Never Lose a Note with Evernote!

Evernote

Before I Began

Evernote is a tool that I have liked from the very beginning.  Before using it, I had no idea that such a tool existed and had never really thought about taking and saving notes digitally in this manner before.  When I was in university I would take notes in class using Microsoft Word, but I never thought about taking notes digitally in the classroom or being able to share them in the way that I can now.  

When I first discovered Evernote, I downloaded it onto my iPad.  It was recommended to me by a friend who thought it was useful for jotting down notes and creating checklists.  When I first explored it, I didn't see how it was any different from the notes app on my iPhone and very quickly brushed off the app.

Then Evernote was brought up again through our course, and over and over again by many of the people that I follow on Twitter.  I figured that there must be more to it and began to look more deeply into the tool.

Features and Uses of Evernote

Here is a screencast that I created using Jing about the features of Evernote that I like best.

 

Personal and Professional Implications

Since beginning to use Evernote, it has become one of my most used Web 2.0 tools.  The biggest benefit has been for my classroom, but it also has benefited my personal and educational lives.    Typically I do most of my reading on my iPhone (both personally and for my EDES course) because it is with me and accessible all the time.  I read my Google Reader, Twitter, e-mails, etc. all from my iPhone.  Now that I have begun using Evernote, I typically e-mail interesting links directly to my Evernote account.  Since Evernote is on all of my devices, I can access those links from anywhere.  It does not have all of the features of Diigo (such as highlighting and sticky notes), so I still rely on Diigo if I am reading journal articles, or am focusing on researching.  Personally with Evernote, I can type or create my own notes (such as my list of potential Christmas presents to buy), save any recipes that I would like to use at a later date, or keep track of interesting photography articles.  In terms of my course, I typically send any interesting articles that I read that relate to any of my selected Web 2.0 tools or current events to Evernote so that I can look back at them later.

Evernote in the Classroom

I have learned a great deal about Evernote through my Twitter PLN.  There are numerous teachers who Tweet about their use of Evernote in the classroom which has inspired me to do the same.  My biggest influence was Laura Komos who blogged about her use of Evernote as a Digital Pensieve for Daily 5 (a Language Arts approach that I began exploring last year) in her post called Digital Pensieve (sounds so fancy!!).  I began using Evernote regularly on my iPad about a month ago in the classroom.  My students are now used to the fact that I bring my iPad around with me and jot down little notes as I observe or interact with the students while they complete activities in the classroom.  It has been a fantastic tool for keeping track of my conferencing notes especially when reading or writing with students especially because I can quickly create an audio note and record the students reading to me.  Here are a couple of students writing, while I conference with them and jot down some notes using Evernote:

In the past I have carried around a large binder with many dividers to keep track of notes.  When it came to report card time or communicating with parents, I was forced to open up my binder and search through pages and pages of notes.  Evernote allows me to have everything all together in a device as small as my iPhone, that can be searched and organized conveniently.  I can glance through notes at school, at home and on the road as I am creating lesson plans or creating small groups to review certain concepts or skills that I notice they could use extra instruction in.  Overall, Evernote has allowed me to organize and maintain better anecdotal records that have improved my teaching.

Where to Go From Here: Evernote for Students

To further my use of Evernote, I would like to expand the use to my students.  An important tool for students to learn in Social Studies is to research.  I am not yet comfortable with allowing my students free, open assess to research online using google or other searching sites, but I think that Evernote can help me to bridge the gap.  I would like to improve students' research skills using Evernote so taht they are not only researching like this:

I would like to create stacks that relate to curriculum areas in order to have students find information in safe, previewed websites that relate to our content areas.  According to Magolda & Platt (2009), tools such as Evernote "allow students to create rich content for their coursework and, in doing so, assume greater control of their studies" (pg. 14).  This way, students can have greater control over their research and make their own connections rather than having me directly give them the information.

References:
Magolda, P. M., & Platt, G. J. (2009). Untangling web 2.0's influences on student learning. About Campus, 14(3), 10-16. doi:10.1002/abc.290