Organizing Materials for Classes

[downer]

I'm sure that backing up grade books is an excellent idea. I don't do it though. I keep grades on the LMS. If that fails, IT need to sort it out. I have never actually had a problem losing grades on an LMS.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

During the semester I periodically export/download a copy of the gradebook so that it resides in multiple locations. My university uses Canvas and Microsoft OneDrive, so exporting from Canvas means I've stored students' grades twice on the cloud, presumably on distinct server networks, plus I have a local copy on my computer. If all three storage locations fail simultaneously and permanently, then Jeremy and Kaitlin probably have much bigger things to worry about than their last quiz scores.

I have multiple copies of grades, and other important files, as well. Sometimes, I even email myself a copy of my Excel gradesheet and attendance files. I tend to have grades on D2L, drive, email and a laptop.

[Caracal]

I'm sure that backing up grade books is an excellent idea. I don't do it though. I keep grades on the LMS. If that fails, IT need to sort it out. I have never actually had a problem losing grades on an LMS.

Yeah, that's my feeling as well.  Downloading the grade book would be a good idea, but I don't do it either. When I was still keeping grades on my own spreadsheet, I was really careful to occasionally email myself copies  Now that its on Canvas, I figure if something goes terribly wrong, it won't be my fault.

[FishProf]

It'll still be your hassle, though.  Students won't be screaming for IT's head.

It is trivially easy to download the CMS.  You do't have to do anything with it unless there is a problem.

[downer]

Maybe my students are more easy going than the average. There would be no screaming.

I'd probably just give everyone an A for work up to that point.

Doesn't IT do a back up of the LMS every day?

[marshwiggle]

It'll still be your hassle, though.  Students won't be screaming for IT's head.

It is trivially easy to download the CMS.  You do't have to do anything with it unless there is a problem.

Exactly. And on many systems, the download files are date-stamped, so if you do it once a week, (or whatever), you can always easily figure out which one to open, if you need to.

[polly_mer]

Maybe my students are more easy going than the average. There would be no screaming.

I'd probably just give everyone an A for work up to that point.

Doesn't IT do a back up of the LMS every day?

Giving everyone an A is problematic for courses where few people earn As and grades matter for the next course.

Big places will have redundancies in place for recoveries and will do an off-site every so often.  Small places that could do a full back up overnight won't be doing more than once per week because that's what their resources will support.  I don't know exactly what was driven to the off-site place every Monday morning at Super Dinky for continuity of operations, but I doubt it was student grades in the LMS.

[spork]

Maybe my students are more easy going than the average. There would be no screaming.

I'd probably just give everyone an A for work up to that point.

Doesn't IT do a back up of the LMS every day?

I don't trust our IT department to know how to do anything correctly. I am the one who often has to identify the cause of a problem, find the solution, and tell IT what to do. I would do it myself but I don't have administrator privileges.

[Parasaurolophus]

1. How do you organize the materials you find FOR your class such as interesting articles, websites, videos, class activities, etc.? Sources that you may want to use in a class one day and you do not want to forget about and lose?

I put them in the folder for that class, but not inside any of the subfolders. When it comes time for me to update the syllabus for a new semester's version of the class, I review the loose items in the folder, cull what needs culling, and add what needs adding.

My folders go: PHIL 101 > Fall 2020 > 101-02 - Tuesday (so that each section has a separate folder; I mention the day because I tend not to remember which class is 101-02 and which 101-04 or 101-07 otherwise) and then I have separate folders for the quizzes, exam, lectures, etc. in each section. These usually have identical content apart from the syllabus, so I just use the files in the first section as my reference files. But if ever there's a difference, at least it's properly filed away.

2. Actual organization of student papers/assignments, grade sheets, tests, handouts, lecture notes, etc.

These days, they submit it all through the LMS and I just mark it on the LMS itself, to minimize time spent uploading feedback. If I ever have to download anything of theirs, I file it in a folder under the appropriate section.

I always back up the marks, however. You never know when you'll need an older version.

I'm sure that backing up grade books is an excellent idea. I don't do it though. I keep grades on the LMS. If that fails, IT need to sort it out. I have never actually had a problem losing grades on an LMS.

I didn't lose the grades, but last fall the gradebook for a single class was doing a totally whacko job of computing the grades, and I was unable to figure out why (nor were a colleague and an IT person). It was spitting out grades as high as 2000%, and everything in between. In the end I just downloaded the spreadsheet, deleted the final grade column, and put the formulas in myself (which, honestly, I prefer anyway). I was just lucky it only changed the final grade, and not any of the assignment grades. 0_o

[downer]

Back in the day I did everything on Excel. But now grades have to be on the LMS and there has to be transparency in calculation. Excel was easier and easier to run checks for errors on. But now I only go to it in emergency. That happened when I first used D2L.

[nonsensical]

I have a "clean" version of my syllabus that I share with students and another version on which I take notes. I make notes whenever I notice something in class that I want to remember for next time (examples: slow down on that example, have enough class time for two more slides here, students had the following response to this in-class activity that I didn't expect, etc.). If I come across a reading I might want to incorporate the next time I teach the class, I add a note on the week where I think the reading would go. I look through this version of the syllabus when constructing the syllabus for the next semester, and also when teaching, so that I actually remember to do things like slow down on that example.

[marshwiggle]

I have a "clean" version of my syllabus that I share with students and another version on which I take notes. I make notes whenever I notice something in class that I want to remember for next time (examples: slow down on that example, have enough class time for two more slides here, students had the following response to this in-class activity that I didn't expect, etc.). If I come across a reading I might want to incorporate the next time I teach the class, I add a note on the week where I think the reading would go. I look through this version of the syllabus when constructing the syllabus for the next semester, and also when teaching, so that I actually remember to do things like slow down on that example.

I do this with a file on my computer; I call it something like "course_ideas_2021". I include a note about how long each lecture went - " time OK" "10 minutes short", etc. and add comments like "Discuss fibre baskets". When I've updated my notes to include the changes I modify the note in the file to "Discuss fibre baskets - DONE" so I am still reminded that there is new content.

[Aster]

Back in the day I did everything on Excel. But now grades have to be on the LMS and there has to be transparency in calculation. Excel was easier and easier to run checks for errors on. But now I only go to it in emergency. That happened when I first used D2L.

I do the exact opposite of this. Excel cannot be beat for power and flexibility.

[Charlotte]

You have all given me some great ideas. Thank you!

Nonsensical, I really like the syllabus note idea. I think I will be making a lot of adjustments and don't want to forget them next semester.