Thaw » The Web http://frozencanvas.com/thaw Design, The Web & Technology Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:54:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Introducing A New To-do-list App – Your Memory http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:54:23 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=65 A few months ago I accidentally deleted my Google Calendar while trying to sync it to Microsoft outlook. Serves me right for trying to make that work. So after that naturally I sent out a rant on twitter. Shortly after that @beparadigm sent me a reply suggesting I just forget the calendar and just try to use my brain for a couple months. My initial reaction was are you crazy! Every little thing that I had to do in a day was on that, so how would I manage my day. Frustrated with the situation I resisted adding everything back into the calendar and took @beparadigm’s advice.

Now, I didn’t completely stop using it. I still put important events on my Google Calendar, but every single thing that I need to do is not on it anymore. Along with the calendar I have been using a to-do-list. I used Evernote for awhile and then moved on to Put Things Off for my lists. Earlier this week I saw a post on Twitter by @jamesdeer that said “Why does life evolve around a to-do list?” This comment made me think a bit about my use of to-do lists to make it through the day. As much as I like the Put Things Off app, that was all it took to kick my to-do list habit. I have gone the whole week without using a to-do list, and I haven’t forgotten anything that I need to do yet.

We will see how it goes, but I have no intentions of using a to-do list app again. I will continue to use Google Calendar for important events, but will keep that use to a minimum.

So now the challenge for you is, can you stop using your to-do list and start using the one app that is the most intuitive and user friendly app you will ever find…your very own memory.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/introducing-a-new-to-do-list-app-your-memory/feed/ 0 Facebook – The Next Learning Management System http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:00:51 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=58 Facebook basically started out as a way for some college friends to stay in touch, but has been opened up to the world and is one of the largest social mediums in the business. So how much time during a school day do students spend on Facebook versus the school’s Learning Management System (LMS)?

My guess is Facebook wins hands down. That is why educators are trying to create Facebook Apps to interact with students or to combine Facebook with their LMS. A few noteworthy FB Apps that I have come across are Podclass, Sclipo, and H-Link. They all have great features, but they can’t 100% replace a LMS yet. At best they create a mash-up of the two.

Right now Facebook is on a high and has a great potential to get back into education. While educators try to integrate Facebook with their LMS, Facebook could develop a LMS integrated with facebook. Until then I will continue to look for FB Apps that will help me mash-up Facebook and Moodle.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/facebook-the-next-learning-management-system/feed/ 1 Spymaster – a social game for the Twitter universe http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/ http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 14:29:31 +0000 admin http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/?p=18 It has spread like wildfire, and quickly became a trending topic on Twitter. Spymaster is a “spy” game that uses your Twitter following to become a powerful spy. The more followers you have that join the game the more power you have. The basics of the game are to perform tasks to make money, get more of your followers to join so you can assasinate other players, and level up your profile. Spymaster has spread so quickly, because you can choose to tweet your actions (they added a link to turn these off or add more) and invite your Twitter followers to join the game. There is a fine line to be walked here, because tweeting too many of your actions or inviting people that could care less about this game can be a bit spammy. Great idea making the game somewhat social, but I think they could have done more to interact with the people in your spy ring(your followers that are playing too). Collaboration with your spy ring to plot an assasination would be more fun. The gameplay falls a bit short too. You have to perform the same 2-3 mindless tasks to make money over and over. Clicking that same button to make some cash gets old quick and I have the attention span of Dory from Finding Nemo. There might be better features as you level up, but I lost interest at level 4. It could be a fun game with a little more interactivity, but I am done with it for now.

]]> http://frozencanvas.com/thaw/spymaster-a-social-game-for-the-twitter-universe/feed/ 0