Marybeth Norcross

Why Use a Contract and Calendar in Group Projects

Disorganized group projects usually result in a lot of needless drama and a low-quality product. Therefore, it is best to organize information and define expectations for every group member. Two weeks ago, I recommended using Google Drive to increase the quality of your group projects. This week, I want to recommend that you reduce the drama from the start with two elements: a group contract and a Google calendar.

Organize with a Group Contract

A group contract clearly defines the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of every member of the group. There are a lot of options for creating a group contract, and what you choose to include depends on your project, your instructor, and the makeup of your group, but there are some elements I consider essentials. These include:

Contact Information: Include everyone’s contact information. Decide as a group, how much information to share, but include your email addresses, since that’s the how you share documents in Google Drive. Cell phone numbers help communicate quickly, but not everyone feels comfortable sharing personal information. Group members should never be pressured to include more information than they are comfortable sharing.
Roles and Responsibilities: Misunderstandings and misplaced expectations are two of the biggest hurdles in successful group work. Avoid them by listing the roles and responsibilities for each group member in detail. Stating things clearly helps avoid conflicts due to procrastination and last-minute scrambling to get work finished. Don’t forget to include writing an introduction and conclusion, formatting, and proofreading in your responsibilities. These tend to get overlooked and can result in a lot of last minute drama.
Project Description: Include a brief description of your project. This will help maintain focus on the big picture while group members work on their individual parts.
Questions/Notes/Suggestions: Include an area for miscellaneous questions, ideas, and suggestions. You will be glad you did.

As I said before, these are the elements I consider essential. There are other elements your group could add if you need them. Just remember that your goal is efficient, effective, and drama-free group collaboration that results in a successful product.

Organize with the Google Calendar

Using a calendar improves your group’s time management and helps avoid missed deadlines. Create a Google Calendar for the project. Then make sure you post the following:

Due dates: Include due dates for outlines, rough drafts, bibliographies, etc. When you add the due dates, add notifications to serve as reminders. You can add more than one notification to an event and elect to have alerts sent as an email, so figure out with your group members how you will set this up.
Class meetings: Group work is often led by what you are learning in class. Post all your class meeting dates so you stay on top of your workload.
Group meetings: Whether you are meeting online or face to face, get meeting times on the calendar so everyone is aware of them. Take advantage of the calendar notifications to make sure everyone gets a reminder.
Status checks: How often will group members need to check to see that everyone is accomplishing things on time and on deadline? Use the notifications settings to send out reminders.

Share the completed calendar with the group. Use the notification features for each event. Let the technology do some of the work. Reminders get sent automatically once they are set, which means that nobody has to remember to remind everyone else.

A contract and calendar define expectations and keep group members on track. Set your group up for success. Use them to reduce the drama and increase your product quality.

Group Projects with Google Drive

Group projects always have challenges, but managing one doesn’t have to be stressful. What you need is a platform that keeps all the work in one place, shows the latest drafts, and offers enough flexibility so that group members can work on their own time schedules. Google Drive incorporates all these features and makes organization, communication, and collaboration much less frustrating and time consuming.

Google Drive is designed for collaboration. The documents you create and share are designed to be worked on by multiple people. It’s easy to create a Google account. In fact, anyone who already has a Gmail address has access to Google Drive. And, you don’t need a Gmail address if you don’t want one. You can create an account with your UAMS or personal email address. Go to https://www.google.com/drive and click on Go to Google Drive.

The strength behind collaborating in Google Drive comes through the ability to create and share files. Create a folder for your project and share it with the group members. You can create new folders and files or upload files from your laptop into the drive. Share photos, documents, presentations, PDFs, designs, drawings, recordings, videos – almost anything you need for your project can be stored and shared in Google Drive.

Group Projects with Google Apps

The Google apps make Drive a great platform for group projects. Students can work together, on the same document, in real time, and save their work in Drive. Here’s a quick overview of four apps that make working on group projects, papers, and presentations easy and efficient.

Docs: Docs is Google’s word processing app. Think of it as a lite version of Microsoft Word. Use docs for brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and polishing any type of document.

Slides: Slides is like PowerPoint lite. Gather all your content and create your slideshow in Slides. Multiple authors can add to, change, or edit the slideshow as needed, and Slides will always display the most recent version. You can track changes too, and revert to earlier versions if necessary.

Sheets: Sheets is Google’s spreadsheet app, sort of an Excel lite. You can use it for anything from data collection to keeping a project journal.

Calendar: Google Calendar is a great way of putting your project on a timeline. Create a project calendar and then set all your deadlines, due dates, status checks, meetings, and class sessions so that everyone in your group stays on track.

Google makes group projects much less frustrating and time consuming. Use Google for your next project and have greater success.

You can find more information about some of the Google apps on Google Tools.

Testing Center Tips

The Testing Center is preparing for midterm testing. If you have tested with us before, you know we have limited space. We have 24 regular testing computers, 12 reserved special testing cubicles, and hundreds of students to test. So, here are four tips to make your experience as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Testing Tip 1: Know the Testing Center Protocols

Read the Testing Center Protocols before you come in to test. The Protocols clearly explain the rules relating to the Testing Center’s hours, sign-in procedures, testing room policies, and academic integrity standards.

Testing Tip 2: Test Early

Don’t wait until the last minute to take your test. If you do, then you can expect to experience delays and waiting time if all spots are filled. The busiest times tend to be the hours between 4:00 pm and closing time. Keep that in mind as you plan for your finals. Come early and beat the rush and the stress of waiting.

Testing Tip 3: Remember the “Drill”.

Bring your UAMS Student ID
Place all your personal belongings in one of the lockers outside the testing room with cell phones silent or off.
Sign in at the desk as usual, and be sure to check with one of the testing coordinators and let them know what test you are there to take. We can’t open your test if we don’t know who you are.

Testing Tip 4: Know the login procedure for your test before arriving.

Is your test in Blackboard? Lockdown Browser? ExamSoft? ATI? The initial phase of logging in and accessing your exam is your responsibility. Make sure you know what to do.

Keep these things in mind and taking your midterm exams will be a much smoother

Test Preparation

With midterm season almost here, it’s time to focus on finding the best strategies for test preparation. Did you know that the most common cause of test anxiety and stress is not knowing the information because of poor preparation? The better prepared you are for a test, the better you are likely to do. Here are some ways you can improve your performance on tests.

Practice the Five Ps : Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Prior planning begins with a realistic study schedule that you start as early as possible. All of your classes will build upon one another, so having a study schedule that not only helps you remember information, but allows you connect older material with new material across your courses, increases your success. It will also help you find opportunities for beneficial activities, like going to the gym or spending important time with family. These things improve your mental outlook, helping you deal with stress as you study.

Reviewing and Self-Testing

Re-reading the test material is not the most effective study strategy for test preparation. The best preparation comes through reviewing and self-testing from your notes. We discussed this during the study skills workshop, but I want to remind you of the strategies we discussed that work well for self-testing.

Outlining: most effective for information that is presented in a linear format. It works well for organizing information into main ideas and supporting explanations, details and facts.
Flashcards: one of the most effective ways to memorize information within the shortest period of time.
Charts: a good way to move from lower to higher levels of learning. Charts are visual, and help you view information from different perspectives, transforming information into knowledge.
Concept (Mind) Maps and Flowcharts: especially effective for visually connecting information. Flowcharts are great for creating notes about a process. Concept maps connect details to main ideas and demonstrate how main ideas connect to larger concepts and ideas.
Make Your Own Test: Create test questions that you expect to be on the test. Test yourself to see if how well you understand the course information. Exchange test questions with others in the class to get a different perspective.
Study Groups: meet with other people. Study groups can really help with test preparation. You will know how well you understand material when you try to explain it to someone else.

Exam Investigation

The more you know about a test, the better prepared you are. Gather as much information about the exam as you can. Ask questions. Is it a chapter summary, a comprehensive exam, or a board certification exam. Find out about:
Scope: chapter summary or comprehensive

Format: Multiple choice, short answer, case study, demonstration, etc.
Administration: date, time, location, time allotted, etc.
Rules: specific rules of the testing location.

Good test preparation makes good test performance much more likely. Use these strategies to prepare so you can reduce the anxiety and stress that comes from not knowing the information. If you want more information on successful test preparation go to the Learning Support page or use the Academic Coaching Request to set up an appointment to talk to a Learning Specialist. Have a successful midterm season.

Reflect: How are you doing?

At this point, most students are about halfway to mid-term exams, making it a good time to look at how the semester is going. How is your academic performance? Have you set yourself up for success? What about your study skills and test scores? If you aren’t where you hoped to be, it’s probably a good idea to reflect on how well what you are doing is working for you.

Realistic Goals

Goals provide structure to your academic life. They help you focus on what’s important and ignore other distractions. Are you on track to meet your semester goals? If you are, then you probably don’t need to change anything. If not, then you will probably want to consider some changes.

Are your goals achievable? If not, you’ll need to revise them. If, on reflection, your goals are realistic, ask yourself if you you have planned adequately to achieve them. You may need to change some of your habits, like how you manage your time, or try sharpening your study skills. Often, our goals require us to change how we work to achieve them.

Maybe you haven’t consciously set goals for yourself. If that’s the case, I strongly encourage you to make the time to do so. Goal setting should be part of your academic preparation. Without specific and realistic goals, you will find yourself making random decisions you may regret. You can find more information about goals setting on our post, Setting Academic Goals.

Organization and Time Management

I know I’ve said this repeatedly, but the fact is that success at UAMS is dependent on organization and time management. It’s hard to keep up with multiple courses, projects, exams, and family, friends and, often, a job. Are you actively managing your time? Do you know where you are in every assignment? You may need to change the way you manage your time. Learn more by reading Time Management and Organize and Manage Your Time on this blog. You can also find resources to help you under the Time Management tab on our Learning Support page.

Study Skills

Successful students have good study skills. Even if you’ve never had to study much before, you will need strong study habits to meet the rigorous academic requirements at UAMS. Reflect on what you have been doing. Do you feel you are well prepared for your exams? Maybe it’s time to improve how you study and build your skills. You can read more in our posts Sharpen Your Study Skills and Step Up Your Study Skills. You can find more resources under the Study Skills tab on the Learning Support page.

Test-Taking

Test-taking skills begin before the test. In fact, the time to begin preparing for a test is the first day of class. Good test-takers use strategies before, during, and after a test. Reflect on your test performance. If it’s not what you hoped, consider the following.

Before the Test: One of the leading causes of low test scores and anxiety is poor preparation. Students often wait until the last minute to study, and then cram all night trying to catch up. They arrive at the test exhausted and overwhelmed. If they try to replace rest with caffeine they might begin to feel sick, which will make it even harder to perform well. Take a look at how you prepare, including your studying, note-taking, and time management. Making necessary changes will help you improve your academic performance.

During the Test: Even the best prepared students can make errors during the test. They may lose track of time, spend too long on one question, or second guess themselves and change answers that were correct. You may need to look at how you are taking your test, and correct some of your habits.

After the Test: What you do after the test is very important to your success. Good test-takers examine their test results to find the source of their errors. Were you missing the information? Maybe you left questions blank. Analyzing your errors can help you take steps to avoid making them on your next test.

There are more helpful resources under the Testing tab on the Learning Support page.

Make the time to reflect. How is your academic performance? Now is the time to change the things that aren’t working for you. Use our resources to help you improve your time management, study skills, and test taking skills. If you want more personalized help, complete and submit the Academic Coaching Request to make an appointment with a Learning Specialist to find the strategies that will work best for you.

Sleep for Success

Did you know that sleeping is important for academic success? Me either. It turns out that sleep is vital to forming long-term memory. Getting a good night’s sleep lets the brain move information from short-term to long-term memory. So, while you may think staying up late to cram is going to be helpful, you’re actually better off going to bed and getting up early to review.

The Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep, from TED-Ed, explains how sleep “resets” the brain. The video also explains how our brains form and retain memories.

Think about it before you stay up all night cramming for an exam. Give your brain the sleep it needs to form the long-term memory you’ll need to be both academically and professionally successful.

To learn more about how learning takes place check out the resources under the Learning tab on the Learning Support page.

Organize and Manage Your Time

I talk a lot about organization and time management, but the fact is that success at UAMS is dependent on organization and time management. It’s hard to keep up with multiple courses, projects, exams, and family, friends and, often, a job.

Staying on top of your workload doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, it usually centers on three parts; a calendar, a to-do list, and cloud storage. Some people like to use a paper, but more often, students prefer to use a smartphone and a couple of apps.

Keep a Calendar

Get a calendar. Use your calendar. It doesn’t matter if it is a traditional hard-copy notebook, or an online calendar you have on your phone or mobile device. Just make sure you have some place to keep track of your assignments, projects, tests, and deadlines for all your courses. Add your personal stuff too. The busier you get, the more you will appreciate how your calendar is helping you manage your time.

If you like hard copy calendars, then use them. The point is to find a calendar you will use. If you want to use your smartphone, either use the calendar on your phone or try Google Calendar. I like it because I can move easily from my phone, to my tablet, to my laptop, to my desktop. Most of the scheduling is done on my laptop or desktop, but I use my phone to stay up to date and to check for conflicts. As you see below, I really like Google.

Use a Task or To Do List

Using a task or to-do list helps you break down big projects into manageable chunks and work on them a little at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed when the deadline is upon you. Make a to-do list daily or weekly, and prioritize your tasks according to importance.

Keeping a to-do list is easy on paper. Just grab a note-pad and go. If you like more structure to your list, and if you like to look back over what you have accomplished, consider keeping a Bullet Journal. The Bullet Journal is a customizable and adaptable organization which involves a notebook and a pencil or pen. Learn more about it at bulletjournal.com.

With my mobile devices, I like to keep it simple, with two free apps. Any.do is a super-simple, easy to use, and you can create subtasks, move tasks between lists, and share tasks with others. Todoist is a more robust to-do app, which syncs across devices, and comes with a bunch of features in the free version. Both apps have iOS and Android versions.

Find Cloud Storage Platform

The advantage of having a copy of your files in a cloud storage system is that you can access them anywhere on any device. The three below offer storage and the ability to share and collaborate with others.

Google Drive is my personal favorite. They give you 15GB of free storage, the ability to work both on and offline, realtime editing and sharing, collaboration, and a host of great apps, like Docs, Slides, and Sheets.

Box gives you 10GB of storage, syncs across your devices, and allows you to share with others and edit documents. It connects to a lot of other apps you are already using, like Office 365 and Google Apps. It works well with Windows, Apple/Mac, iOS, and Android.

Dropbox gives you 2GB of free storage. You can’t do realtime editing with Dropbox, but your files sync across your devices so you can access them anywhere.

Whether you prefer analog with paper or choose to go digital, choose a system and stick with it. Organizing and managing your time will reduce your stress level and make your semester much smoother.

Step Up Your Study Skills

Good study skills are a requirement for student success. Even if you’ve never had to study much before, you will need strong study habits to meet the rigorous requirements at UAMS. Don’t wait until you are falling behind to step up your study skills. Take control and start now.

Step Up Your Preparation

Stepping up begins before a class session. Students with the best study skills prepare for their class meetings. Review your class syllabus and schedule so that you know what the instructor plans to cover during the class session. Before each class, skim materials like your textbook to get an overview of the content. Read the learning objectives, headings and subheadings, and pay attention to charts and graphs. You will be ready for the explanations, details, and facts from your instructor if you have a general idea of how the content is connected. Your notes from the class sessions will be more meaningful if you take the time to prepare.

Step Up your Participation

Stepping up your participation means you are completely engaged in your learning. Start with active listening. Don’t sit passively and let information drift over you. Take notes and ask questions. Use short phrases and abbreviations but be careful that what you write is meaningful, because you will need to understand it later when you review. If you ask a question, make sure you can restate the answer in your notes so that you fully understand it. If you took the time to preview the material for the class session, you will already understand the general outline and organization of the material which should make note-taking more efficient.

Step Up Your Review Process

Step up by including multiple opportunities for reviewing your notes and materials. Plan to review your notes within 24 hours of your class session. This will allow you to check that you understood the material presented, and that your notes are clear and complete. Mark anything in your notes that you don’t understand and then go back and find the information you missed.

Schedule study sessions on the days your classes don’t meet, and if possible, schedule some review time with other students in your classes. Review your notes, re-read portions of your textbooks, summarize information in your own words, and test yourself by creating practice questions. Explain the material to another student to check how well you understand what you learned.

Step Up Your Support

The Student Success Center’s website has resources to help you improve your study skills, including information on how you learn and retain information, reading strategies, study strategies, and test taking skills. For more information, visit the Learning Support page. If you want more personalized help, use the Academic Coaching Request to make an appointment with a Learning Specialist to find the strategies that will work best for you.

You need good study skills to be successful at UAMS. Stepping up your preparation, participation, and review process will help make the hours you spend studying more productive and increase your academic achievement.

Start Strong

School has now officially started and you are probably already busy with your classes. It is much easier to finish strong in your classes if you take the time to start strong, so take the time now to set yourself up for success.

Set Goals

If goal setting isn’t part of your academic preparation, it should be. Goals provide structure in your academic life. Setting and prioritizing goals helps you to focus on what is most important and ignore other distractions. Without specific and realistic goals, you’ll find yourself making random decisions you may regret. Start strong by setting realistic goals. You can find more information about setting your academic goals here.

Manage your Time

Success at UAMS is dependent on time management. You have multiple courses, projects, exams, study groups, and deadlines, and keeping up with them can seem like a part-time job. To help you manage it all, get a calendar and combine it with a To Do list. I prefer to use an online calendar and to-do app that will sync across all my devices, but if you prefer a hard-copy calendar and to-do list, that’s fine too.

As soon as you can, download the schedules for all your courses and put all your assignments, projects, tests, and deadlines for all your courses on your calendar. This will show you when you are going to be the busiest. Break down your big projects into manageable chunks and work on them a little at a time so you aren’t overwhelmed when the deadline is upon you. Keep tasks on a To Do list and check them off when complete. Having a good system for your calendar and tasks will keep you organized and make your academic life much easier. It is a good way to start strong for success.

You can find more information, tips and tools for effectively managing and organizing your time here.

Identify Help

At some point during your time at UAMS, you may need help. Become familiar with all the services that the Student Success Center has to offer. You might find yourself falling behind in your courses or struggling to pass a class. Don’t wait to seek help. Go get the support you need right away. Check out the Student Success Center on the 3rd floor of the library or browse through our website to discover all the ways we are here to help you achieve academic excellence.

Sun-Safe Summer Fun

There are many summer activities to enjoy on the beautiful rivers, lakes, trails, and mountains here in the Arkansas. However, with temperatures climbing up to triple digits, it’s wise to be sun-safe, and take a few precautions.

Heat-related illnesses can affect anyone, so it’s best to follow these tips to avoid dehydration, heat-stroke, and other heat-related illnesses.

Drink plenty of water or other non-alcoholic beverages. You want to try to get more fluid in than you are losing.
Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing that is light in color;
Reduce strenuous activities or do them during the cooler parts of the day, like before 10:00am or after 4:00pm.

Being sun-safe also means avoiding sunburn and limiting your exposure and protecting your skin. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause damage to the skin, eyes and immune system, and can also cause cancer.

Stay in the shade, especially during midday hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), when UV rays are strongest and do the most damage.
Cover up with clothing to protect exposed skin. Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
Wear sunglasses that provide UV protection.
Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and reapply it every two hours after being in the water or exercising and sweating.

UAMS has resources to help you beat the heat as you enjoy summer fun. Learn more about staying safe in the sun in Don’t Sizzle this Summer from Living Healthy at uamshealth.com. You will find more information about heat related illnesses from Here’s to Your Health. Stay sun-safe and enjoy yourself this summer.