{"id":6205,"date":"2017-07-18T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=6205"},"modified":"2017-07-17T09:17:29","modified_gmt":"2017-07-17T08:17:29","slug":"digital-productivity-work-study-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2017\/07\/18\/digital-productivity-work-study-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Productivity for work, study and life."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Technology Enhanced Learning team recently ran a bitesize online course for University of Sussex staff looking at Digital Productivity. This blog post will explore some ideas around that topic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The course was conceived as a way to introduce staff to ways of working that take advantage of digital technologies to enhance or expand on practices they would previously have carried out manually. These techniques are equally useful for students and for \u2018life admin\u2019 for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is very tempting to launch into lists of so-called productivity apps &#8211; and there are very many lists of that sort on the web &#8211; but if you are really going to find new, better ways of working then it is important to spend a little time thinking about where you are now and what you want to achieve. For example:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do you work alone and\/or as part of a team?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What devices do you have access to (desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone etc.)?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do you currently keep track of tasks and notes, communicate and collaborate?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Are there any problems \/ pain points in your current way of doing things?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What would you like to improve?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once you have an idea of what you might need or want, you can start to explore what is going to be most useful to you and\/or your team. Digital productivity can be split roughly into 3 main areas: communication and collaboration; managing and organising tasks; making and organising notes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Communication and collaboration<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the course we used Slack as a platform for sharing, discussing and supporting participants. If you have not seen Slack before this video will give you a quick overview.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9RJZMSsH7-g\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/9RJZMSsH7-g<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9RJZMSsH7-g\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What is Slack? <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">video from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCY3YECgeBcLCzIrFLP4gblw\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Slack<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on YouTube<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Slack would be useful for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Collaborative research projects <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students working on group projects<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Replacing email lists for connecting with team members <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Community discussions such as the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/flippedlearning.org\/fln-updates\/join-the-flipped-learning-slack-community\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Flipped Learning Slack Community<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Slack also integrates with hundreds of other apps (see the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/slack.com\/apps\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Slack App Directory<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) so if you are already using some of the apps listed in the Slack App Directory there is scope to bring things together in one place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For University of Sussex staff and students <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/software\/owncomputer\/office\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Office 365<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which includes OneDrive for storage and OneNote for notemaking and organisation is an obvious choice. With free versions of Microsoft Office for computers and mobile devices it offers an extensive package of collaboration tools and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/informationandsupport\/training\/coursedescriptions\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">training courses are offered by ITS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sussex staff and research students also have access to a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/networkandstorage\/box\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Box account<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which allows you to share and collaborate on files.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cloud services like this, with mobile apps, allow us to keep track and organise our lives using phones and other mobile devices.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6209\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-291x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-291x300.png 291w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-768x791.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-995x1024.png 995w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-100x103.png 100w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-150x154.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-200x206.png 200w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-300x309.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-450x463.png 450w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-600x618.png 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02-900x927.png 900w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/2017_06_22_13_47_02.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Managing and organising tasks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A previous post, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/12\/06\/3-steps-improving-time-management-digital-tools\/\">3 steps to improving your time management with digital tools<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">looked at ways that students and staff can be more organised, and hence productive, with their \u2018to-dos\u2019. At the time, we suggested Wunderlist as a useful app, but as Microsoft have taken over Wunderlist and have announced that it \u2018<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wunderlist.com\/blog\/your-preview-of-microsoft-to-do\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">will eventually be retired<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2019<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> you might want to look at something else &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.any.do\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Any.Do<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.todoist.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Todoist<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> are both good options that will let you organise all your tasks, from work to \u2018life admin\u2019, in one place. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For a more visual display of tasks Trello is still an excellent choice for individuals and teams (see our <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/02\/03\/our-a-z-list-of-app-new-and-improved\/\">previous review of Trello<\/a>), but <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meistertask.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">MeisterTask<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> now offers similar functionality. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is very little difference between <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/trello.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Trello<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and MeisterTask, but the latter will let you track time spent on tasks. If the people you work with are already using one or the other it is probably best to choose that one to make sharing tasks possible. If you want to give MeisterTask a try, there are many useful videos on the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCxKRNRpaNof6SNszGcyCIWg\/videos\">Meistertask YouTube channel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Making and organising notes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Most of us need to make some sort of notes &#8211; for example, a shopping list, notes on reading, ideas for a journal article or reflection on teaching practice. Paper notebooks can be fine, but digital notemaking tools offer the ability to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">capture more types of &#8216;notes&#8217; (images, websites, audio, video etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">organise notes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">easily find notes with search tools<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">access, create and edit notes using all your devices<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">share notes with collaborators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Staff and students at Sussex have free access to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sussex.ac.uk\/its\/services\/software\/owncomputer\/office\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">OneNote as part of Office 365<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and there are many ways it can be used by <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.onenoteforteachers.com\/en-GB\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">students, teachers and administrators<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Further Resources and Support<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some previous blog posts that you might find useful:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2017\/01\/17\/using-technology-digital-skills\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Digital skills for post-university life<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/12\/06\/3-steps-improving-time-management-digital-tools\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">3 steps to improving your time management with digital tools<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/09\/06\/digitally-embedding-digital-skills-curriculum\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Doing it digitally: embedding digital skills in the curriculum<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/07\/05\/doing-it-digitally-summer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Doing it Digitally \u2013 Summer<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/04\/12\/doing-it-digitally-presentations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Doing it digitally \u2013 presentations<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2015\/09\/01\/reflective-practice-goes-digital\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reflective practice goes digital<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2015\/03\/31\/digital-tools-for-writing-at-university\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Digital tools for writing at university<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/11\/01\/working-together-online\/\">Working together online<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Technology Enhanced Learning team are happy to advise and support staff at the University of Sussex in developing their digital productivity. You can contact us on <\/span><a href=\"mailto:tel@sussex.ac.uk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tel@sussex.ac.uk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Technology Enhanced Learning team recently ran a bitesize online course for University of Sussex staff looking at Digital Productivity. This blog post will explore some ideas around that topic. The course was conceived as a way to introduce staff<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2017\/07\/18\/digital-productivity-work-study-life\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[98304],"tags":[4888,4967,98304],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6205"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6211,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6205\/revisions\/6211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}