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It’s a new year, and you know what that means—a list of self-progressing resolutions with the promise of a better you in the near future. Better grades, less procrastination, being more prepared—these are ideal characteristics we’d like to embody for the entirety of our semester. However, I know that for most of us, after about the first month, going out with the gang rather than staying in to finish that paper tends look more appealing.  

Although, sacrificing your Friday in order to finish a paper isn’t necessarily the only scenario. Try not to categorize your life into school v social—it’s not that black and white.  This semester, attempt to find that happy medium.

During your first week of classes, get the syllabus for each, and immediately put mark the due dates into a calendar. From there, try to set your own mini-milestones. It can be daunting to have to sit down, research, write and then proofread a 20 page paper. By breaking it down into a task list, you can complete the paper step by step. One day you can just gather information; another day, pull out key facts; a week later begin an outline…and so on. Who knows maybe you’ll even be so inspired one day to just finish the paper earlier than the usual night before.  Some other suggestions for breaking down those projects into manageable mini-milestones:

• Review project requirements
• Research
• Pull out key facts
• Create outline
• Add the content
• Review!

You can adapt the task list based on each project, or even combine tasks for multiple projects. If you have more than one assignment to research, then spend an hour researching one, and then switch to research the other. It will allow you to keep your momentum going, while using your time efficiently. Just think this semester you could have a stress free life and great grades! By tackling smaller tasks over an extended period of time, you will only have to spend an hour on a task, rather than an entire week. Plus, by getting a head start, it will provide you the opportunity to determine problem areas that you may need to consult your teacher with.

It’s a new year, which means it’s an opportunity for a new beginning.  

With the last group project presented, and final assignment turned in for the night—not a student was near, or even in sight. ‘Twas the end of the semester, and time for a break. Woo Hoo!—no more of those projects we dearly hate!

Now that the semester is over, it’s time to decompress from the hectic schedule that is synonymous with finals. Looking back, do you think your grades are worth enough to get you on the “Nice” list, or does it look like coal on the “Naughty” list? Would you have approached your coursework differently—maybe chosen a different group, tried to be more prepared, less procrastination? Yeah yeah, we all know that you’ll plan better next semester—but we all know how this ends. You will enjoy your holiday season, and before you know it, it’s the New Year and new semester. Still suffering from your holiday hangover, you’ll scurry around to make sure you’ve signed up for the correct classes, maybe get the books and then just play it by ear.

However, we are here to help you get onto that “Nice” list and get those A’s you were hoping for. Answer our questions below to determine the areas you could improve.

1.       Do you have your next semester’s schedule set? No / Yes

Tip: Well, you guessed it—if you selected “No” then you are still on the “naughty” list. Get your schedule set in stone NOW. The worst thing you can do is go into your first week “hoping” to get into that class. If it’s already full, email your advisor—they will be able to put you on a list and slip you on the roster at the first sight of a dropped seat.

2.       Have you placed your next semester’s schedule in your calendar? No / Yes

Tip#2: For those on the “nice” list, you’ve already figured your schedule out; but remember, your calendar is your friend. You don’t want to go through all of that trouble to sign up for classes, and then get dropped because you forgot. Getting back into the scheduled semester groove can take some time after the holidays; so place your weekly courses in your calendar, so that it will have an additional reminder.

3.       Are you books ordered? No / Yes

Tip#3: After the holiday season of purchasing gifts, I assume it’s safe to say that your bank account is looking a little glim. For those who do have money from grandma, the last thing you want is to spend it on books. Take the time to research your curriculum prior to the semester scramble for books. This will provide you plenty of time to look online for a cheaper version, and have it sent before the first day of class. I don’t know about you, but most people don’t like paying that extra overnight fee to expedite, or pay the school bookstore full price for your book in order to complete that paper assigned the first week of school.

4.       Now that you are prepared for the beginning of the semester, do you plan on immediately placing deadlines into your personal calendar? No / Yes

Tip#4: No use in making the same mistake twice. If you found yourself on the “naughty” list, it was probably because you didn’t take time to stay on top of that syllabus. Along with those deadlines, set reminders that those deadlines are coming up a few days earlier. Procrastination happens, but at least this will help you get a head start, rather than showing up to class empty handed.

5.       Have you looked to see what courses you have left to graduate? No / Yes

Tip#5: The biggest incentive in school is graduation. However, you don’t want to get stuck on the “naughty” list because you forgot about that elusive elective that you forgot to take. No one wants to get stuck in summer school for one class, while the rest of their friends are walking the stage, and having their name read on the “nice” list.

 Hopefully, you found yourself with more “Yes’” than “No’s,”–but its not too late to turn your naughty into a nice looking semester ahead of you. 

Happy Holidays!

GroupTable (https://www.grouptable.com) was founded by several UCF students with the goal to create the most effective tool for students to manage their group projects and other groups. In order to help us achieve this goal we want to hear from you!

We’re always looking for ways to improve and enhance your experience with GroupTable. We value and welcome your feedback.

We’re giving away a free iPad 2 with case to a randomly selected user who responds to our survey by November 30th, 2011! In order to be eligible to win an iPad 2, you must have an active GroupTable License. So go ahead and fill out the survey. What will you bring to the table?

Fill out our survey here.

Check out the sweet iPad2 you can win in this video with our co-founder and CEO, David Brim.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we can’t help but allow ourselves to reflect on the people that make us feel grateful for their presence in our lives—family, friends, job, the cop who let you off with a warning. What about the members of your group project?

See how thankful you are (or aren’t) for your fellow group members with the quiz below.

Who’s the Wicked Witch of your group? Is a Vampire sucking the life out of your group?

Take this quiz below to find out if there’s a monster in your group, or if everyone is an Angel.

Take this quiz above to find out if there’s a monster in your group, or if everyone is an Angel.

Here are the possible outcomes…

Vampire

Vampires suck the life out of the group! The only thing positive about this vampires are the “B”lood that they’re drinking. Vampires are a constant dark shadow looming over the group, constantly complaining . They do nothing for the group, other than draining everyone else’s energy. On top of that, Vampires consider their schedule is impossible to work with. Vampires sleep all day, and only work in the middle of the night, making it difficult to coordinate group meetings.

Encourage Vampires to feel more confident and positive about the project and working with the group by making sure they feel included. Encourage them to share their suggestions and opinions and listen thoughtfully. Utilize GroupTable’s Live Chat to work within their schedule, if they are unable to make it to the actual location of a meeting.

Angel

Angels do all the work and stay on task. If it weren’t for Angels, the project  probably wouldn’t get done—or get done in peace. Angels are team players, and always looking out for the group.

Encourage Angels to use the GroupTable task list to allocate more of the work to other group members—rather than taking on all of the responsibility themselves.

Witch

Witches think they know best and try to tell the other group members what to do. Witches spend most of their time trying to cast their spell over their minions—I mean, members—to complete the project the way they see fit. They become so overpowering, that no one else’s opinion is heard.

Encourage Witches to trust their fellow group members and be more collaborative and cooperative. If all else fails, use the GroupTable Discussion and Live Chat to discuss ideas and plans, instead of meeting in person, so the Witch can’t “talk over” everyone else and everyone can be “heard”.

Frankenstein’s Monster

Frankenstein’s Monsters don’t pay attention to anything and are usually lost. They complete the wrong task, miss meetings because they misplaced the address, and usually have nothing of relevance to contribute to discussion.

Encourage Frankenstein Monsters to be more organized by double checking the GroupTable Group Calendar; as well as, pay attention to their GroupTable Notifications, which will alert them when a task assigned to them is approaching it’s deadline.

Ghost

Are Ghosts  even in our group? Ghosts are notoriously elusive. Their name appears on the group roster, but you have never ever seen them in person.  They never attend meetings and provide zero help towards the goals of the group.

Encourage Ghosts to participate and contact them through GroupTable’s Mail, their email, phone, text and sky writing (just kidding) to get their attention. If all else fails, hold them accountable for their actions by inviting your teacher as a “guest” to your group, so they can view who is participating and who’s not.

Here at GroupTable, we’re always working on new ways to improve and enhance your user experience.

Here are some recent changes:

Choose Whether to Display Your User Name or Real Name

A lot of users have been asking for this feature and we’ve listened! Now you can display your real name rather than your user name through the site. This is helpful if you’re using GroupTable for class and your instructor and classmates know you as your real name. If you’d prefer to keep your real name private, you can display your user name instead. For instructions on displaying your user name or real name, click here.

Change Your Email Address

You can now change the email address associated with your account. This is helpful if you received a group invite to a different email address and need to accept it through your existing account. Click here for instructions on changing your email address.

Discount Codes

Are you an instructor or represent a college or university? Are you looking to have your entire class, department or school sign up for GroupTable? If so, you may be eligible for a discount code! Request a discount code for your school today.

Billing

We have heard from some users that after submitting their credit card information, they were not charged or their account was not updated yet. If you’re experiencing this, your credit card may have been declined or the billing address you provided was inaccurate. If this is not the case, please reach out to our support team and we’ll assist you.

Facebook Page

We’ve recently revamped our Facebook page with lots of fun stuff. Like us on Facebook and gain access to discounts, helpful tips, resources for your groups & other neat stuff.

Support Wiki

After gathering your feedback on our recent upgrades to GroupTable, we’ve created a support wiki that includes the answers to any questions you may have about GroupTable. Some common questions we’ve encountered are:

• Why didn’t I receive my group invite?
• How do I edit a task?

Send Us Your Testimonials and Feedback

Share your GroupTable experience with us! We’re always looking for feedback to further improve your experience on GroupTable.

To stay up-to-date with the latest upgrades, upcoming events, and contests like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”–Charles Darwin

Evolution is a funny thing.

When I was younger (and I’m not that old), I used to think that I was part of the self-proclaimed innovation generation—the first to grow up with the new technology in the classroom. In elementary school, we were among the first to use computers (resembling an intergalactic cube, that sounded as if it were about to propel itself into outer space) to forage the trail across Oregon—in hopes that our oxen wouldn’t drown in the river. The thing that really gets me is that when we completed our day’s virtual trek across Oregon, we hit save and whipped out our handy dandy floppy disk that had our name hand written across it.

It all seemed so cutting edge—part of the tech-volution. Now, I look back (in what I would like think as a short amount of time) and realize that the floppy disk alone was just the tip of the sword. If I were to even mention a floppy disk to someone in college, I would just get a quizzical “boy, you’re an old fart” look in return. The floppy disk, as a file storage mechanism, has evolved from a colored piece of tech enhanced plastic sandwich square, to a zip disk, and then followed by a myriad of external hard drives. Every year it seems as if there’s a new, smaller, more mobile version of what we had before. You would think that with so much of evolution’s focus on enabling us to be on the go, there would be a better alternative for accessing and sharing various documents without the possibility of losing it.

Now, I know you are probably ready to rebuttal with some sort of snarky wiz-kid comment, but let me counteract by stating, “Yes. There are options out there.” However, these options are not nearly as evolved as the rest of the app-dapted, tech-volved gadgets out there. For instance, you can easily share and store files within your email. However, this seemingly efficient alternative can get messy real quick. For instance, you are working on a group project or planning an event with multiple people, and those emails and documents can add up—especially when a member in the group decides to only “reply” rather than “reply all,” with their revision, immediately creating a whole new thread of conversation (you all know what I am talking about). The only thing email offers to sharing files, is if you are sharing them with yourself.There are also other online document sharing programs, yet these are usually only attainable if you have an email associated with the program. They also may restrict the amount of collaboration—making you resort back to email to discuss any type of strategy.

The ability to store our files needs to adapt to the lifestyle the evolution of technology has created for us. Thumb drives are great, but if a file has the chance to be left on your desk, or the inability to be changed as a team’s strategy evolves, then they will not survive much longer.

Programs, such as GroupTable, are on the path to reinventing the way we store our files.  No longer do we need to worry about leaving our presentation at home, or turning in the wrong revision because we got lost in a hectic web of emails. Today, GroupTable has helped students all over communicate, collaborate and complete documents all in one virtual spot–allowing them to revise, save and share from any computer, anywhere.

Finally, there’s a generation of file storage that would make the floppy disk proud of the path that it’s progeny is forging–definitely an improvement since Oregon.

For all of those students who go into the midterm season prepared, say “I!”

All those who got back their midterm, and were less than pleased with their grade, say “I!” again…

Now, for all of those who subconsciously figured that “if I don’t do well on the midterm, I will just make up for it in the final,” say “I!”

…that’s what I thought.

As students, it is in our nature (or maybe just mine) to go in guns blazing, ready to study for that upcoming test, only to spend the entire week pushing it back…and back…and back. Then when you finally do sit down to study it is either a) a social event at the library b) a session of mindlessly material sifting, retaining nothing, or c) spending the entire time on Facebook.  Wouldn’t it be great if there were something that would constantly send us reminders to “study for that test!” or “read that important chapter that you know your teacher is going to test you on.” Something that would mark down all of your tasks deadlines without the worry of remembering to bring it around with you like a planner?  Whats that?…there is?

Getting those top grades, that come with staying on our study track, is what GroupTable finally enables us wayward students to do! I know from my personal planner, that in the beginning of the course, I was filled with good intention and high hopes. Notes such as, read that, review here, study there, peppered the weeks and days leading up to my midterm. Unfortunately, my planner was only useful if I opened it…and even then, I would just pretend like I didn’t see the big “STUDY!” in red, underlined three times.  Next thing I know, my teacher is handing back my midterm with a grade that girls (and lets be honest, guys) usually only look for in their bra size.

Finally, I took a stance and made some huge improvement in my study habits, with GroupTable metaphorically holding my hand the entire way.

1. Scheduled “Study Days”: by allocating the work load over an extended period of time, it makes the work much less daunting. Think of it as exercising—going for a 15 minute walk is better than sitting on your couch b/c you don’t feel like spending an hour at the gym.  Use GroupTable Calendar to set up these “study events.” From there you can make notes on the event wall, and add a notification that will send a reminder directly to your email!
2. Type/Upload Your Notes: for those of us who don’t feel like lugging a computer around campus, take time at the end of your day to type up your hand written notes. This will act as a review, as well as get you more organized. Once you have a saved document you can create a folder in your GroupTable Binder dedicated to the topic, or the class, and upload your notes! Once and for all you won’t have to waste money on a million spiral notebooks and binders.
3. Create a Task List: I don’t know about you, but I am a perpetual “list maker.” Something about striking out a task gives me a great satisfaction and a false sense of productivity. I will write even the mundane down on my list, just so I can “check” something off—like “shower.”  Using GroupTable’s Task List finally made me own up to the important tasks at hand. I was able to create separate Task Lists for each class, as well as set a notification to remind me when something needed to be done.
4. Study Group: As someone who is working all day—and going to class at night—finding the time to get together for a study group is near impossible, aside from completely undesirable. No one wants to spend their Saturday driving/walking all over campus to meet with a group to discuss the Time Value of Money. Finally, someone suggested using GroupTable’s Live Chat feature. So instead of wasting time and gas money, we were able to use our group’s Chat to ask and answer each other’s questions regarding the study guide. Saturday Studying Sabotage avoided.  Thank you GroupTable.

Even though we may think to ourselves “I’ll be more prepared next time” it never really happens unless we have someone, or something, holding us accountable. GroupTable was my accountability check. It reminded me when I needed to spend a few minutes reviewing; I was able to keep all of my notes organized in one place; and I never had to miss out on Sunday Funday because I had to drive to campus for a study group. I had no excuses NOT to study…and now I don’t show up to my midterm thinking “well, if I bomb this…there’s always the final.”

You’ve prepared for weeks to put your group performance before an audience, and to you it is nothing short of flawless. As you receive your grade back for what you perceived was something fantastic, you’re slightly disappointed with the outcome. What happened? Why isn’t your project number one? Well, from an audience perspective, there are many things that could affect your group’s project, and there are also ways to improve upon group projects, based on simple, focused tips.

Versatility

Versatility is a great way to catch an audience’s attention. You and your group shouldn’t let one idea or act become the sole purpose of your project. Come up with other ideas and don’t settle on one person’s point of view. Brainstorming helps your group explore other ways to show people that you really put effort into your project.

Communication

A significant reason to why groups may not be successful is lack of communication. Use GroupTable’s discussion boards to keep track of conversations. Create a sense of open communication, not only with the exchange of ideas, but also with constructive comments and ways to improve upon your performance. These constructive comments can contribute to a memorable act.

Stay on Task

Stay on task and try to get things done early as a group. Don’t leave the bulk of the work for one person. When a group doesn’t perform as one, your grade may suffer. There aren’t going to be three strikes; it could only be one, and your grade may be out of the race. A great way to keep on task is to set deadlines to when your group members should complete their assignment and learn their part. Incorporating a task list using GroupTable can help reduce clutter, and keep everyone on track.

Time Management

Showing the audience that your group has talent can be easily done by committing to a plan of action. Create responsibilities for each member of your group to increase efficiency. Try creating a task list and spread out the work so that nothing is left for the last minute. Leaving everything for the last minute is an easy way for your group to end up with an underperforming routine. Lack of patience and planning may end up showing in your presentation. Don’t let this create a missed opportunity to move onto the next round and get the grade you’re looking for.

There are many opportunities to make sure your group project comes out on top. With careful planning, good communication, and time management, your group won’t have to worry about whether or not you will get the grade you want.

If you’ve been a part of a group project you know that they can definitely be stressful. Simply doing a search on twitter for the term “group project” or “group projects” will yield many results of students experiencing the pains of dealing with group projects. Well, there is good news….Group projects don’t have to drive you crazy anymore. GroupTable was created by a group of students to help solve that problem.

Jessica, GroupTable’s project manager/designer, put together this cool comic depicting the pains many group project teams that are not using GroupTable run into.

Enjoy…

What problems have you ran into while being a part of a group project team or assignment?

Do any of the scenarios depicted bring up memories of past group projects?