If you skim through the archive for this blog, you can see that I enjoy experimenting with different technology tools and resources. I even wrote one post on how to take new tools for a test drive. I don’t just try new things willy-nilly or for the sake of trying something new. In fact, I set a pretty high bar for a tool before I incorporate it into my daily work or try something with a class. My personal time and our class time are just too precious to waste.
 
That said, the endless stream of new tools and resources do present new opportunities, efficiencies and teaching/learning affordances. With this in mind, each year I try to focus on a collection of new tools to test out and try to understand how they might or might not fit into my work and teaching. Sometimes new tools really fit for me. Other times they don’t. Of the five tools I mention in the blog post above, only two have really stuck with me.
 
What I look for in a technology tool
When I’m considering whether to try out a new tool, I try to determine if it helps to solve a problem or make something I do easier. For example, a colleague recently got me to try out Zotero to manage my research references. I had tried a number of these before, but always found them to be more trouble than they were worth. With Zotero, though, it is so easy to pull the reference in from either a library database (e.g., JSTOR) or even a Web resource. I haven’t used the bibliography creator much yet, but just storing and sharing resources is a tremendous advantage over how I have done it in the past.
 
When I’m considering a new tool for my teaching, I think it’s important to make sure it’s a good fit for what I’m teaching and how I want to teach it. For example, while Poll Everywhere is a great tool, it doesn’t lend itself really seamlessly for the smaller, discussion-oriented classes I typically teach. I’m sure there are ways I could integrate it, but I never want to force a new tool into my repertoire.
 
Finally, I think the design, interface and feel of a tool is really important. I’m a bit of a snob with how things look and work. I’ve been known to delete apps from my phone based solely on the look of the logo. I think this is important, because you have to enjoy using a tool to get the most out of it and integrate it in your daily routine. This is a particular strength of the five tools I suggest trying below.
 
Five tools worth taking for a test drive
Full disclosure – some of these tools I have used more than others. That said, the ones I’m less familiar with come highly recommended from colleagues I trust.

1. OneNote – After having tried several other note-taking tools, I keep coming back to OneNote. It is a very flexible, powerful, and easy-to-use tool. It’s particularly good on the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, there are apps for Mac, Windows, IOS, Android, Windows, and probably anything else you can think of. Your notes are stored in the cloud and thus automatically backed up and accessible across all your devices. If you need a powerful, flexible note-taking tool, I highly recommend it.
2. Canvas – On our campus, BlackBoard is the learning management system for academic courses. For years though, I’ve wanted to experiment with Canvas, an alternate LMS option.  Last year, a colleague and I designed a short course using Canvas and we had a great experience. So this year, I’ve designed one course in it completely to offer a hybrid learning experience for my students. What’s great is that you can create a free account and use it right away. So, if you’re designing an online or hybrid course, I’d encourage you to check out Canvas.
3. Zoom – Zoom is a free and powerful web conferencing tool. With Zoom, you can schedule a virtual room, share the link, and then interact with one or more students or colleagues using a powerful web conferencing platform. You can use it like a webinar, or in a more interactive way with audio or video. While I haven’t used this yet, I plan to use it for a couple of different experiences in my course this fall. Based on the recommendation of colleagues and my experience in setting up the rooms, I think it will be a great choice.
4. Zaption – Zaption is a tool that allows you to create an interactive learning experience from a YouTube video. After you create an account and paste the URL of the video from YouTube, you can add annotations, provide prompts for students to stop and consider, or create quiz questions time-stamped to different parts of the video. This is another tool that I haven’t yet used substantively, but I’m really looking forward to trying it out with a couple videos for my course this fall.
5. Eas.ly – Eas.ly is a Web tool that enables you to design infographics to create a visual representation of data. There are a number of these tools available, some for free and some paid, but Eas.ly looks very user-friendly and slick. I’ve begun creating an infographic on findings from research on educational technology in classrooms, and found it very intuitive and user-friendly. In fact, I’ve enjoyed it so much that I plan to require my students to create their own infographics for a class project.

What technology tool are you interested in trying out this year?
Please post your comments below. 

Welcome back from what I hope was a restful summer for you. If you haven’t taken time away yet, there’s still (a little) time. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. I took nearly six weeks away from email, and I’m more rested and ready than any other time I can remember.
 
As we begin a new academic year, it can be tempting to be really ambitious about what we want to accomplish in our teaching, scholarship, service or leadership commitments. A new start is always brimming with opportunities. Unfortunately, focusing on too many of them means that you’re less likely to be effective in any.
 
I’m particularly conscious of this as I’ve just stepped out of a largely administrative position to go back to my full-time faculty role. As you can imagine, I’m really itching to get back to teaching and research. Over the last few months, I’ve identified far more opportunities than I can reasonably take on. Coupled with a desire to “re-calibrate” how I approach my career, I’ve been thinking a great deal about this over the summer.
 
Essentialism offers a different path
The first day I was really on summer break, I cracked open (or downloaded to my Kindle) a book I’ve been wanting to read for several months – Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it. McKeown’s thesis is basically that when we pare down our focus to only those activities where we can make the biggest and most unique contributions to our families, careers, and communities, we are much more effective than when we try to do it all.
 
This sentiment is strangely liberating. Rather than feeling the pressure of trying to do more and more, essentialism offers a different path and challenge. What we really need to do is to figure out what our best contributions can be and try as best we can to eliminate those that divert our attention. The challenge then is to learn to say no and be disciplined with our commitments. One suggestion that McKeown offers to help in this regard is to pick a word for the year.
 
Why you need to pick a personal word for the year
A word for the year is simply a way to direct your energy to what is most important for this year of your life. This one simple word can help you to be disciplined and quickly decide whether taking on a new opportunity is in line with your values and priorities. For my pre-tenure readers, the word might be something like “publish.” With a focus on teaching, your word might be something like, “listen” or “creativity.”  For leaders or administrators, it might be something like “delegate.” Whatever the word, it should capture your core values and priorities in a simple, tangible way.
 
My word for the year is “discernment.” I’m naturally both a people pleaser and an achiever. So, as you can imagine, my inclination is to say yes to any and every new opportunity – particularly if it’s a request from a friend or colleague. With McKeown in my head this year, I’m going to really try to stop and think about what I commit to. I’m going to leverage a simple phrase from Essentialism: “let me think about that and get back to you.” I think just having a little distance between request and response will really help me.
 
The other benefit of this word for me is to encourage me to really reflect on how a particular request or opportunity fits into my priorities and greatest contributions. I know this will be a challenge for me, but I think this word, posted in my office, on the homescreen of my phone and on the background of my desktop, will help me to make the most of my new opportunity as a faculty member.
 
What will your word be for the year?
Please post your comments below.

I can’t remember the last time I referenced a physical journal or requested a hard copy article or book from inter-library loan. Instead, I rely almost completely on PDF files for articles and manuscripts I’m reading. One advantage of having articles in PDF form is that you can save and organize them in folders for future reference. The other advantage is that you can read them and annotate them on your computer or mobile device. A tablet like the iPad is almost ideal for this purpose. So throw away those reams of paper and ink highlighters and read on…
 
In this Luminaris Field Guide video, I walk you through how I use PDF Expert to markup PDF files with highlights, underlined text, shapes and images. I also reference iAnnotate PDF, which is also a great option. While I demonstrate the process with a 12.9” iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil, the process works with any iPad and any stylus. I hope you find the video helpful and informative.

What other tools and strategies do you use to annotate or markup PDF files?
Please post your comments below.

Recently, I came across this survey that was pretty sobering. According to a Business Insider reader survey, 33.8% of Americans check their email on their smartphone as much as 150 times a day. This was sobering for me because I realized that I am probably at least on my way to being part of that group. Think about this for a minute. If I was checking my email on my phone even 60 times a day and each time consumed an average of 2 minutes, that’s more than two hours a day glued to my phone. Checking email. I’m in a line of work where crises are relative. If I don’t see an email for an hour or even a day, catastrophic outcomes are not likely to follow. Maybe if I was a homicide detective…
 
The inspiring news from this survey was that an even greater percentage of respondents (39%) check their email a total of only 1-3 times per day. I wonder which group is more productive? I wonder which group has more balance in their lives. I wonder which group is better able to engage in deep work. I don’t know about you, but I want to be a 39%er.
 
Cold turkey
When I first read the survey, I thought I’d try to monitor myself a bit. I was thinking that surely I could limit myself to a reasonable diet of cell phone emailing. I was wrong. Apparently I have the self-control of Lucy Ricardo wrapping candy. I scaled back for a bit. And then I was right back at my normal obsessive checking. I needed to take a more drastic approach.
 
I deleted my work email account and my personal Gmail account from my iPhone. I then began obsessively tracking Twitter, Mailchimp, my Weebly stats, etc. I basically replaced one addiction with another. I needed to take even more drastic measures.
 
I reviewed all the apps I’d installed on my iPhone and asked myself a question: “is this app critical for me, or is it something that just consumes my attention?” If an app fell into the latter category, I deleted it. I started with 5 screens of 20 apps. I now have 26 apps total. The only one that I check with any kind of regularity is my Fitbit app. I figure if there’s an app I check frequently, one for my health isn’t too bad.
 
The results
It’s been ten days since the great purge. When I’m at home now, about the only thing I do on my phone is check my step count or the weather outside. I’ve used the Outlook Web app once. Between trying to type my secure password in with the onscreen keyboard and the horrible Web interface, it will take one heck of an emergency to make me do this again.
 
Now when I take the dog out, I don’t grab my phone on the way out the door so I can check in while I’m outside. Instead, I watch the squirrels in the yard, listen to the birds, or enjoy checking on the progress of the budding leaves on our trees and bushes. At night, I watch the stars. I also realized that I’m not checking my phone as I’m walking in the neighborhood. All in all, I’d say I’m definitely more present now. Am I still picking up my phone unconsciously to check my email? Absolutely. Will it get easier over time? I hope so.
 
My challenge to you
If you find you’re checking your phone more often than you’d like or that it’s interfering with your ability to be present with your colleagues, spouse or kids, it’s time to go cold turkey. Remember, you can still do all the things below on your computer. It just won’t always be in your pocket or purse. Here’s what I recommend:
 
1. Delete your email accounts. (all of them).
2. Delete Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and anything else that you find yourself obsessively checking.
3. Delete your games.
4. For everything else, ask yourself, “Is this app critical for me, or is it something that just consumes my attention?” If it’s the latter, delete it.
5. Hide things in folders. They’ll still be on your phone, but less accessible.
 
Be ruthless! You can always reinstall an app you find you need. Just try to make sure it’s something you need and not something that will control you. I’ve wrested control from my phone. I hope you can too!
 
Have you made the purge? How’s it going? Any advice for the rest of us?
Please post your comments below.

As faculty members, it’s easy to get inundated with student work. I like to do as much grading and feedback with as little paper as possible. I prefer to do this digitally, not only to minimize paper, but also to keep a record of the feedback I provide, pass work back and forth electronically, and have the flexibility to provide this feedback wherever I happen to be.
 
I’ve tried numerous tools over the years, and have always run into difficulty. Using the commenting features in Word works great, but I really prefer to provide feedback in handwritten form. I like being able to highlight sections, draw diagrams, and add different marks in the margins. At last, I think I found the ideal solution and I wanted to share it with you.
 
Digital Annotation with Word on the iPad
In this Luminaris Field Guide video, I walk you through how I use Box.com, the Word app, and the iPad to easily and naturally provide handwritten feedback to student work. While I demonstrate the process with a 12.9” iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil, the process works with any iPad and any stylus. I hope you find the video helpful and informative.

What other tools and strategies do you use to annotate or provide feedback on student work?
Please post your comments below. â€‹