Thing 13: Online Productivity Tools

I was amazed at the number of online productivity tools that are available. I used the My Yahoo for my start page. I decided to use that page because my home email account is through Yahoo. It is nice to have direct access to my email account on my start page. I also liked that it displayed the weather for my area. I always want to know the weather conditions before I go somewhere.

I also liked the Backpack Page. It was nice to have so many features available in one place. I could definitely see myself using the calendar feature on the Backpack Page. I could use it at home (especially as my daughter gets older) to synchronize everyone's schedules. I could also use it at school to help students manage a long term project. I could post specific deadlines to the calendar and then create a link to the calendar on my Edline page.

I have mixed feelings about the to-do lists. I think a site such as Ta da list could be helpful for long term lists. I could see myself using it to organize my assignments after I receive a syllabus for a master's class or possibly creating a list of things to do each month during the school year. I don't see myself using it for daily or weekly lists, however, because I don't have constant access to a computer. I find it easier to jot down daily/weekly things to do in a planner.