Something I've always been proud of are my organizational skills. From a very young age, I've been obsessed with color-coordinating and filing. However, this gets hard in a technological age—there isn't as much flexibility when saving folders and files on a laptop or iPad. Evernote, an incredible and multi-faceted organizational program used for note-taking and archiving information, is the solution to this.A great way to access your information from anywhere, this digital notebook is downloadable on computers, smartphones, and tablets. It allows users to create any number of notebooks and fill them with notes, PDFs, videos, photos, audio files, and clips of webpages. The versatility this program provides makes it easy for anyone to find some use for it.
Accessing an account is easy and free—all you have to do is download Evernote and create an account when prompted! As aforementioned, this account will be accessible from any device that has Evernote on it, so it makes it easy to recover anything you have created.
When the program is opened up on your iPad, there are a few things to take into account: there are two categories of organization. You can create Notes and view them in order of creation, or you organize those notes into Notebooks which keeps things clean and un-cluttered. There are also options to create different types of notes. These range from regular text-style notes, to reminders, lists, and photos.
Although there is a premium version of Evernote, which comes at a price of $4.99/month or $44.99/year, there aren't very many features that differentiate it from the free version. Additional capabilities include more storage space for files, increased ability on a mobile device, a presentation mode, and the ability to find documents using words or phrases using the search tool.In my experience with Evernote, I've found it to be a useful product despite my initial hesitation. I have a well-established, tried and true system of organization that I have used for years. I tried to use Evernote in high school and it was an unsuccessful journey, so I initially wrote the program off when I heard I'd be using it again. I found that my lack of success with Evernote in the past stemmed from my ignorance—I had no idea how to use it!
After a little bit of research and exploration, I think I understand they hype. Obviously, Evernote serves as a great note-taking device, which is what I've used it for most frequently. In addition, the list feature is a great tool, too. Often times I find myself writing to-do lists and reminders on sticky notes all over my agenda. These tend to become un-stuck and sometimes fall out. Evernote solved this problem, keeping all of my "to-dos" in order. Its reminder feature also reminded me of due dates or important things to finish.
My favorite feature thus far is the Evernote Web Clipper. Since I've been writing a lot of papers lately, it's proven pretty useful when I'm looking for information from the web. This versatile tool can be used for everything and automatically saves the URL from whatever source you're "clipping." Building a list of resources for my papers has been quick and easy, without to having to open several tabs in my Internet browser.
Although I've only mentioned a few of Evernote's tools, there are so many things that make Evernote an awesome productivity program, especially for in the classroom. Students, especially middle and high schoolers, would benefit from the organization that it provides. Everything is in one place, so it encourages students to keep things together, whether notes are handwritten or typed.
Similarly, Evernote can be really useful for teachers. From taking notes at meetings, to keeping notebooks for each student, the program provides organization coupled with customization. In my opinion, customization is key for any teacher. Without it, it's almost impossible to make a lesson, a set of notes, or notebooks your own. Evernote gives me this capability, the ability to link certain notes together, and create relevant combinations that are tailored to my classroom.
In my investigation into Evernote, I found a great example of how expert teachers use the program in their classrooms. One teacher in particular, Michael Cruz, spends part of his time teaching teachers how to integrate Evernote into their classrooms. One of my favorite things he suggested is using the program to "prepare for your absence" (Cruz, 2011). He suggests using Evernote's sharing capabilities to literally share an entire day's plan with your substitute. Since it is possible to have "lesson plans, worksheets, answer keys and examples of completed work" saved within the program, Cruz simply shares this information with a sub to keep the class "moving even if [he's not] there" (Cruz, 2011).
Despite my initial hesitation, Evernote has proven to be an extremely useful tool, combining efficiency ann organization into one program that manages anything you could possibly need. When I began using it in ninth grade, I could never have imagined the growth it would experience over the next few years. Not only does it have capability across devices, but there are also apps and add-ons that make the program even more adaptable and user-friendly. Always growing and innovating, Evernote comes out with new developments and improvements to make the system even more innovative than it already is. Although it is a great tool now, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Evernote.
References
Cruz, M. (2011, January 13). 10 Tips for Teachers Using Evernote – Education Series. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2011/01/13/10-tips-for-teachers-using-evernote-education-series/
[Evernote icon]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cdn4.iconfinder.com/data/icons/free-colorful-icons/360/evernote.png
