Overview
Evernote is not so much a productivity tool as it is a religion for many of its die-hard users. As educators we are very good at accumulating documents, notes, ideas and an endless pile of great resources. But where many of us fall short, is storing them in an organized and searchable fashion. This is where Evernote can step in and turn that mess of papers, links, bookmarks and napkin scraps into a powerhouse of easy to find education resources.
Name: Evernote – evernote.comPricing: Free
Compatibility: Desktop / Mobile
Access: Email signup required
Privacy: Customizable (privacy policy)
A Quick Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSZq19Dqz38
In Practice
1. Notebooks and tags
Notebooks and tags are the foundations of Evernote and every resource you want to store needs to be tagged and put in the right notebook. Try and use your notebooks for large logical groupings such as a notebook for each class, for each discipline or for individual projects. Use tags like they are going out of fashion. Tag your resources for every conceivable keyword you may want to search on in the future. The better you tag, the easier that resource will be to find in your hour of need.
2. Paper resources
While adding digital assets to your Evernote library is a fairly straight forward process, you may have a lot of important ideas still on paper. One neat and quick way to get these physical assets into your Evernote collection is to use the Evernote app to snap a photo. The image can then be tagged and added straight into your notebook of choice. Not only does this make resources much easier to search it can also put you on the path to a paperless classroom.
3. Snap and Annotate
One of the Evernote features I find myself using more and more is the ability to take a screenshot and add comments and annotations. It’s a very quick way to jot down thoughts that a certain resource may trigger as well keep your thinking and ideas all in one place.
4. Sharing with students
The ability to share notebooks is one of the main reasons Evernote has been such as success with educators. Try creating a shared notebook to store resources you find on a class topic. Students can then be pointed to the notebook for all their required resources. Many lecturers and teachers are now using Evernote to share class slides, videos and documents with students straight after class.
5. Good habits rub off
Once you are using Evernote to bring together all of your resources, it’s time to help your students take control of their digital assets. Encourage your students to use some form of digital filing system like Evernote. These skills become particularly important as students enter later years of schooling and university.
Links and Next Steps
- Getting Started with Evernote – Guide from the Evernote team
- Becoming a Digital Professor with Evernote – Ideas for Evernote in class
- Developing Digital Literacy Through Content Curation
- Using Evernote in the Classroom – Video (1 hour)
- 6 Uses for Evernote in the Classroom – Guide by discipline
- Paperless Admin for Teachers – Some Tips and Tricks to Get You Started
- Evernote at The Montclair Kimberley Academy – Video (2 min)
- 6 Ways You Can Use Evernote To Dominate Your Classes
- Work Smarter with Evernote: Organizing with Notebooks and Tags – Video (1 hour)
- How do I get an education discount for Evernote Business?
Feature image adapted from image courtesy of Flickr, brendan-c.