Thing #16 - Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

          Since I had customized a start page with iGoogle in a previous blog post, I decided to try Page Flakes to create this start page.  Page Flakes reminded me a lot of iGoogle – it was extremely simple to set up.  I selected the news and miscellaneous categories that interested me and then submitted to save my settings.  I moved some of the boxes around to balance out the page, and editing was a simple process.  I also started an online Google calendar, and it was a quick procedure as well.  I liked the "invite other guests to a calendar event"as a means of notification, but the recipient needs to have an email program like Outlook in order to open the invitation attachment.  I think that an online calendar is an effective method for reminding parents and students of upcoming activities and due dates for assignments – sort of like a syllabus.  It would help organize student work and manage students' workload, which is an essential life skill.  As a tool for instructors, one of these calendars could help a teacher stay on top of day-to-day meetings and lesson plans, as well as to keep a record of upcoming personal appointments and activities.

          For to-do list apps, I checked out Remember the Milk and MyStickies.  I like the visuals in MyStickies, and the premise made sense, but I don’t think that I would use it because I prefer a filing system like Diigo for storing favorite websites and tagged information.  I liked Remember the Milk’s layout, and I thought that the set-up could be beneficial for disorganized students to adapt in order to manage multiple tasks and deadlines.    The system has tabs for organization, and it can be used with other apps including Google calendar.  It gives a good overview by housing the “to do” list in one central location; and for education purposes, the information can be emailed to parents and students to streamline the exchange of information.