Saturday, December 28, 2013

Thing #4: New Year's Organization and Efficiency Tools

Now that you have more tools, you need a tool bag--or new pockets--or just the impetus to clean up.
This Thing is meant to help you organize your professional life. 
My plan was to add curation (selecting, annotating, and sharing) as a tool for you and your students but I'm sensing that you are overwhelmed.  I added some curation resources on the bottom for a varsity option. 

Browse the tools suggested below (or find others).  Select one (or more) to try out.  I think Diigo or Evernote are your best bets.  When you find something to fit your needs, dive in.  The idea is to find something that helps you permanently--not just try, check off a list, and move on. 

 

As with any successful diet,

you need a New Year's organization tool

that you can stick with for true work-style change.

 

Assignment:

1. Blog about the tool(s) you choose.  Feel free to mention others that you investigate, as your findings could help others. 
2. Mention the tool in a tweet.

Varsity option: Share a tool (or more) with students.  You might simply promote one, or you could include it in an assignment.  Our students need organization help even more than we do, and that is a scary thought!
Another idea is to take the next step and curate for others--students and teachers.  Select the best resources you find and share them out.  Check out the Curation Addendum on the bottom of the page.

Diigo

I only use about 10% of Diigo's capabilities but it is my main organizational tool.  I use the bookmarking features to organize the gazillions of links that come through my inboxes. I set it up to automatically bookmark any post I favorite in Twitter.  It works from my iPhone, iPad, work and home computers.  I already helped Amy set it up--then she really started to see the value of Twitter.  You can also highlight notes, annotate web articles, and share to your PLN.  My library is public: , so feel free to check it out: https://www.diigo.com/user/kaluzynskis Note: And yes, my new year's resolution is to clean that up, along with my inboxes!  Right now, anything tagged "twitter" was favorite from Twitter.  If it is tagged "tweet", the link is actually about Twitter.



Pocket App

 is Darron's find.  Formerly called Read It Later, it saves your favorites to Twitter from your device


Livebinders

This is a virtual binder.  You can add notes, files, embed links and videos.  I created a livebinder to organize my library renovation plan.  http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=753231 
I know some teachers and librarians who have had students create Livebinders for a project or a whole class.  I think I heard that you can sync it with Twitter also.

Another virtual binder is Three Ring.  I haven't tested it yet.  Good for organizing your goods, or with students, I hear.

Evernote

I sense I'm using about 5% of Evernote--for note-taking in workshops and meetings.  I think it is the most popular tool out there among educators.  Below is an intro video.  If you choose Evernote, check out their video library.
With browser and app add-ons, you can clip web content directly into Evernote, save the full text of
articles and web pages complete with sections highlighted, email notes and content from multiple devices, store documents, take video notes, record audio and more. And that's just the free version.

Best of all, Evernote synchronizes with all your computers and portable devices, giving you access to your notes everywhere. Content can be organized into notebooks that are private or shared with
others as need be. Notes can be tagged with your own keywords to help you find content later.
 

 Symbaloo

 
Symbaloo is a shortcut page.  It creates a pretty version of bookmarks.  I prefer creating and editing symbaloo with the iPad over the computer--a little more user-friendly.  Fun to slide the buttons around, too.  Feel tree to try it out or make your own to put on a class webpage.


Curation addendum

The next few are more of curation tools but I'm adding them in for Varsity players.  If no one gets to them, I'll make this a separate thing.  I'm pretty convinced that curation for students will be a Thing-at-large, as it puts into play Common Core skills. "Argument Curation: An Effective Approach To Develop Critical Thinking Among Students"  http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/5227
 

Scoop it

is really easy to use, and makes you look awesome with very little effort.  It reminds me of Pinterest.  When you see something useful posted by someone else, you click and it is added to your Scoop with an annotation--or not.  Here's my first attempt: http://www.scoop.it/t/common-core-for-hs-librarian 
 

Smore

This is really a digital flyer but I saw someone use it as a curator at a conference.  Here's my Common Core S'more, which I think will make my SEED goal look swanky.

Educlipper

Check out this nifty Thinglink overview of Educlipper.  Just hover over the image and discover Tags.


MentorMob  @MentorMob

Looks pretty promising.  I created an account but haven't played much.  It is self-described as:
1. Learn What You Want:
Find a Learning Playlist to narrow down that bucket list, or discover a brand new obsession. 'Save' your favorites to stay organized!
2. Teach What You Love:
Create your own Learning Playlist or edit those that need your help! Organize great Youtube videos, the best blog posts, or even your own content!

And for your entertainment...
a visual from an article called "15 Time Management Tips Every Connected Educator Should Know" but really should be renamed "15 pitfalls and 1 tip" to use onlineclock.net. Or just type "timer 5 minutes" in Google search bar.