Work Smarter

Work Smarter not harder is an area where we will collect tips from you and publish them for others to enjoy and benefit from!

Discussion Board Tips:

2-23-10 When reading student comments in discussion forums, I often have additional thoughts or corrections I want to make.  Instead of jumping into discussion right away, I make a list of things I want to say and then wait to let the students correct each other.  Often they will readjust their own discussion.  If what I want to say has not been addressed after discussion closes then I post one comment with my final thoughts.  This comment highlights what I wanted the students to learn from the discussion and addresses any individual issues that arise.

This process facilitates student ownership of the discussion conversation, it provides feedback on their comments and I write one comment instead of staggering many little comments throughout the discussion.

Maria LeBaron
Psychology Instructor
Randolph Community College

e-Mail Tips:

3-19-10: I am always getting requests for the same information over and over again.  Initially, I found myself typing the same responses time and time again.  Then I decided to “WORK SMARTER, and NOT HARDER.”  I created a word document with all of the common responses already populated in the document.  Then when I would receive an e-mail request, all I had to do was open the document and copy & paste the response to the e-mail.  This worked well and is still a much better choice than using the old, create it from scratch method.

Then came Shortkeys ™!  Shortkeys ™ is a program you can install on your computer that will allow you to respond to an e-mail by simply typing in the “coded word.”  When you type in the coded word Shortkeys ™ takes over and populates the rest of the document with as much or as little information as you wish.  You simply create a code word (which should be something that you would NEVER normally type) such as “email2″ and everytime you type this code word, your “Replacement Text” will then populate the area you are typing.  This works with any application including e-mail, Word, PowerPoint, web applications etc.

Shortkeys has two versions that you may use, the “Lite” version which is free and allows you to use up to 15 or 20 shortkeys (which is really all that I need) and the full version which is a reasonable $24.95.

Shortkeys Lite found at http://www.shortkeys.com/lite.htm

NOTE: Make sure your IT department will allow you to download and install Shortkeys ™ before you do so!  If your IT department will not allow the program to be installed, you should use the MS Word Copy and Paste procedures for working smarter!

Kelly Kirk
Director, Distance Education
Randolph Community College