This is the year that I show a commitment to using tech not only to deliver my course, but also to organize myself. When a colleague of mine initially showed me Evernote I was intrigued but sceptical. After all, beyond my mobile, I don’t use a lot of ‘tech’ outside of the classroom. It seemed like an unnecessary complication in my daily teaching life. It took me a while, and many blog readings, to wrap my head around how I might use it. So I decided that this year I will commit to using it.
What swayed me to try it for the year?
Website Tagging – It’s nice to be able to automatically add a useful website to Evernote with ‘one click’ using the Web Clipper extension in my browser. As I ‘clip’ I can also assign one or more tags to the site. Because I create the tags, finding sites relevant to a topic is faster – as I don’t have to remember why I bookmarked a site.
Anywhere Access – I have all my files beautifully organized in my document folder on my school’s server. And there they sit. If I need access suddenly – unless I have it loaded onto my home laptop – it is nearly impossible to do. Organizing my files on-line means that I will.
Notes in Any Form – I am loving the ability to record ideas in any form – print, audio etc. I input a ‘lesson’ or ‘pro-d’ idea and then add an audio note to flesh it out. The ability to use my mobile to do so means that ideas are captured when I think of them.
Practice What You Preach – My role in my school may change and as I act more as a teaching technology support person and I should model what that looks like. In addition, our province is committed to more personalized learning for students and using Evernote gives me a great look at, and experience using, a digital portfolio.
Look for periodic updates in my Evernote journey – it will be interesting to see where this leads me.
Colleen
PS I have elected to use the paid “Premium” version – in order to test the maximum capabilities for me.