Of Water Wings and Bicycles and the "Digital Haves"

Chairing District Accreditation teams, delivering software training, and conducting workshops have brought me in contact with schools and school personnel in a number of states. As we talk about technology, the topic is invariably raised of how many households have Internet access. We have sound educational objectives that involve student use of the Internet at home. Yet, we hesitate to move forward because of those who “don’t have the Internet.”

The discrepancies between the libraries in large cities and those in small towns are enormous. So too are the discrepancies between resources in affluent versus poverty-ridden schools. The great equalizer is the Internet. The Internet is the same in the Library if Congress as it is in the library down the street.

We must re-frame the question from, “Do you have Internet access?” to “How do you have Internet access?” Do you have access at home? If not, what about at work? Can you get to a public library on a regular basis? Can you go to a neighbor’s house?

As long as we operate in a mode that assumes part of our population will not access the Internet, we can never fully use this tool in the homework or projects we assign. We further the disconnect that so many see between our educational system and how the real world operates.

People generally rise to the expectations set before them. If we proceed with the assumption that our students can gain Internet access, they will find a way. If we proceed with the assumption that our parents can gain Internet access, they will find a way. Our communication methods can become more streamlined. Our assignments and the resources required to complete then can mirror how resources are used in the real world to solve problems. In short, we can move to a new level.

At the same time, we tend to rely on the crutches that are available to us. As long as you give me water wings, I don't have to learn to swim. As long as you let me keep the training wheels, I don't have to really learn to ride the bike. As long as you continue to send me a paper copy of everything, I never have to figure out a way to become one of the "digital haves."

When we continue to make allowances for those who have yet to make joining the "digital haves" a priority, we become part of the problem. We send the message that access to the unlimited body of knowledge available with a few mouse clicks is just not that important. Perhaps it's time to take away the water wings. Perhaps it's time to take away the training wheels. Perhaps it's time to stop duplicating every digital communication with a paper copy.

Let’s change the conversation. As we turn another page on the calendar to 2012, let's refuse to allow a segment of population to ignore a tool that holds so much potential. No longer ask the question, “Do you have the Internet?” Assume the answer to be "Yes." The only question is the “How?”

What are your thoughts on how we can narrow the digital divide?

Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference Wrap-Up

Thanks to everyone who attended one of my sessions at the Alabama National Board Certified Teacher Network Conference. This post recaps the sessions and "where we go from here."

 

Handouts
If you did not download handouts prior to the convention, you may download them here.

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

• Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• "Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
• Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter. 
• Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
• Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
• Bring me to your school or organization.

Digital Lesson Planner
For a limited time, you may download the Digital Lesson Planner and the companion video which explains its use. Go to the Free Resources page of my website and look for these two items in the left-hand column.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook 
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall 
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).


Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

Click the cover to download your free Dropbox ebook.  

Google Docs Forms
We mentioned briefly about students being able to take tests on the computer which are instantly graded and item analysis conducted. Here is a post that goes into more depth on that concept. The link will explain the concept. If this is something your school would serious like to pursue, let me know.)

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

1. Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
2. Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
3. Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
4. In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
5. From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
6. While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
7. Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
8. At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
9. At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
10. By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
11. Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
12. Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
13. Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
14. Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
15. Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

If you also wish to have the form on your Smartphone, you will repeat the process on that device. Check your e-mail on the Smartphone and open the one containing the link to the walk-through form. Click the link to display the form. Now turn that URL into a desktop shortcut. How this is done will vary from one Smartphone to the next. For example, on a BlackBerry running OS6, click the icon just to the right of the URL address bar. Choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now just made the walk-through form into an app! You will find its icon on your home screen.

You are ready to start your walk-throughs! Each time you finish a form and touch “Submit,” the data instantly goes into the Google Docs spreadsheet. Each entry is date and time stamped for you!

No more filling out forms and then recopying that data somewhere else! Your data is neatly stored in rows and columns on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Less time spent on paperwork. More time spent on helping good teachers get even better. Life just got easier!

Again, thanks for participating in the webinar. If one of your New Year's resolutions was to "Get Organized!" I hope the hour we spent together will give you a great start.

Note Taking: "Day in the Life" Example

In the previous two posts, I talked about note-taking and the role of pencil and paper versus a laptop or tablet. To better understand this post, take a moment to read "Puzzled About Where to Take Notes?" and "Puzzled About here to Take Notes? Part II".

This past Tuesday, I attended a three-hour planning meeting regarding a project in which I have a key role. This post will walk you through the notes I took and what happens to them later.

Our meeting consisted of five people. One person took notes on a legal pad, a second in a spiral notebook, two others on iPads, and me with my journal. One thing I noticed was the three taking notes with pen and paper were taking considerably more notes than those using iPads.

At the top of the page, I wrote the date and below it the name of the committee. The meeting opened with a short video conference between the five of us and two people located in another city. The platform being used was called "ooVoo," a program similar to Skype, but with what seemed like some advantages. Several of us were unfamiliar with the platform, and some of the discussion during that video conference centered around the platform itself rather than the agenda of the meeting. I was certainly one asking some of those question!

So where do I write the notes about "ooVoo," a topic unrelated to the basic agenda of the meeting? Do I turn to another page? Do I just try to remember this one-off topic for later? No. The notes about ooVoo go right on that same page on the next blank line. I intend to research the platform later, so I jot a note to do so and place just ahead of it an asterisk, my shorthand that what I have written is not just documentation, but a "to-do."

At one point, we talked about a conference held annually each September, and the desire of one of the committee members for me to able to attend. I jotted a note on the next blank line to research the dates for that conference and mark it tentatively on my calendar. As you might guess, I preceded this "to-do" with another asterisk.

At another point, we set several future dates. We each checked our respective calendars to be sure we were free. I jotted those dates in my journal, again preceded by an asterisk. Why did I not just enter those dates into my BlackBerry's calendar and be done with it?

Two reasons. First, I need to let my wife know about those dates so that she can put them on her calendar. If I simply entered them on my BlackBerry, there would be no "trigger" to later share these dates with her. Even though my calendar is also synced to Outlook and to a Google calendar to which my wife has access, there is an important point to be made. When dates simply appear on calendars with no notification to its owner, it's a recipe for disaster.

Secondly, good meetings take preparation. When I sit down to process the meeting notes and place the dates on my calendar, I also have the opportunity to think through what preparation needs to happen, and place those to-dos in my task list.

During a three-hour meeting, I must admit there were times when my mind wandered. I thought about things I need to handle that had nothing to do with the subject of that meeting. Where did I write those things down? Right on the next blank line with asterisks in front of any to-do. Nobody knew whether I was taking notes about the subject of the meeting or something entirely different.

When the meeting was over, I had a plenty of notes germane to the agenda. I had some "to-dos" related to that agenda. I also had to-dos related to "ooVoo" and other items totally apart from the purpose of the meeting. Yes, those notes were all mixed together. The important thing is that taking those notes was easy. There was no question about where to write. There was no "drag." There was nothing that discouraged liberal note-taking. The next thing got written on the next line. Later, I process the notes. I make decisions about what needs to be done, put the to-dos in my list and assign due dates.

Once I have processed my notes, I will probably never have to look them again. But if I do, they are easy to find. If I know the date, I know exactly where to look, whether it's a meeting, a phone call, or any other interaction where I would be taking notes.

This discussion may have been too detailed for some, but hopefully right on target for others who want the detailed "day in the life" scenario I have given you here.

After three posts related to taking notes, how has this series changed your thoughts? How has it reinforced your thoughts? What changes do you see down the road that may change the way we all approach this activity?

Puzzled About Where to Take Notes? Part II

Reading the previous post is a prerequisite for understanding the argument I make here. If you have not already read that post, please take a moment to do so now.

Over the last several years, I have begun to notice more and more people taking notes on laptops convention sessions. In the last two years, iPads and other tablets are becoming more frequent. In addition, I notice a huge difference in what is being used depending on the type of convention. At a technology event, it seems the vast majority are using technology to take notes. At non-tech conferences, paper still rules. Do those who take notes digitally know something others don't. Do some of them use take notes digitally simply because they think that's what they are supposed to be doing?

My Own Experiment
Even though my paper journal is working, I am always open to a better way of doing something...provided it is truly better and not just different. I recently attended a full-day workshop and took the opportunity for an experiment...taking the notes that day on my tablet.

The seminar room was outfitted with round tables, so I had an excellent flat surface for the tablet. It did not take me long to figure out that I was less attuned to the speakers than I would have been with my paper journal.

At the end of the day, I had produced pages of digital notes instead of pages of hand-written journal notes. "Not much of a difference," I thought. I am still left with the task of dissecting those notes to determine what the to-dos are, just as if I was using paper. I now had to file those digital notes somewhere on my computer back home.

Since the days activities really touched on several different subjects, figuring out how to file them by subject would take more time that the set of notes was worth. Remember the Stanford 87% rule? These notes just didn't seem like they were going to be make the 13% cut. If I transfer the notes to some sort of chronological filing system, I have exactly the same thing as I would have had with my paper journal, and nothing more. With my paper journal, filing consists of closing the book. I just don't think I can match that sort of speed with the digital notes.

But What If I Want to Share?
What if I want to share those notes with the world? Wouldn't that be a reason to take the notes digitally and then post them later? Absolutely...but, I am a firm believer that what is posted for everyone to see should be of quality.

I learned in college that when you take notes, you often do not know for sure what is important and what is a bird-walk. Some parts of the lecture may even be confusing. So, during my college days, I took notes on scrap paper. I did not worry about a neat outline form. Thinking about the form takes away from thinking about what's going on in the class. I didn't worry about spelling. I worried about getting the content on paper.

Later in the day, I re-copied those notes into my notebook. It was during that time I made decisions about what was important and what could be omitted. I looked up words if I was unsure of the spelling. I consulted the textbook on points which were unclear. When I was finished, the notes were pristine. I had something of quality. I had something that would insure success on the test, the final exam, and during graduate courses...success on comps.

What does that have to do with sharing your meeting or convention notes? Everything. How good is the first draft of your notes going to be? Whether you take them initially on paper or in digital form, you experience the same challenges I did with all of those college courses. Revision, and lots of it, is essential if the result is going to be of quality.

There comes a point where so much revision is needed that starting with a blank screen is easier. If you are going to share notes with a large number of people, take the time to give them something of quality. Lay the notes, either handwriting or digital, alongside a fresh screen. Create a neat outline form. Improve the wording from the original. Omit the superfluous. Then, share your quality product with others.

My Take
Perhaps I will have different advice some time in the future. But for now, I am sticking with the paper journal. I trap the notes in the journal and then close the book. No filing. No re-copying. Later, I read the notes and decide what I actually need to do. The "to-dos" go in my digital task list. That's it. At the end of the month, I reference the notes in the digital "Table of Contents" outlined in both of my books. I have not found anything easier...and I am all about easy!

What is your method for taking notes? If you have a digital method, I would like to hear about it. If you have a good paper system, I would welcome hearing about that as well.

Puzzled About Where to Take Notes?

As students, we sat down in class and opened our notebooks before the teacher spoke a word. Taking notes was simply a given part of the classroom experience.

As adults, we attend meetings and workshops. We play a part in committees. We have one-on-one discussions with colleagues or parents. Opening a notebook and preparing to take notes has been as standard in the adult world as it was when we were students.

Today, we have laptops, computers, and Smartphones. How do those tools change the way we take notes ? It's a concept I have pondered for literally more than 10 years.

The Move from Paper to Digital
A decade a go, I was a devoted Day-Timer user, and had been for probably 10 years.The right-hand page of my two-page-per-day page format provided me the perfect place for taking notes on that which came up during the day. When the "Palm Pilot" became a popular tool, I considered buying one, having long been intrigued with the idea of keeping a calendar and to-do list digitally. Repeating appointments and tasks would be entered once. To-dos which were not done would roll over to the next day without having to be re-written. The problem was obvious. Getting up fron the computer also meant getting up from the calendar and to-do list. The ability sync the Palm Pilot to the computer made digital organization practical. (The company later dropped the "Pilot," allowing the device to become known as the "Palm")

For me, there was but one hesitation, and it delayed my decision to "go digital" for two years. Handling the calendar and to-do list digitally would be easy. But how would I handle my "right-hand page," my system of documentation that served me well?

Having thought I had worked out a solution, I bought a Palm. That was exactly 10 years ago this month. I immediately started to sync my Palm with Outlook. To this day, I am an avid Outlook and sync with a BlackBerry. The calendar and to-do list have worked beautifully, as have the address book and notes. One aspect of my system, however, was very clunky, and that was my system of note taking. Nothing I tried worked as well as my Day-Timer's right hand page. Somewhere along the process, I realized going 100% digital was not the best way. One part of my life needed to be paper-based.

Enter the Journal
Follow me around for a day, and you would see me pull that Palm (back then or or BlackBerry today) from my pocket to check a date or refer to the to-do list which drives my days. But watch me in a meeting, a one-on-one conference, or a phone call, and you would see me open my paper journal. It's nothing more than blank lined pages. You can pick up one with a nice cover and quality paper at any local book store.

Where one day leaves off, the next picks up. When the meeting, or conference, or phone call is over, the note taking is over. Close the book, and I am done. Nothing gets re-copied anywhere. Nothing gets filed.

I do one very important thing with those notes. Later in the day, I look at them and make decisions on what I need to do about them, if anything, Whatever actually needs to happen about those notes goes into my Outlook task list. When a page has been filled with notes and I have made the appropriate decisions about the to-dos, I clip the corner of the page. That act tells which pages are now done.

Stanford University conducted a study which revealed 87% of filed papers are never referenced again. The same is probably true of my hand-written notes. In both Get Organized! and Organization Made Easy!, I outline my method for referencing any notes, no matter how long ago they were taken. If there is an 87% chance I will never need to refer to those again, the last thing I want to do is spend a great deal of time filing them. In my case, filing them consists of closing the book!

Where Do You Take Notes Today?
When I attend conventions, I make a mental note of how people are taking notes now. In the next post, I will share those observations and my thoughts on best practice.

What are your thoughts on note taking during workshops, meetings, etc. in your own life? What is your method? What problems are you seeing?

See you at the Alabama National Board Certified Teachers Network Conference

Do You Know About This Student Planner (Christian Schools)?

While I was at the Southern Division Teachers' Conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Rodney Rathmann, who introduced me to the Concordia Student Planner. I have long been an advocate of student planners as a way of giving students a tool for organizing their lives. If you are in a Christian school and interested in using student planners, this one is excellent.

The features I like about this planner include the following:

• Monthly calendars are provided in the front of the book. Students can see the "big picture."
• The weekly page layout is in rows and columns, much like a teacher plan book. Students can look across the page and see everything about one subject, or look down the page and see everything about a particular day. 
• Subjects are labeled, but there is an extra, unlabeled, row at the bottom. Students can use this row for after-school activities.
• An extra column is provided for spelling words. My thought is if the teacher did not need this feature, students could use the column for weekend activities. After all, the planner is not a tool just for school. It is the one tool to help them navigate their lives, and that includes after school and days when school is not in session.
• The first date in the planner is August 1, and the last date is June 30. I have not seen any planner provide more coverage of the complete year than this one. Students have pages which carry them through the Christmas break, spring break, and well into the summer. Only during the month of July are they left without space in the planner.
• The planner provides resource material such as maps of the United States and world, multiplication tables, and information on U.S. Presidents. The back cover even serves as a ruler marked in inches and centimeters.
• The planner also provides reference information particularly helpful for Christian schools. Students have an outline of the church year. They have a list of the Parables of Jesus as well as Biblical references to the miracles he performed. A list of books of the Bible, information on Disciples, and other Christian information is included.

You can view sample pages in the planner with this link. For more information and to order, visit this page on Concordia's website.

The new school year is far in the future in the minds of students. But for the administrators who must plan for it, the new school year is now. The actions they take over the next several months will shape the success of next year. Choosing and ordering planners is one of those actions.

Does your school use student planners? What thoughts do you have on their value?

Free Dropbox Ebook

Having a tool is one thing. Having a plan for how it will fit into your system is another. This ebook was written for those who attended last week's webinar, yet it is free for anyone for a limited time.

Click on the cover to download the ebook. Once you have looked through it, please let me know your thoughts. If this was your introduction to Dropbox, I would be interested in knowing your experience with using the ebook to get started. If you are a Dropbox vet, what do I need to include on future revisions?

Why You Should Start Buying Your Christmas Presents Now

You may be thinking I made a mistake by scheduling this post for now. Shouldn't it have appeared in November, or at the very latest, early December?

While wrapping presents last month, Davonia commented that she started buying those presents in January. On a legal pad, she had written what she had bought for each person, how much she had paid, and what the regular price would have been. On average, she had saved 75%.

The result was she had been shopping at stores that were not crowded, where sales personnel could give her more attention, and where the stress level was lower. She saved money through buying on sale, and as a result, was able to give everyone better presents!

How to Do It
Ideas for gifts will present themselves at the most unexpected times. So will great buys on gifts. Whether you organize with paper or organize digitally, the keys are knowing what you have bought, what ideas for gift remain, and a place to house both in your system.

For Paper Planners
If you use a paper planner, I advocate having a page in the back for each of your goals or projects. In this section of your planner, you will have a page labeled "Christmas Gifts." Down the page, list the names of family and friends for whom you plan to buy. Leave several blank lines between names. Your list may spill over to the back of the page or even onto a second of third page.

As gift ideas occur to you, immediately flip to that page and jot them down under the correct name. When you actually purchase a gift, make a notation beside the gift.

You also need a trigger that occasionally forces you to look at that page and evaluate where you stand. Create a task which repeats each month and says something like, "Examine Christmas Gift List." This simple trigger will insure that once a month, you at least glance at the list people for whom you have ideas, who has nothing on their list, who has gifts bought, and which gifts you want to be make a concerted effort to secure during the next month.

In January, your trigger to examine the list should be enough to cause you to start a fresh list. Recopy your names. Perhaps some of the "ideas" from last year were not actually purchased and can be copied onto the new list as possibilities for the next Christmas. If you like to keep a record of the gifts you buy from year to year, take out the old page and add it to your reference files.

For Those Who Plan Digitally
The need for a trigger is the same as for those who plan with paper. Create a new task called, "Christmas gifts have been purchased." In the note section of the task, list the names of family and friends to whom you will give gifts. Below each name, list the gift ideas, one per line. As you actually purchase those gifts, add a notation beside the gift.

You will need a trigger to cause you to periodically look at that list. Make the task a monthly repeating task, and you insure that once a month you are looking at  it and evaluating it for what ideas need to be generated or what needs to be purchased.

When an idea comes to mind, you need to be able to find that task quickly and add your idea. Use your smartphone's search feature to find "Christmas gifts," and you are automatically looking at the task.

The Christmas rush is through...for now. But come next December, that rush will be back. The stores will be crowded. The days will be jam packed. You will wish you had started earlier! So, now is your chance, the chance to start earlier, the chance to make next Christmas less stressful and more merry.

Webinar Follow-Up: Your Questions Answered (Part II)

In this post, we continue with questions posed during the "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year" webinar. In the last post, we answered questions related to Dropbox. Here are questions related to iGoogle, Google Docs forms, and reQall.

1. Will Safari support an iGoogle home page?

Yes. You can use any browser to access your iGoogle page. 

2. You talked about sending e-mails to people who had requested tickets to the graduation ceremony where Dr. Condoleezza Rice was the guest speaker. Did you have to hand enter all of those e-mails?

Composing the email was a matter of copy, paste, and clean-up. I highlighted the column with the e-mails from the first response all the way down to the last person that could have been seated in our auditorium. I then copied and pasted that information into a Word document. Starting with the last name, I hit the "Home" key, "Backspace," a semicolon, and a space. I kept doing that until I had all of the e-mails in one long string that went all the way across the page and wrapped from line to line. I then highlighted and copied the whole block and pasted it into the bcc line of the e-mail.

The next step was to go back to Google Docs and perform the same task with the rest of the e-mail addresses, those for the people who would watch closed-circuit TV from the high school gym.  

3. Can I use Google forms to create a test?

Yes. On one level, it is very easy to create a test on Google Docs. Students would take the test by clicking the link you provide, and their answers would appear on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Instead of having a stack of papers to grade, student answers would all appear in one spreadsheet.

On a different level, it is possible to construct the Google Docs spreadsheet where it will also grade the students' work. The caveat is that the answers must have a one-to-one character match with the answer key. For example, you could do multiple choice tests. You could do spelling tests. Short answer questions would not work since each person's answer may vary slightly in wording from what you entered in the answer key.

For more information on this topic, take a look at this post.


4. I teach English and the readings are rather long for a form. Is there a limit to the length of the question?

I took a passage about half a page in length and pasted it into the spreadsheet. Realize this means pasting the entire block of text into one cell. Google Docs allowed me to do it and displayed all of the text when I created the form.

I found, however, that I could not break the text into paragraphs. If there was a paragraph break, Google Docs would paste the text from paragraph 2 into row 2, text from paragraph 3 into row 3, etc., which is no good. Since the longer passages you are talking about probably more than one paragraph in length, Google Docs would not work for a test with long reading passages.

If anyone else does some playing around with this concept and finds something significant, I would certainly like to know!

5. Does reQall only work with English language? Does it recognize accents?

I had never thought about this point before. I tried having Spanish spoken into reQall, but it became obvious reQall was trying to match what it heard with English words in its database. "¿Habla usted español?" came back as, "Home instead espanol." "Buenos días, señorita" came back, "Buenos dias senor burritto."

6. Do you manage to-dos on reQall or manually enter into your own list?

I personally use reQall for one thing: getting information that comes to me out of my brain and into my e-mail. Then, when I sit down to handle my e-mail, I will see the reQall message I created and act on it. I am a heavy Outlook user and routinely use "drag and drop" to turn e-mails into tasks.If the e-mail is not something I am going to act on right then, I "drag and drop" it to the Task list. I can do any rewording, choose a start and end date for the task, and save.

You could, however, use reQall as your to-do list. In this case, you would download the reQall app to your Smartphone and download the reQall gadget to your iGoogle page. Now, when you speak and include a a term such as "Saturday" or "August 21," reQall automatically assigns the appropriate due date.

In addition, you can manually enter tasks along with due dates on the reQall website or on the reQall Smartphone app. Personally, I like Outlook because it gives me calendar, to-do list, contacts, reference material, and e-mail all in one program. But if you do not have Outlook, using reQall as your to-do list is not a bad option.

7. If we missed the first part of this webinar, is it available online? Will this be archived so we can access it again? I would like to go back over some the of the instructions.

The webinar is now available on demand. Go to this link. If you already registered for the webinar, you will see one link to click. You will be asked for the e-mail address you gave when you registered. The webinar will stay up for around 60 days, so you can watch it as often as you like. We covered a great deal of ground, so watching a second or even third time will help with things you may have missed the first time.

I did notice when I watched the webinar myself that you do not seem to be able to pause the webinar or to skip forwards or backwards. (If I missed something, someone please correct me.) So, pick a time when you could watch straight through without interruption.

8. May I share the archive with colleagues and refer to planners for a conference I attend? 

Absolutely! Have them go to the same link we talked about in the last question. Someone who did not register for the webinar original will see a link which will ask for some information, and then they will be able to proceed with the webinar.

If what you saw would fit with a conference you attend, please share this with with the conference planners. I think people are hungry for practical things they can implement immediately, and that's what I have tried to provide.

9. Where do you find these types of tools? From reading tech mags? I'm just always amazed about these things that exist, yet I've never heard of them!

What a super question and great way for me to plug using Web 2.0 as your personal learning network! I subscribe to over 100 blogs, and use Google Reader to bring all of the new content to one place (on my iGoogle home page) to make it easy.

At the same time, I am pretty ruthless about using as few tools as I get by with. When I read about the capabilities of new tools, I ask myself if I already have something that does pretty much the same thing. If the answer is "yes," and what I have is working, I stick with it. If it's something that fills a void, however, devote some time to mastering it and immediately start using it. Each of the tools you saw in this webinar fit in that second category. There was nothing like them in my arsenal, and each made a huge difference in my productivity.

What other questions do you have about the webinar? If you are just learning about it through reading these last couple of posts, this is your invitation to listen to it and then return here to ask your own questions.

Webinar Follow-Up: Answers to Your Questions (Part I)

Again, thanks to everyone who attended "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year." We packed a great deal of content into that one-hour webinar. There were some great questions in the chat area. Some we were able to answer during the webinar.

Today's post is part 1 of 2 to answer some addition questions.First of all, the drawing for the free book I am offering will be at 9:00 CST this Sunday night. Remember, there are 3 ways you can become eligible.

Now, on with the questions:

1. How secure are Dropbox and Google Docs?

Here is a good article on Google Docs. It is a bit on the technical side, but should relieve any concerns you may have. Dropbox provides this article about its security. This article provides a question/answer with Dropbox. All transport of file data and file metadata occurs over SSL. All files are encrypted with AES-256 before being stored on the servers at Dropbox. These standards are the same that banks and the military use to protect their data.

As always, the greatest security threat comes at the user level. Sharing passwords, leaving passwords lying around, choosing passwords that are easy to guess, and using one password for everything continue to be the real threats to security.

2. Why do school systems often block Dropbox?

Here is a good discussion on that point. My take is that a system administrator does not have control over a person's Dropbox account, and therefore a person could download or upload illegal material from a school computer via their Dropbox account. The easiest way to prevent this problem is to ban Dropbox.

3. How do you get Dropbox on your phone or tablet?

The best place to go is wherever you download other apps for your particular device. In other words, if you use an iPhone, go to the iTunes store from your iPhone or your iPad and search for "Dropbox." Android users would go to the Android Market. BlackBerry users would go to Blackberry App World. If you use the BlackBerry Playbook as your tablet, you will search for "Bluebox," which is currently the closest thing to a Dropbox app currently available.

4. If you install the Dropbox on your personal computer, can you pull it up from your work computer without having to download it?

Yes. Simply go to Dropbox.com and log into your account. You can open any of your files.

In that particular format, however, the file is going to be "read only," just like when you open a file attached to an e-mail message. If you want to make changes, you would have to save that document to your computer. Be sure to save it with the same name it had originally. Now, you can upload the new version to Dropbox, and it overwrites the old version. You would follow this same procedure, for example, if you were on a trip and had to get to your information from the computer in the hotel business center.

As you see, it's easier if you have downloaded that "My Dropbox" folder to your computer. That way, your files automatically sync every time you save.

5. Can you put a Dropbox gadget on your iGoogle page?

The answer used to be "yes." In fact, in one of the slides you saw during the webinar, it actually showed a Dropbox gadget on my iGoogle page. Dropbox had made some changes that have now caused that gadget to no longer work.

6. Not sure I understand the essential folders in Dropbox and how you organize them.

I am going to put together a very short "e-book" that will explain in detail how I set all of this up. The thing I find is that many people have a Dropbox account, but because they don't really have a clear picture of how it can work, they don't really use it. Check back next week for that e-book.

7. Is there a way to back-up Dropbox just in case?

Dropbox actually serves as a backup to what you have on your computer, and vice-versa. Anything in your "My Dropbox" folder is saved to the cloud as well as to all of your other devices. If your computer were to crash, you could get to those files from your other devices. If you lost all of your devices due to a fire, tornado, or robbery, you could go to any computer, log into your Dropbox account, and view or download any of your documents.

Thanks for your questions! Tune in again Monday for answers to questions on iGoogle, Google Docs forms, and reQall.

Eye on Education Webinar Follow-Up

If you participated in the Eye on Education webinar, "Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year," this post is a follow-up.

Staying Connected
If you liked what you heard and would like more, here are several ways you can keep in touch:

• Check out our website. In addition to general information on what we do, you will find a page of free resources.
• Follow me on Twitter.
• "Like" my Facebook page and check back for updates.
• Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter. 
• Bring new blog posts straight to your e-mail.
• Read Get Organized! and/or Organization Made Easy!
• Bring me to your school or organization.

iGoogle
If you are interested in adding to your iGoogle page some of the same gadgets I have on mine, here is an easy way to get them. As you click each link, you will be taken to a page that describes the gadget and lets you click a button to automatically add it to your iGoogle page.

Google Bookmarks
Google Reader
Yahoo News
Twitter
Facebook 
Bit.ly URL Shortener
Weather
reQall 
Toodledo
People.com
MapQuest Driving Directions
Area/Zip Code Lookup
Music
YouTube
Document to PDF
Movies
GoogleDocs
GoogleCalendar
Google Map Search
Portfolio Monitor
Calculator
Stopwatch
Flight Status
WolframAlpha

Here is how to make iGoogle (your homepage).


Dropbox
Want to set up a Dropbox account? Here is an easy way for you to set up an account and get an extra 250MB of free storage for both you and me. Click here to sign up.

Google Docs Forms
We mentioned briefly about students being able to take tests on the computer which are instantly graded and item analysis conducted. Here is a post that goes into more depth on that concept. (Sorry, we actually didn't get to this one.The link will explain the concept. If this is something your school would serious like to pursue, let me know.)

In a time where tablets are becoming popular, conducting classroom walk-throughs is an extremely practical use of collecting and organizing data.

Here are the steps for creating a walk-through form using Google Docs and then getting that walk-through form onto your tablet.

1. Design your walk-through form on paper. You may wish to begin with a paper form you are already using. Only after you have thought through how you want the form to look should you go to the computer.
2. Log into your Google account and go to docs.google.com. You will see a list of all of the Google Docs you have already created.
3. Click “Create New” and choose “Spreadsheet.”
4. In Row 1 enter each of the questions that will go on the form. (Examples: Teacher name, Subject, Resources Being Used, Objective/Essential question posted?, Student activity, Number of students not actively engaged, Teacher activity, Level of questioning, Overall comments). Press the tab key to go from column to column. Note: You do NOT need to have a column for the date. The date and time of the walk-through will automatically be gathered for you.
5. From the “Tools” menu, choose “Form” and “Create a form.” You will now see a form with your column heading already listed. Below each item will be a short blank where you could enter a response.
6. While some fields lend themselves well to a short answer, for others, a drop-down list, series of check-boxes, paragraph text box, etc. will be a better fit. As you move the mouse down the page, each item will turn a beige color and display a series of icons to the right. Click the pencil icon to decide what type of response you want and create your list of checkboxes, items on drop-down list, etc.
7. Each question will display a “make this a required question” checkbox. It is a good idea to check this box. That will keep you from overlooking an item. Click “Done" when you have finished editing that item.
8. At the top of the form is a button called “Theme.” Click it, and you can choose from an array of attractive looks for your form.
9. At the very bottom of the form, you will see “You can view the published form here” followed by a rather long URL. This is a very important step! Highlight and copy that link.
10. By this time, Google Docs has probably prompted you to save the spreadsheet. If not, click “Save.”
11. Now we want to get this form on your BlackBerry PlayBook, iPad or other tablet device you will be using in the walk-throughs. You can also use the form with a Smartphone, although the size may be too small for you to use comfortably.
12. Open a new e-mail on your computer, paste the link from the bottom of the Google Docs form in the body, and address the e-mail to yourself. Send the e-mail.
13. Go to your PlayBook, iPad, or other tablet. Check your e-mail, looking for the one you sent to yourself.
14. Open the e-mail, and click the link. You should now be looking at your walk-through form.
15. Your tablet should offer you a way to save a URL as a “shortcut” on your home screen. For example, on the PlayBook, you will tap the hollow star and choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now created an app for the walk-through form.

If you also wish to have the form on your Smartphone, you will repeat the process on that device. Check your e-mail on the Smartphone and open the one containing the link to the walk-through form. Click the link to display the form. Now turn that URL into a desktop shortcut. How this is done will vary from one Smartphone to the next. For example, on a BlackBerry running OS6, click the icon just to the right of the URL address bar. Choose “Add to Home Screen.” You have now just made the walk-through form into an app! You will find its icon on your home screen.

You are ready to start your walk-throughs! Each time you finish a form and touch “Submit,” the data instantly goes into the Google Docs spreadsheet. Each entry is date and time stamped for you!

No more filling out forms and then recopying that data somewhere else! Your data is neatly stored in rows and columns on your Google Docs spreadsheet. Less time spent on paperwork. More time spent on helping good teachers get even better. Life just got easier!

Again, thanks for participating in the webinar. If one of your New Year's resolutions was to "Get Organized!" I hope the hour we spent together will give you a great start.

What Do You Want to Do With Your Life?

Setting long-term goals has long been an important theme in time-management literature. While I have always been good at setting and accomplishing short-term goals, defining goals for how my life will look years from now has been a missing part of the puzzle. That missing link came into focus four years ago. It happened by added a new twist to a well-established practice.

For many years, my wife and I have composed a Christmas letter which we enclose in the cards sent each December. The letters recap the events of the past year so that friends who live in other parts of the country can keep up with what we were doing. The letters also serve to help the two of us reflect on the year just passed.

It was in January four years ago that I did something simple that turned out to be very powerful. One afternoon in January, I wrote the holidays letters for each of the upcoming three years. I wrote them as if those years had already passed and were now being recounted to friends. This act forced me to write with the same level of specificity I have always used to recount the past year. I saved the letters and reviewed them each month. Every month those thoughts were being presented to me. Once a month, I was being reminded of the direction in which I hoped our lives would be headed.

When December arrived and I sat down to write the actual holiday letter which would be mailed, the similarity between what I wrote back in January and what had actually come to pass was remarkably similar. Consciously, I had done nothing differently. Subconsciously, quite a bit was different.




Every day presents little choices that move us either closer to our desired future or farther from it. That once-a-month reminder seems to be making a difference for me. I offer this one simple idea, "Christmas Letters from the Future" for your consideration.

Guest Post: Get Organized for College

A new year means a new semester for college students. If last semester did not go well, the culprit was probably poor organization and time management habits. This guest post by Maria Salsbury is aimed at helping college students with habits which lead to collegiate success.

College students have a great deal of time on their hands and usually little structure from professors about how to accomplish assignments and complete readings. For most students, it's a very different experience from being in high school, where teachers gave very specific instructions about how to finish classwork in order to receive an acceptable grade. As a result, students must find ways to manage their own time wisely and develop study skills in order to be successful in their college careers.

Know What's Required 
When you begin each class, you should receive a course syllabus that outlines all the assignments and reading material. Professors will tell you when certain readings should be done generally, but may not set a specific reading schedule for you to follow. It's up to you to know what reading you have to complete and when papers and other assignments are due. Carefully read all the syllabi for all your courses and make up a schedule outlining when assignments are due and what preparation (research, gathering materials, working with team members, etc.) you need to complete ahead of time in order to complete your assignments.

Set Up Specific Goals 
The University of Chicago recommends using the SMART TIPS method of goal-setting for time management and study skills:

S – Be specific with tasks (read first chapter in biomechanics, not study biomechanics).
M – Use measurable targets (read for 45 minutes and complete first short essay, not study for 8 hours).
A – Attainable (study biomechanics for 30 minutes each day, not complete biomechanics thesis in one day). R – Realistic (go to class each day, not get only A’s for grades for the quarter).
T – Timely (choose first essay topic two weeks before due date, not begin working on first essay the day before it is due).

T – Take a break. Our attention span is generally about 20 minutes long, so take breaks and engage in other activities to keep your mind active and fresh.
I – Invigorate. Interact with others and socialize. Get regular exercise.
P – Plan study space. Set up a study space that is conducive to studying and working on your assignments. If this means turning off the television, phone, or other distractions, then do it.
S – Set priorities. Evaluate daily and weekly priorities and make adjustments as needed.

Use Study Groups
One way students can manage their time effectively is to have a joint study schedule with other people. Study groups will lead you to stay on a study schedule in order to participate in the group and be supported by other group members. Study groups are also a great way to add socialization to your academic activities and keep some balance in your student life.

Keep a Regular Schedule
Far too often it's easy to be tempted to pull all-nighters or party over the weekends and blow off study time. The problem is it then becomes easy to drift away from your academic priorities and goals and getting back on track can be even more difficult. By keeping a regular daily schedule it becomes much easier to manage your time wisely and keep your priorities on track.

Get Organized 
Part of time management as a student (or in any role) is simply being organized. Organization helps you tell at a glance what tasks need to be completed and when they need to be completed. Use a calendar to note milestones for each assignment and when assignments are due. For example, you can track your reading pace throughout the semester or quarter, so that you can stay ahead of your reading. Most cell phones now have calendar functions that can be synched with project management calendars, which can make it very easy to mark finished assignments and add projects.

Effectively managing your time as a student can be critical to your success in school and beyond. Unlike high school, in college it's up to you to stay on top of your course work and complete your assignments on time. Most professors and instructors at the college level don't look favorably on students who can't manage their own time wisely. Time management is a skill you'll need no matter what you do, so developing it early in your college career will serve you well the rest of your life.

Marina Salsbury planned on becoming a teacher since high school, but found her way instead into online writing after college. She writes on the Web about everything from education to exercise.

Gift Cards, Groupons...Use Them, Not Lose Them. Here's How.

Christmas has passed, and if you are like me, you have received gift cards to your favorite restaurants. In addition, you may be a subscriber to Groupon, Living Social,  or a similar program allowing you to to buy meal vouchers for half price.

As great as these items are, they are no good if they are not used. Each year, billions of dollars worth of gift cards go unused because people lose them or simply forget they have them. How can you keep from joining this crowd? The solution is actually very simple.

All you need is a set of tickler files plus one more blank file folder. I like hanging files for my ticklers. One reason is the ability to slide manilla folders into them.

Label the additional file something like "Gift Cards, "Gift Vouchers," "Free Food," or whatever appeals to you. Put all of your gift cards in that folder. As for the Groupon vouchers, put them in the same folder organized by expiration date. The voucher with the most immediate expiration goes in the front of the folder.

Put the entire folder in the tickler file for the upcoming Saturday. On Saturday, the file folder becomes a trigger to sit down with your spouse and decide which ones you may wish to use during the next week. Pull those candidates from the folder. Place them in the tickler file for the day you decided you wanted to use each one. Refile the folder for the next Saturday.

Nothing slips through the cracks. Once each week, you are reminding yourself what gift cards and vouchers you have remaining and any expiration dates and making using them part of your weekly planning. The process can take as little as one minute.

Every year, people waste billions of dollars through lost or forgotten gift cards and vouchers. In 2012, this situation need not describe you!

Free Tech Tools for a More Productive New Year

Free Webinar 

January 10 4:30 EST/3:30 CST 

Click here to register 

iGoogle
Dropbox
Google Docs Forms
reQall

Every year, one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to"Get Organized!" This free, hour-long webinar shows you how to make life easier with four game-changing technology tools.

This webinar shows you how to:

• Use iGoogle to organize all of your Internet resources. 
• Use Dropbox to instantly backup your documents and give you access to then from anywhere. 
• Use Google Docs to forever change the way you think about paper forms. 
• Use reQall to trap voice notes on the fly. Have them show up as text in your e-mail. 

Are any of these tools brand new to you? If so, this webinar will give you the background you need to get up and going the same day.

Already familiar with one or more? Gain some new ideas for how to use these great tools.

Space is limited, so sign up today!