learning Solutions and has been teaching art online for the past five years. She has also assisted in the development of Lincoln Learning Solutions’ art courses. In her spare time, Danyelle enjoys traveling, writing, reading, and creating her own artwork.