Think of Technology When Managing Class Assignments | CollegeSurfing Insider

was with a group of college students this week recently who brought their planners with them to schedule events throughout the semester. I was surprised at how most of the dozen students brought paper calendars and planners, instead of plugging the dates into calendars on their phones or computers.

I understand the reluctance to put all assignments in a calendar or file on the computer or to use the calendar and to-do apps on an iPhone or Blackberry. There’s always the concern, especially with students who aren’t that tech-savvy, that something could happen with the phone or computer and all of that crucial information for a college student seeking to ace a class would be lost. Talk about a stressful situation.

Maybe it’s easier to contemplate going virtual with assignments and calendars when you’re taking an online class. All the class information is online, so why shouldn’t your planning and time management for assignments be on the computer, too?

Diane Hamilton, author of “The Online Student’s User Manual,” says she’s a fan of the free iGoogle service because it allows students to keep track of and access their calendars and course information from anywhere. That’s helpful, even in the worst-case scenario.

Hamilton, who teaches for six online universities, says that even if your computer crashes, your schedules and assignments will be accessible through any computer.

Have you tried using iGoogle or other sites to manage your college coursework and other activities, and what have you found are the pros? Or what should students know if they’re trying to use more web tools to manage their assignments?

-Lori Johnston

via collegesurfing.com

Posting Teacher’s Reviews Online – What is RateMyProfessor?

Today’s Ask Dr. Diane: What is the site ratemyprofessor.com all about?

Ratemyprofessor.com is a website dedicated to allowing students to find out more about their professors and the courses they are going to take before they begin class. The site allows students to give their opinion of the classes and the instructors of those classes they have taken previously. It is not unlike the rating one would give a book they have read on Amazon. Because of that, you will see a wide variety of responses on there. Some students may write wonderful, glowing comments, while others write less flattering things. You can search for a professor or a school on the site. I have found it to be the most accurate to first search for the school and then look for the individual professor within that school where they are listed alphabetically. To search for the school, you would type in the upper right hand search box. It will then give you a list of schools. Click on the one you want and then it will pull up a screen that lets you browse by last name of the professor.

I haven’t heard as many of my students refer to this site lately. It seemed a lot more popular a few years ago. It is kind of a fun little site to see what others are saying. However, just as with any review, you have to realize there could be “sour grapes”. A student who may not have done well in the course may be more likely to say something negative about the professor. Also there is a lot of subjectivity so what may be a horrible class to one may be a wonderful class to another. The information is fun but it should be taken with a grain of salt.

To see my ratings, you can go to the following links for some of my schools: 1, 2, 3, 4

As I mentioned, it is not new to publish information about professors online. However, there is a new trend that has some people up in arms. Take a look at a recent NPR article where the author mentions that 6,000 elementary teachers in Los Angeles will see their names published online, along with data showing how much their students improved on standardized tests by clicking here.