Using your Noodle: Organize yourself & your students with Noodle Tools

1. Using your Noodle:Organize yourself & your students with Noodle Tools LTHS Institute DayMonday January 9th 2012 Kelley GibsonSC Librarian

2. Objectives • Review research on the importance of organization skills. • Watch a demonstration of Noodle Tools, an online database. • Discover how Noodle Tools can help you and your students organize and keep track of source citations and note cards. • Set-up a Noodle Tools account and create a Projects page with shared Assignment Drop-Boxes for each of your class periods.

3. Executive Functions “Executive functions are those actions we perform to ourselves and direct at ourselves so as to accomplish • self-control, • goal-directed behavior, • and the maximization of future outcomes.” Dendy, Chris A. Zeigler.

4. Executive functions are crucial to success! Executive function deficits contribute to several problems: • disorganization; • difficulty remembering, getting started and finishing homework; • difficulty memorizing facts, writing essays or reports; • difficulty completing long term projects. Dendy, Chris A. Zeigler.

5. Common organizational problems include: • keeping track of long term assignments & projects; • finding and storing papers; • keeping desks, lockers & backpacks organized; • prioritizing the order of completing tasks; • remembering the sequence of steps in order to complete a task. • Sweeney, Judith P.

6. How can we help our disorganized students? • When we can identify the organizational problem(s) a student has, we have a starting point for finding specific tools that help remediate and/or compensate for the difficulty. • Concentrating on “fixing” one area can affect other areas. Sweeney, Judith P.

7. Organization Problems Inventory • Most people who have organizational problems have one category that is relatively high: • Temporal • Spatial • Categorical • Sequential • Attentional & Prioritization • A “check list” organization problems inventory is included w/handouts –try it with your students! Cash, Abigail.

8. Temporal organizational problems Difficulty Recommendations Keeping track of time; Correctly estimating the amount of time it will take to complete long-term, multiple step assignments. • Visual schedules, timetables and checklists for assignments. • Verbal reminders and “warnings” before transitions.

9. Spatialorganizational problems Difficulty Recommendations Organizing and keeping track of papers, note cards, books, etc. • Implement classroom guidelines or routines for organizing desk, notebooks, folders, books, etc. • Provide materials (filing systems, color-coding, online recorders, etc.) to assist with organization.

10. Categorical organizational problems Difficulty Recommendations Knowing how to sort and categorize data. Overwhelmed with “things.” Unsure how to organize information into folders or “piles.” • Teach sorting techniques using multiple colors of highlighters and color-coding systems. • Teach computer-filing hierarchies and note-taking using templates for categorizing and color-coding.

11. Sequentialorganizational problems Difficulty Recommendations Remembering and carrying out the steps in a task or process in the correct order. • Clearly describe the sequences of actions required for each activity (first, second, etc.) • Break down assignments into “mini-assignments.”

12. Noodle Tools can help! • An online, subscription based software tool; • Promotes students’ critical thinking skills; • Supports teachers throughout the entire research process; • Contains a comprehensive and accurate bibliography composer that supports MLA & APA styles • Includes note-taking and outlining components; • Enables students, alone or with others, to extract, organize and synthesize information.

13. Bibliography • Cash, Abigail. "Organizational Skills: Recommendations for teachers of students with organizational problems." University of Delaware College of Education & Human Development. University of Delaware School of Education. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. • Dendy, Chris A. "Executive Function: What is this anyway?" Attention Feb. 2008: Teens with ADHD. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.chrisdendy.com/ • Sweeney, Judith P. "Technology and Organization." Onion Mountain Technology, Inc. Onion Mountain Technology, Inc., 2006. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

14. Let’s Get Started!! LTHS Library Databases

15. Expectations for Today: • Create Noodle Tools account • Create Projects Page • Create Assignment Drop Boxes for each class period • Create one sample Note Card