The ProfHacker Week in Review

I’m guessing that the first bullet’s obsession with productivity stuff probably signals something about the time of the semester.

• ‘Twas a week for dueling task managers.  The contenders: Remember the Milk (introduced by Amy) and TeuxDeux.  And all those tasks are probably part of a larger project, which Nels can explain how to organize. One way to get things done is redact certain words from your Twitter feed. A “do engine” for your phone can help, too.
• The inimitable Julie detailed Google’s new social platform, Buzz.
• George noted that university presses seemed to have moved more decisively toward electronic publishing.
• I confessed to a dark secret: not only do I use a course management system, but I use it to deliver–shudder–multiple-choice quizzes.  It’s easy to overreact to teaching experiences, whether in course design or on a daily basis. Interpreting numerical student evaluations can be a challenge.  Jeff wants to redesign the classroom, ideally with a big, shiny multitouch wall.  Sometimes, medical emergencies happen in class.
• Standing posts: Billie asks “What’s for Lunch?,” and suggests cafeteria food.  In Open-Thread Wednesday, disruptive classroom behavior cropped up.   For weekend reading, I linked to a new report about the future of the internet, an explanation how a web site should work like a drug dealer, and more.

While I have the mic, let me also say that ProfHacker would be very interested in posts from faculty about managing large lecture classes, or about labs.  More generally, we’d welcome posts by faculty who teach math, or in *any* variety of science, whether behavioral, natural, or social.  Don’t be shy: send me an e-mail.

Image by Flickr user nosha / Creative Commons licensed