It took me 6 years in the field of online education to discover this efficient and timesaving trick, and now, I can’t imagine teaching online without it. What magical device am I talking about? It is none other than installing a second monitor to utilize when teaching online.
For years, I attempted to teach all of my courses from my laptop. I liked that the laptop was portable and I could work from the couch in the front room while my children were playing around me. I could take it to Starbucks, on vacation, wherever I needed to go. And I was hesitant to give up that flexibility. Finally, after fighting it for years, I recently installed a second monitor and I would definitely say that I gained from being chained to my laptop for years in mobility, I was lacking in efficiency.
For my work computer, I still have a laptop, but I also have a docking station and two monitors. This allows me the best of both worlds. On nice days, I can take the laptop outside – or I can travel with it – and not have to transfer my files. However, when I have a lot of work that I need to complete quickly and efficiently, I can dock the laptop at my desk and enjoy the many benefits that two screens provide.
By doubling the amount of screen area that I have to work with, I can view multiple programs, websites, or files at once without having to toggle between them. For those of you already working in online education, you’re aware of how frequently one needs to toggle! All of those clicks and the fear of losing work when something is closed inadvertently can be so frustrating – not to mention a major time suck!
My husband helped me to setup the two monitors and it is actually a pretty simple process. I still have a main or primary monitor and then the second monitor I can pull items over to help with grading or copying from a Word document to discussion boards, and I leave my email up and running on the second monitor constantly.
For example, when grading discussion boards, I can have the board itself open on one screen and the gradebook open on the other. This is so much more efficient and easier than trying to toggle between the two. I would estimate that I have reduced my grading time by at least half.
The dual screens are also perfect for creating new curriculum, such as designing rubrics. I can have the assignment open in one screen to read and refer to as I work, while working on the rubric itself on the other screen. Besides being a huge time saver, it has also been a huge paper and ink saver. I’m printing significantly less than before, which is never a bad thing!
If you’ve been debating the benefits of a second monitor, let me assure that it is completely worthwhile – especially for online instructors!
About the Author
Jamie Weitl is a WAHM teaching for several online universities and raising three precocious little ones. In her spare time she enjoys writing, baking, and running. For more info, see my Google Plus Profile.
