Let's get organized!!!!...

This week we discussed various digital organizational tools. Some of these organizational tools are primarily for educators, but many of them can be used to help you in every-day life. The first tool that we focused on was Google Keep. Admittedly, I went in to Google Keep with a very closed mind, as I already something else that I used. More on that later.

Google Keep is in its simplest terms; digital Post-It notes. However, it is so much more than that. These “notes” are not just stuck to the device in which they were created. Wherever you have the Google Keep web/mobile app, you have access to your notes. You can also share these notes with whomever you choose, and give them access to any note of your choosing. For example, my wife can make me a “honey-do” list and share it with me. After I complete a task, I can check it off, and she can continue to add to it. Here is a video explaining more about Google Keep.

While I did find Google Keep useful, I am still partial to Wunderlist. Here is a video that explains Wunderlist a little better.

Planbook is another organizational tool that we discussed. This tool is primarily only useful to educators as it involves the creating, organizing, and keeping of lesson plans. Planbook is a lesson planning site that only costs $12 a year. You can upload any lesson plan form that you use as a template. You can have multiple classes, easily attach resources, give your administrator viewing access to your plans and add any state/district standards.

A few others that we talked about were Remind, Evernote, and Class Dojo.

We also talked about where to find good quality educational resources. There are a lot of sites out there, but not all of them provide high quality resources. One of my favorite sites is Discovery Education. The main reason that I like this site is because it is from a well-known, and recognized educational organization. This site is not just for science, you can find lessons for any subject and grade level. Along with resources for teachers, there are also resources for parents and students. This includes: homework help, virtual field trips, and a motivation station for parents.

There is another site that provides resources across many disciplines and grade levels, Smithsonian Education. This site is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the World’s largest museum. Its main purpose is the distribution of knowledge. This site is a tremendous resource for all educators, regardless of content are or grade level.

Finally, there are a couple of other sites that I would like to mention that supply primarily science related resources. The first of which is NASA, I really don’t feel like I need to say a whole lot more about why this site would be beneficial to science teachers. The final site I would like to mention belongs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Again, the benefits of this site to science educators should be fairly self-explanatory.