Back in February I wrote about ‘then and now.. being more productive’ where I discussed how social bookmarking, searching for resources, and organizing via google calendar had changed my productive life. As the school year winds down I am still amazed at how these tools continue to help me be ‘on my game’. As the year has evolved I have also started using other tools that I can honestly say I’m not sure what I did without them.
Doodle: This is an extremely easy tool that I use to schedule meetings with colleagues. The old way of sending an email and trying to keep track of when others can and cannot attend meetings is definitely gone for me! I have gotten several of my colleagues to use it as well. In five minutes I can get them up and running with doodle- it is that easy!
diigo: I continue to love using diigo to organize my bookmarks. It is so much more then a social bookmarking tool, but also allows me to share specific resources with groups of educators I create. I can also send bookmarks to others with specific information highlighted so that we can be more efficient with our discussions. Also, with tags, I can bookmark and tag sites when I hear about them and then easily find them again when I need them. I’ve always said, “it isn’t what you know, but that you know where to look.” Diigo is the ‘place to look’ for me and with my tags I usually can easily find what I need, when I need it.
twitter: I would be remiss if I failed to mention twitter and how it has helped me be more productive. Since developing my PLN on twitter I can go there any time and ask for advice or ideas and am never disappointed. What might have taken me hours, now (with a more focused search) takes me half the time. My PLN allows me to maximize my time. I give to my PLN and in return they give back to me.
Mind42: I have continued to use this mindmap tool to organize ideas. For instance, as I hear about web 2.0 tools I add them to my web 2.0 tools map so I can keep them organized. When others ask me about various tools, I go to my map and see what I have notes on. Since I’m a visual person this map has helped me immensely. Although it has gotten quite large, it still serves its purpose: a way for me to organize my web 2.0 tool knowledge. I have also used this tool at meetings so that we can see information organized in a map and better focus our discussions.
What tools have you used this year to keep you organized and more productive? We’d love to hear about them.
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