Self-Directional Skills
At the star of this semester, I knew it would be a challenge to organize and keep track of all my work since it would all be online and come from a many different sources in many different formats. Before the semester began I set out to start creating an organizational system that would work with and keep track of all of my classes and enable me to do better in all of them. I started by organizing all of my files and creating tags to keep different files easily separated. I then made folders for each of my classes and throughout the semester have been adding any assignments, documents, images, or any other files to them. I also made a list for each of my classes in Reminders to easily keep track of all the assignments and projects that I have and when they're due. Lastly, I created subjects for each of my classes in Notability where I can write like a notebook or piece of paper on my iPad, allowing to take notes better and complete any worksheets. And all of this is available and automatically synced between all of my devices.
Which 21st Century Skill do you feel this assignment addresses, and why?
This project addresses my self-directional skills because it demonstrates me planning and working ahead even without being assigned to.
What are you most proud of from this assignment, and why?
I'm most proud of how well this system works. I'm still surprised at how efficient and effective this system is even though I created it before I really knew what the material from my classes would look like. the most useful and universally effective part of it is keeping track of my assignments through reminders. Since a few of my classes use different online platforms it's incredibly useful to have a place where I can see all my assignments in one spot across all my devices so I always know what I need to do.
How did you develop and/or improve upon your 21st Century Skills with this assignment?
I developed my self-directional skills through this by learning how effective applying them can be. From creating this system, I learned that creating a foundation before starting a project makes it easier in the future and helps massively to stay on track and do things on time.
What was most difficult about completing this task?
The most difficult part of creating this system was finishing rather than just stopping and saying that I could complete it later or not finishing it.
How could you improve this work?
I could improve my organizational system best by also extending it to my calendar. I already have my classes and test dates on it but I could still massively benefit from scheduling specific times to work on my assignments as well as setting up notifications to remind me when my classes are starting so that I don't forget to join them (which has already almost happened a few times this semester).
If you could start over, what would you do different?
If I could start over, as mentioned above, I would have also integrated my whole system with my calendar before school started because it's much harder to change or add it to it now. I've also learned a lot about time management and scheduling through English 102 so I could use that new information to help me create a better system.
How can you apply this to future learning?
I can apply the system I created to pretty mcc the rest of my schooling as I imagine much of it will continue to be online, and even if it isn't, I'll still make as much as I can digital anyways.