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January is National "Get Organized Month" so I decided to share some resources on getting organized. There are some great sites out there too, including the National Association of Professional Organizers.

I am a type A personality in many ways and I've always been organized at work (not so much at home). As an engineer, it was vital to be organized. As a teacher, it was too, but harder to do. I learned some great things from United Technologies when I worked at Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky Aircraft. They use a system called ACE, Achieving Competitive Excellence, and parts of it are related to having an organized work space so that you can be more efficient.


Technology is also a great resource for getting organized. I'm about 99% paperless - everything is either done electronically or scanned. I use Evernote extensively for staying organized.

Below are links, with descriptions, to help you get organized.


Evernote Resources
Evernote is the i-ching for organization. Save everything here, organized by notebooks, notes, stacks, and tags and searchable. Text notes, files, documents, web clippings, etc. As a CIO, it is my main tool.

Google Apps Resources
Google apps, like email and calendar, can help you get and stay organized with the features they have.

Getting Organized Tips and Resources
I wrote this last January and it has some great tips and ideas for getting organized, along with resources. I even discuss paper planning here.

Taking Organizing and Planning Tips from Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin was great at being organized and had some great ideas that are used today.

Great Uses for Binder Clips
Binder clips can help you get organized, and not just by clipping papers together.

Tips, Resources, and Ideas for Going Paperless
Going paperless can help you get more organized - less clutter, less space needed for paper, and the digital versions are easily searchable.

All Articles Tagged as "Get Organized"
This will pull up a list of any blog post that I tagged as "get organized"

Getting Organized with Google Calendar
Tips on using calendar to get organized.

Getting your Lesson Plans and Room Organized for a Substitute Teacher
Life is much better for the sub, your students, and you when you return, when your lessons and classroom are organized.

Using Technology to Organize your Lessons and Resources
I was a much happier, more efficient teacher when I got myself and my lessons organized.

Getting Students and Teachers Organized
Some tips for students and teachers.

I'm a huge Android user. I have my HTC One Smartphone and my own Nexus 7 tablet. In addition, my department uses Nexus 7 tablets for mobile access and some of our schools have Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets.

I have a bunch of apps that I use on a regular basis, both when I was a teachers, as well as now as a CIO. This is my list of top apps for educators:



Gmail - email is the main way I communicate with my staff, vendors, and school admin and teachers. It is indispensable for me. I can easily check all of my email accounts (4).



Calendar - my calendar is so busy that I would be lost without this. What's nice is that my personal and work calendars are overlaid for easy viewing.



Drive - access and create/edit/share documents anywhere. You can even view and edit none Google Docs files using QuickOffice (see below) that Google bought and integrated into Drive.



Evernote -is my favorite, and most used resource. I had all of my lesson plans, resources, web clippings, lesson schedule, meeting notes, misc. notes, task lists, reference materials and much more on here as a teacher and I now use it for all of my notes, meeting notes, references, project planning and more . I can access my notes anywhere and can even share notes with others.



Google+ - this is how I connect with other educational, technology, and edtech professionals. Easy to use, great for conversations and tons of great people and communities on here.



Edmodo - this is a major component in our school district and used widely by teachers and staff. It provides some great features and resources and is free.


Student SIS System - access student information anytime. Teachers can also use it to take attendance and as a roll book during a fire drill.



Splashtop - I use this to access my desktop and/or laptop at any time from anywhere. It allows me to do anything on my Android device, including running Windows apps and accessing all of my files.




QuickOffice - access, view, and edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel files.Free version comes with phone and can view documents. Pro version adds editing for a fee.

Another feature of Android I love is the sharing. I can share from app to app with one click. Great for sharing resources with others.



Related:

Android for Education Resources

My Favorite Resources for Teachers and Students

Google for Education Resources

Essential Apps and Installs for Windows, Chrome, Android

Why I use Google's Products as an Educator