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.