Thing #16 Get Organized with Web 2.0 Tools

I choose iGoogle for my customized start page. I like google because anything they offer for service is usually fairly easy to figure out and I feel assured that I will not have to worry about getting any viruses if I download any of their applications. The start page already had many of the features that I use quite often on it. It had the weather, YouTube, google images and directions, and my gmail account. I liked that I could change the background to many different inspirational images with just a click, and it had an amazing array of gadgets that could be added. So many good ones that I would probably end up wasting way too much time reading quotes and so forth if I added all of the ones that I like. Yes, I will make this my home page.
I love Google Calendar. It's easy to use. It's usefulness is the same as for any other calendar: it helps to keep track of events and stay organized. Since I currently spend half of my life on the computer these days, it's helpful to keep track of things. I don't care to share my personal calendar online nor do I care anything about syncing the calendar with my phone. And I certainly don't want any email reminders. I already get enough email. I do see see a use for the online calendar in the classroom to post the class schedule and help parents stay informed. However, even though most people now have access to computers, it's important to remember that many people don't. Those people should not be left out of the information loop.
I investigated and signed up for MyStickies. I love it! You can create sticky notes when viewing a web page and incorporate the text you are interested in on the sticky note. This will be really useful when doing research, and I plan to use it with my research which is just around the corner. I can't count the number of times that I've looked at literally dozens of web pages, bookmarked them, and then tried to find the information I needed later-only to have a really hard time finding it. This eliminates that problem!
I liked all of the organization tools that I've looked at for this exercise. I would recommend all of them to others. Especially the MyStickies. When I start teaching, I will set up another customized iGoogle page just for school functions, as well as use the one I currently have. I like keeping work functions and home/family functions separate.