Category: Video

  • Simple guide to writing effective AI prompts

    Writing effective AI prompts is crucial for academics looking to reduce administrative workload. Using a simple framework of defining the AI’s role, stating your goal, and providing clear instructions can help you get better results. Learn how to write AI prompts that free up time for meaningful academic work.

  • Streamline your research with AI PDF analysis tools in the browser

    Looking for a smarter way to work with research papers? Learn how to leverage AI PDF analysis tools built into Edge browser’s Copilot sidebar for immediate document processing and analysis. This powerful feature helps academics engage with research materials more efficiently, though some advanced features require an Enterprise license.

  • Create MCQs from a slideshow using AI

    Learn how to use generative AI to create MCQs from your slideshow presentations. This time-saving approach helps academics streamline assessment creation while maintaining quality. Watch a practical demonstration of the process, including effective prompting strategies and tips for validating AI-generated questions for classroom use.

  • Academic writing workflow with Obsidian

    Transform your fragmented academic writing workflow into an integrated system that enhances your thinking and productivity. Learn why traditional approaches to managing academic writing across multiple platforms may be holding you back, and explore how connected note-taking tools like Obsidian can create a more natural, sustainable writing environment.

  • Types of notes

    Knowing about the different types of notes you’re taking helps inform your approach to note-taking in general.

  • Weekly review: Using Obsidian to close open loops

    In this video, I do a walk-through of the weekly review that I do every Friday afternoon. The weekly review is a sweep through my entire personal and professional life, where I try to wrap up everything that might cause me any worry after I leave work. I call this a process of closing all…

  • Creative thinking with Obsidian

    In this video I’m talking to Ben Gordon about an experiment in creative thinking with Obsidian, which we tried in the early stages of a writing project. We were frustrated with the limitations of working in Google Docs. Even though Docs is great for many purposes – including collaborating with someone on the other side…

  • Managing information in my personal learning environment

    In this video I demonstrate how I manage information in my personal learning environment. I talk about the flow of information, from deciding what to pay attention to, then how to filter, capture, and process it, and finally how I share it.

  • Quickly capture the essence of a new idea

    In this video I walk you through an example showing how I quickly the essence of a new idea, so that I can come back to it later when I have more time.

  • Expanding a note stub into a permanent note

    In this video I walk through the process of taking a note stub (i.e. a “dump” of content) and expanding it into a more comprehensive and useful permanent note.

  • Capture literature notes from video with Zotero

    In this video I describe the workflow I use to capture literature notes from video with Zotero.

  • Using a ‘Now’ file to prioritise projects

    I came across the idea of using a ‘Now’ file in the middle of last year and have incorporated it into my weekly review. The basic idea is that you keep track of all the big projects in your life, and that you consult this file every time you get the ‘opportunity’ to take on…