Tech Tip: Canvas Calendar

Technology globe in palms. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons

         There are numerous technological advancements that have allowed individuals to easily access differentiating components of their life. There are many aspects of life that can get hectic and complicated. But, having resources at our fingertips has significantly lightened the load. For my technology tip post, I chose to write about the canvas calendar. The calendar within canvas is one that I have enjoyed utilizing throughout my academic career.  A particular feature of the canvas calendar, is that you can view your assignments by week, month, and an agenda like outlook. All of the aforementioned features can be edited in order to best suit an individual's needs. I like using the agenda view, because it lists the dates and assignments for all courses chronologically. Additionally, it crosses off the assignments that are considered completed/past due within the calendar. This has proven very beneficial to me in managing my time. 

        My current time management has seen better days. I am currently enrolled in a total of 17 hours. Fourteen of those hours are being taken at The University of Oklahoma, while 3 of the hours are at a community college in Oklahoma, City. So, time management is absolutely essential to my success in my courses. I also work part time at a children's mental health and substance abuse facility as a patient care assistant. Between juggling my classes, study time, attempting to have a social life, and my job, things can get extremely overwhelming. I have made sure I allocate at least 6 hours of each day to studying and doing homework, while taking two 30 minute breaks throughout the day. On the two days a week I work, I only do 3 hours of homework/studying for that day. Then, the rest of my free time within my days are dedicated to doing things I enjoy and having much needed down time. My canvas calendar does help me with my time management strategy, because I can create/add new events to the dates in my calendar. I found this super helpful for setting reminders to take breaks. Although I do not have an external digital calendar I use. Rather, I use my physical planner and canvas calendar in order to make sure I am keeping up with my assignments and studying. If I do ever get behind, I shift things in high gear and make sure I distribute my time to extra days in order to get back on track. Overall, canvas calendar has given me encouragement to work ahead as much as I can in this course and my other classes as well. It has reduced my work load, by giving me opportunity to plan out my schedule according to my demands for each week.