For a long time, I had heard about the application TextExpander. For a long time I had not found a use for it – and then I found myself teaching three courses in a semester. I found myself typing in the same things over and over. At first, it was my Zoom room URL, then it was certain aspects of feedback.
Last semester, I pulled out TextExpander. Anytime I found myself writing the same thing over and over .. thinks like:
Great job!
Comments in the attached.
Cheers,
Rebecca
or
Please note that you do not need to take any of my feedback. My feedback are my thoughts when I review your project.
Note that this does not replace the individual feedback I’m giving students, it just saves me time when I’m entering the results into the Learning Management System.
Now for the marking part. This semester, I invested in a new iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil. I can now download all the assignments to my iPad, and using the app iAnnotate, which connects directly with OneDrive (which is what our university uses), I can read and provide feedback on assignments directly from my iPad. I can use Voice-to-text to write text notes, and I can use the pencil to handwrite notes.
Using my iPad to mark assignments means I don’t need to be sitting in front of my computer to mark. I can lounge on the couch with a cup of coffee (or in the RV) and mark. I’m not 100% sure this is faster, but it sure is easier and is more fun than marking on the computer.
With three courses this coming semester, I’m going to be challenged to keep up. I’ve taught all of them before, but still, I like to give all my students personalized feedback, and that takes time. I need to find ways to not compromise on what I give to my students while still staying sane.
What time saving tips to do you have? How do you stay sane while providing students with meaningful feedback?
Feature image by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash
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