by Karelle Scharff

O rganization is next to cleanliness, and we all know what cleanliness is next to. And organization is one thing that challenges most kids. If there is one characteristic that affects success or failure in school, it is organization. Organization affects time management, neatness, study skills, and the ability to find one’s work on one’s computer.

Parents can promote organized computer use in several ways. The first step is to organize the computer itself. If the family shares a computer, each family member should have their own secured user account. Parents should know their children’s passwords, but each child should have their own password. This reduces the friction that results from conversations like, “Maggie threw my geography paper away!” If Maggie and Peter can’t access each other’s accounts, they can’t accidentally (or not) mess with the other’s work; kinda like separate bedrooms.

Next, teach your kids how to create and name folders in which to store their files. Some people organize themselves chronologically, creating a year folder, then month folders inside of the year folder. This helps them find their files because their minds work by when they created that file. Others, more commonly, operate by topics. For instance, at the beginning of the year, help your child create a folder called 2009-2010 School Year. With that folder open, create one folder for each school subject and name each one with the name of the subjects–reading, spelling, language & literature, social studies, math, science.

Any time they create a document, that file should be saved to its appropriate folder, WITH AN APPROPRIATE NAME. When I taught computer skills to high school students, I learned quickly that the one concept I had to hammer on continually is naming files so you have a chance of being able to identify quickly, from the filename, what is contained in that file. And even though the computer can tell you the creation date, I find it helpful to incorporate the date into the file name. Encouraging older students to name their files “20081215 LangLit Sonnet v4.doc” identifies the creation date, the class, the assignment, and the draft number. This should be more useful than untitled14.doc. Storing that document in a folder called “Poetry,” nested in “Langlit,” inside a folder entitled “2009-2010 School” or “Freshman Year” means they don’t have to read or open 12 files to find the right one.

It takes only a few minutes to set up the structure for the year, and only a second or two more to save things to their proper place as they are working, but the amount of time and panic it can save when it comes time to print and turn in homework is priceless. Kids can apply the same kind of structure to their personal files—pictures, music, journals, letters, stories, poetry. It’s very empowering to know where to find your “stuff.”

And a last note: BACK UP your computer. Backing up your computer could save your family from a total meltdown the due day of the big project when the computer decides to do something unfortunate. (Heck, it could save you too, when you’ve been working on a spreadsheet at home and your computer crashes). It’s important to have a backup system in place as a Plan B, but a Plan C never hurt anyone. This can be a thumb drive that can go back and forth to school or if the files are not too big, your child can e-mail the pertinent files to herself and pick them up at school.

Teaching children early in their school careers to organize their work will give them a lifetime of empowerment and maximize their academic achievement.

Karelle Scharff, information technologist and the owner of Best MacSolutions is an Apple certified help desk specialist and a member of Apple Consultants Network (www.bestmacsolutions.com), based in Ward. She provides training, service and support to small businesses, home-based business and individuals. Karelle teaches beginning Mac OS X classes in at the Longmont Free University (check their schedules at www.longmontfreeu.org). Questions about classes or Macs? Call her at (303) 459-3363.