Thing 7: To Do Lists (Week of 1/12)

This week's topic is To Do Lists.

I know that you, like me, might usually scrawl your to-do lists on a scrap of paper and then either stuff them in your purse or pocket, or adhere them to your refrigerator with a magnet. Online listmakers allow you to be much more high tech in your approach to making to-do lists, shopping lists, and lists of just about anything you can think of. Even better, you can share your lists easily with others, or have your lists sent to you via e-mail, cell phone, or RSS feed. No more calling home from the grocery store when you forget your list, when you can read it on your cell phone!

This Week's TechPlay Exercise:
One of the original and the easiest to use sites is Ta-da lists, found at http://www.tadalists.com/.

Step One:

Go to http://www.tadalists.com/. Sign up for a free account by clicking on the yellow box. You will be brought to a screen with the heading "My Lists." To make a list, click on Create a New List. You will have to make up a clever name for your list, like "Groceries" or "Things to do on Wednesday."

Step Two:

Type the first item on your list in the box, then click below the box where it asks you to "add this item." Add as many items as you like. When finished, you may choose to edit your list, reorder your list if you would like your tasks or items in a different order, or share your list. If you decide to share your list, a new screen comes up. You may e-mail this list to yourself or to anyone else. You may also share your list with the entire world, if you so choose, by clicking the box where is says "yes, share publicly."

Challenge

Optional Exercise 1: A slightly more complicated list making site is called Remember the Milk. Go to http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ and create a free account. Once signed in, you have the option of entering tasks in multiple categories, such as personal, work, study, etc. You may create a contact list of people with whom you would like to share your lists. Once you have recorded some items on your task lists, you may assign them priority levels, share them, or send them.

Optional Exercise 2: My current favorite of the list making sites is found at thingamalist.com. It is not as complex as some of the other sites, and it is all about food, which I found appealing. Sign up for a free account, and you can find all kinds of recipes, put the ingredients you need for the recipes on a list, and send that list to your cell phone, or your spouse's cell phone. No more running that paper shopping list through the laundry!

Thing 6: Podcasts (Week of 1/5)

This week's topic is podcasts.

A 'podcast' is a non-music audio or video recording that is distributed over the internet to portable players and personal computers. The distribution is what makes a podcast unique. It's also what makes a podcast powerful: interested listeners or watchers can subscribe and receive updates through RSS when new content is posted.

Confused? Here's a video on Podcasting in Plain English:


Find a Podcast
iTunes, free software from Apple, is the directory finding service most commonly associated with podcasts. It's tied to their online store, but podcasts are usually free - you can browse by topic or search by keyword. iTunes also includes an amazing capacity for actually downloading the content you subscribe to automatically. And anyone can submit content for inclusion.

But what if you don't use iTunes? There are plenty of other options.

• odeo.com
  
• podcastalley.com (Note: Some of the "featured podcasts" on the right are fairly risque, but there are plenty of others from which to choose.)

Library Applications
Libraries are using podcasting to post book reviews, stories, author visits, and other programs.
As one example, see Thomas Ford’s click-a-story: http://www.fordlibrary.org/children/clickastory/.

Other Applications
Any website can post a podcast. NPR fans might want to check out the NPR Podcast directory at http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php. The New York Times also posts podcasts at http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html.

This Week's TechPlay Exercise

1. Visit the podcast directory at odeo.com.
2. Search in the box for a topic of interest (such as library, knitting, Chicago White Sox, or whatever strikes your fancy).
3. Click on an interesting podcast title. Wait for the ad to finish; then a screen will load with your chosen podcast.
4. Click on a "Recent Episode."
5. Press the pink and white play arrow to listen. Click the same button (now the Pause button) to stop. It's that easy!
6. You can search for more in the box at the top. Once you find one you like, add the RSS feed to your Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/) account. (If you've forgotten how, here are the instructions for Google Reader: http://lgpltechplay.blogspot.com/2008/10/thing-2-rss-feeds-week-of-1124.html).
   
7. Post a note to your blog: did you find any interesting podcasts?

For a fun explanation of podcasts, watch this video from "Ask A Ninja." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEmss2lg-ug





Challenge:


Try listening to a podcast in iTunes. Every staff computer has the software downloaded, so just click on the icon from the desktop and get started. You don’t even have to sign in! After you have iTunes opened, click on iTunes Store in the left-hand column. You can search or browse for podcasts. You can even just double-click on a title and listen to it rather than downloading it. If you do download one, be sure to select one that is labeled as “get” rather than “subscribe”. Enjoy!