Tools for Organizing and Managing Tasks

TASK MANAGERS

I created accounts in Wunderlist, Remember the Milk, Work Flowy, and Scribbless and played around with each.  These are free task managers that create lists and tasks.  There are tutorials on YouTube for each of these.  I watched the tutorials, but was eager to try the apps out for myself. 

A. Remember the Milk (www.rememberthemilk.com) has preset lists for inbox, personal, work, sent, and study, but you can also create others as you see fit.  Under each list you add a new task.  The features that set this application apart are that you can choose a due date for each task, repeat it (yearly, monthly, weekly, etc.), prioritize it by color codes, and then choose to be reminded of a task by e-mail, Skype, mobile device, etc.  A search box is included to look for already assigned tasks.  You can choose to share your list with others.  The site urges you to upgrade to a Pro account for $25/year.

B. WorkFlowy (www.workflowy.com) is very simple in design and easy to use.  You are able to indent and unindent in an outline format.  You can control visibility by clicking on bullet points, thus hiding extraneous data and cleaning up your viewing field.  Hovering over items opens up options such as edit and share.  Because this is a web application, it is available to use on all of your web devices.  It also has keyboard shortcuts available.  It is simple and plain, without any bells or whistles.

C. Scribbless (www.scribbless.com) is also simple and very easy to use to create, organize, and share lists.  Items can be dragged or thrown away.  You have easy icons for printing or e-mailing your lists, which can be made public or private.

D. Wunderlist (www.wunderlist.com) is made for iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac, and Android and it syncs between your devices.  You are able to create lists, add items to lists, and assign due dates to items. You can assign tasks to teammates and collaborate on projects.  There is an Assigned to Me Smart List.  It is distinctive in that you can customize the background, “star” things to make them prominent, drag items around to change the order, and check off a box when they have been completed.  Checked items make a clicking sound as they move below to a completed list.  You can choose how to see your tasks: overview or minified view.  A browser extension can be installed to help with research or saving wish list items.  The browser extension is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari and can be used to save content from the Web, such as articles and videos.  The Add to Wunderlist button will appear next to the navigator bar.

I showed each of these to my 8^th grade English classes.  Most of them liked Wunderlist best, as did I.  One thing they liked was the ability to change the background, much like on a computer.  They also liked the effect of checking an item done and having it move to a new location.  It was pretty easy to use without any training.  We made a pretend grocery list with each student contributing an item to buy.  Those who were too slow to respond were given something embarrassing like diarrhea medicine or pimple cream as their item.

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We did an imaginary walk through Walmart, checking off items as we found them.

Afterwards, I asked them to think of ways they might be able to use this in high school.  They suggested a homework/assignment list, a school supply list, tasks in a group assignment, or a Want to Read list.  I love the idea of checking off items in a Want to Read list!  You would have a record of what you haven’t yet read and what you have.  Before you check them off, you could add notes about what you liked or didn’t like about the book.

EVERNOTE

Evernote (www.evernote.com) is a free application for your computer and smart phone which captures and stores emails, web articles, photos and images, maps, voice memos, and even handwritten notes.  All you have to do is install this app on your computer or smart phone, so that all your notes will be available on any device you use.  A free account has 40 MB monthly upload allowance.  The interface is divided into three parts.  The left side shows Notebooks, Tags, Attributes, Saved Searches, Trash, and Advertisements.  The center part shows all the notes you have created and an option to sort them, and the right side shows the full note that you have selected from the center of the interface.

It is easy to retrieve information stored with this software.  Evernote has an information retrieving algorithm inspired by Google Search.  You can assign Tags to every note so that when you search using Tags, it will only show the notes associated with that Tag.  Or you can stack similar kinds of notes and make a notebook in Evernote.  You can take clear pictures of writing.

How can students use Evernote?  Here are some ways:

1. Take notes in class.  Evernote keeps every class note in a single application, making it easy to scan through several days’ worth of notes the night before a test.  Students or teachers can take a picture of notes on whiteboards. Take a picture of your handwritten notes and paste into Evernote.

2. Go paperless. Use a scanner or your phone’s camera to digitize your syllabi, project descriptions, and graded papers.

3. Manage your activities. Set up different notebooks in Evernote to give these activities their own space, like a filing cabinet you carry with you.

4. Record important lectures.  You can record audio notes on your phone or iPad right in Evernote.

5. Organize your research.  Evernote makes it easy to drop links, PDFs, charts, and books scans into a single, searchable notebook.  Web clipper is a browser extension that helps you save web pages, web page text, or web images directly from web browsers.

PINTEREST

I first discovered Pinterest when a fellow teacher who loves to try new recipes began using it to hunt for recipes and pin the ones she would like to try.  I pinned a few recipes myself, but am not all that excited about cooking.  I played around with it and set up a few boards with pictures of things that interest me, such as Brilliant, Misunderstood People. 
<a data-pin-do="embedBoard" href="http://www.pinterest.com/rutnbub/brilliant-misunderstood-people/">Follow Ruthanne Cassidy's board Brilliant Misunderstood People on Pinterest.</a>
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Follow Ruthanne Cassidy's board Brilliant Misunderstood People on Pinterest.

As a teacher and future librarian, I began to think about how to use it in the classroom and how students can use it to assist with their assignments and projects.  Here are some possibilities:

1. Make a research board.  Find articles and photos to post on the board.

2. Make a wish list of books you would like to read.  You can post pictures of the book covers obtained from Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, or anywhere else on the Web.  Your family and friends can then look at your board when they are getting you a gift.  After you receive a book, you can then edit your board, taking off some and adding others.

3. Make a college planning board with information and photos of colleges that you are interested in checking out or applying to.

4. Many projects can be presented attractively this way.  At our school students in the Skills for Living Class have an assignment that projects the costs of having a baby, including the first year of its life.  Students must calculate prenatal care, hospital care, baby clothes, formula, daycare, etc.  The board could display photos, tables, and notes.

5. Students could create an All About Me poster to introduce themselves to their classmates.  ESL students could post a map of their country, pictures from their home and culture, and other interesting facts.  The posters could then be displayed all at once, or on a special Student of the Week/Month display.

Tweets from Education Technology Gurus, Part II

The Daring Librarian, @GwynethJones, shares Top Ten Most Beautiful Places to Read Books. http://www.educationbash.com/top-10-most-beautiful-places-to-read-books/. The vintage looking libraries call to me.  It makes me think of Professor Higgins' library in My Fair Lady.  There is something quite charming about stacks of old books in stages of disarray. I love looking at these photos and dreaming of idling some hours in such quaint settings.

10 Most Beautiful Places to Read Books| @scoopit http://t.co/LGpqEnMR4g #LibraryPr0n
— The Daring Librarian (@GwynethJones) January 21, 2014

Jim Lerman, @jimlerman, tweets that Google Search has added an easy way to search for images that have reuse rights.

Google Search has finally added a simple way to search for images that have reuse rights! http://t.co/EEuHcVtLvB
— Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) January 16, 2014

This is so useful to me.  As an ESL teacher, I use tons of images to make vocabulary and reading comprehensible.  It's so frustrating to have to try again and again to copy an image to use on a test or in a lesson.  Here's what you do:  First of all enter your search keyword, then click on Images. You will then see Search tools. Select this and it reveals Usage Rights with a drop down menu. The default is ‘not filtered by licence’. You can then choose one of four further options:

• labelled for reuse
• labelled for commercial reuse
• labelled for reuse with modification
• labelled for commercial reuse with modification

Check the best match and you will then only see the images that have those rights.

Kathy Schrock, @kathyschrock, really is a tech guru! It is hard to pick a favorite tweet.  She, like Jim Lerman, tweets about finding usage rights for Google Images.  But here is one of my favorites that she tweeted: 

New online tool for making infographics, presos & banner ads. http://t.co/6mRkFjuaF0 pic.twitter.com/OKD9NdYzSq
— Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock) January 14, 2014

It is a free app that helps you create visual presentations with animations, banner ads, charts and graphs, etc. It is an all-in-one cloud based tool.  Very cool!

Tweets from Education Technology Gurus

Linda Braun, @lbraun2000, tweets a link on 5 Reasons You Should be Teaching Digital Citizenship.

5 Reasons You Should Be Teaching Digital Citizenship #lis460 http://t.co/p0XlykvScD
— Linda W Braun (@lbraun2000) January 22, 2014

The article describes cyberbullying and reckless use of digital communication as being rampant among teens.  This could be due to cruel exploiters, parents who fail to set boundaries, lack of education and discussion in schools, or a combination.   We can teach students to be proactive and mindful of how they deploy their devices.


Tony Vincent, @tonyvincent, had a lot of tweets about something called Stick Around.  He actually created it.  I clicked on one of the links and it took me to an iPad app called Stick Around by Tony Vincent and MorrisCooke, a way to play, design, and share sorting and labeling puzzles. Teachers can make puzzles for students to practice content by dragging stickers from a tray to their correct spots on a background before the time runs out.

@joedale Have you had the chance to try Stick Around yet? http://t.co/5PsE4PMu71 :-)
— Tony Vincent (@tonyvincent) January 11, 2014

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stick-around-by-tony-vincent/id557949353?ign-mpt=uo%3D4
It's called Stick Around because it helps make learning stick.

Buffy Hamilton, @buffyjhamilton, has a lot of tweets about her mother, who is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.  But she also tweeted enthusiastically about Write Around Text Activities and linked photos of students doing the activity.  I enjoyed seeing their engagement; everyone was on task.

Getting ready to start the next session of write-around text in about 25 minutes. So many insights from the students today!
— Buffy Hamilton (@buffyjhamilton) January 17, 2014

Photos from today's write-around texts---will probably do two blog posts on today's activities. Awesome day! http://t.co/bo23BWGPbK
— Buffy Hamilton (@buffyjhamilton) January 17, 2014

School Libraries with Facebook Pages

 I perused the Facebook pages of three school libraries: West Brook High School in Texas, Vilonia Middle School in Arkansas, and Cordova Elementary School in Alabama.

I chose West Brook because it's in my town, just down the road from my middle school.  West Brook's High School Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Brook-High-School-Library/150517588294492, has an attractive layout.  The cover photo is changed frequently, mostly to reflect the changing months.  They joined Facebook at the beginning of the school year in 2010.  They are LIKED by 418.  There were 9 photos for 2013 which were mostly cover photo changes.  The page also includes the school logo/mascot.  In 2012 they posted 24 photos, which included photos of students, the library, book covers, fine forgiveness, and banned book week posters. However, there do not seem to be many posts or comments, at least not this school year.  The library staff posted at the beginning of the school year: library hours/rules, book club meeting, Facebook contest, Hispanic Heritage Month, Book Swap Week, and Officer Voting for Manga Club.  There was nothing after October 3rd.  Only a few people posted comments.  The main page has a link to Community & Government pages.  West Brook seems to use its Facebook page to post library information, but does not especially invite interaction.  One person did post a question about Manga shirts to which the library responded.  The only invitation was for students to LIKE their page and have their name entered into a drawing for a $30 iTunes card.

Vilonia's Middle Schools Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vilonia-Middle-School-Library/78374312486, has many photos of students, many taken with The Grinch. They joined Facebook in May 2009 and are LIKED by 615. They share posts with information about happenings in the school, not just the library, such as awards ceremonies, chili cook-off, pink-out day, See You at the Pole, sports, etc.  Their very active site shares a smorgasbord of information.  Everything happening at the school is shared here, so students and parents alike will want this to be their go-to site.  The library itself has Literacy Night, book fair bucks awarded for homecoming spirit week best dressed, and book fair buddy pictures. They also include posts about books and free e-books.  There were not a lot of outside comments, but there was a lot of good information.

Cordova Elementary's School Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cordova-Elementary-School-Library/168055128780, has a lovely library photo as its cover.  The information provided is for parents, mostly about school happenings.  They joined Facebook in October 2009 and are LIKED by 399. There are not many outside comments, but this site is meant more for parents' than for students' use.  It would probably be better if they included information for kids to enjoy, such as descriptions of good books and fun questions for them to respond to.  This would be a good way for elementary students to practice using the computer and social media.

Overall, Vilonia Middle School's Facebook page was the best of those I examined.  (I wonder if it's okay to show pictures of students on their page.  They probably have to get parental consent.)  All of the libraries used their Facebook page to share library information, but the middle school and elementary school also shared school-wide information.  I think that sharing school happenings along with library happenings is a great way to promote the library because more people will visit your page.  Book blogs and trailers would also be an excellent enhancement.  None of the sites had a lot of comments.  If the librarian posted a book question or clue and invited responses, this would pique interest in the site.  I would add photos of students/teachers caught reading, along with photos of celebrities reading.  Having a Library Facebook page that is well used and visited would be a definite plus for middle and high schools, but could also benefit elementary schools.

A disadvantage might be that some students don't have access to Facebook or the parents of younger children might not like them being on Facebook.  Another disadvantage might be that students would post inappropriate comments.  The librarian would have to check it out regularly.

The Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

I read Divergent and Insurgent over Christmas break.  Am now reading Allegiant.  These are great!  They are similar to the Hunger Games, yet have their own distinct characteristics.  I recommended that our librarian order them for our middle school library.  She now has a waiting list - the teens are gobbling them up!  Great discussions could arise from these pages.