IYKYK that AccessLex is hosting a series of roundtable discussions on the NextGen Bar Exam. (Thank you for bringing our community together, AccessLex!)

Today’s post reflects on yesterday’s roundtable and provides four workflow tips to help simplify your workplace.

1. Transform your hard copy worksheets. If you are using hard copy worksheets with students, consider moving them into an online survey or form to easily gather information. These online tools help you review response rates, and track and analyze data. Some hard copy worksheets that you could transform include first year academic self-assessment surveys, orientation feedback forms, repeat bar taker self-report surveys, and final year bar planning surveys. If you are using a hard copy worksheet, here are a few sample instruction videos to assist in your online efforts:

– How to use Google Forms: https://youtu.be/BtoOHhA3aPQ?si=ZUTiFOQLr_2TVWun

– How to use Microsoft Forms: https://youtu.be/ffVolJTBVmE?si=l0jA7QZ1VGfxFymo

– How to use Jotform: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEVsdL6NtE8

2. Create an interactive booking system. Forcing yourself to plan your availability also helps you set boundaries. Interactive booking systems help you track your calendar, track and report on the “hot topics for discussion” and input important breaks in the day like lunch. Here are a few online scheduling tools that may be helpful for you: Microsoft Bookings, Calendly, HubSpot Meetings and Google Calendar. 

3. Consider social media presence. Social media is an important channel to reach today’s students. Could your program benefit from scheduled social media posts? Social media can streamline communications and avoid the same individual conversation several times in one day. Social media also serves to reach students that might be scared or “too cool” to step into your office. Social media might intimidate you if you aren’t familiar with technology, but this is an opportunity to collaborate with students that frequently use the tool. You can employ a student or group of students to transform your ideas into creative content and assist in the posts. Collaboration generates buy-ins and brings a fresh take to academic and bar success programming. Here are two quick reads as you consider your path to becoming an “influencer.”:

• Castello, Rosa, The New Skill on the Block: Using Social Media in the Law School Classroom to Facilitate Learning (April 23, 2021). Southern Illinois University Law Review, Vol. 45, 2021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4144978
• Social media in the Classroom, UNC Blog, Available at: https://journals.law.unc.edu/ncjolt/blogs/social-media-in-the-classroom/

4. The next forefront – incorporating AI into your workplace. We all understand that Artificial Intelligence isn’t going anywhere. As our brilliant colleague, Liz Johnson, highlighted yesterday, AI can also help simplify. As Liz proposed, efforts like using Artificial Intelligence to assist in study schedule creation, AI chatbots to answer questions about student handbooks, and AI assistance in course registration are new avenues to explore.

As the saying goes, “work smarter, not harder.”

[Amy Vaughan-Thomas]