Finally tried one of the "things"--#4.  I wanted to do this one because I love making lists of things to do and then they disappear.  However, I set one up with "Ta-da" that will appear on my desk top automatically.  The author said to put it out so it's in your face everyday, so I did.  I also think an online calendar which students can access when they've been absent physically (or mentally) to find out what assignments they've missed also seems like a good idea.  Another good idea from the calendar page is sharing one with other teachers so that we can see who's assigned what and when and when it's due.  One of the places I went to in checking out this "thing" was the 4teachers.org site.  I want to take my students to the "NoteStar" site and the "Web Poster Wizard".  So this wasn't as scary or frustrating as I thought it would be.