The 21st Century Principal

One thing I obviously discovered immediately in my Mac conversion this weekend was my loss of Windows Live Writer, the free blogging software. I used Live Writer quite often, especially when scratching out the earliest drafts of a blog post. What I discovered this weekend is that it isn’t available for Mac and there’s really no equivalent solution available of my MacBook Pro.

I searched the web and stumbled across this article, “A Blogging Tool for the Mac That Is Close to the Windows Live Writer.” It describes an application called MarsEdit, an blog editor for Mac users. I immediately found the application in the App Store, and saw that it wasn’t free; it was $39.99.  After obviously getting Live Writer free all these years, I was reluctant to pay that price. Still, I wanted some kind of blogging software that allowed me to compose blog posts offline. I continued to search, but I found nothing else. Being able to compose blog posts offline is important for me. Many of those posts stay forever doomed to spend their days in my local draft folder, but my writing processes means I have to often slog through those posts to get to the ones I want to post. There are also times I sit and compose drafts without an Internet connection, so being able to find a blogging editor that allows me to compose offline was important.

I finally relented and downloaded MarsEdit, even at the $39.99 price. While its interface obviously isn’t the same as Live Writer, it does provide me with the same functionality. I can, for example:

• Compose blog posts while offline.
• I can format text and posts easily, though the formatting tools in MarsEdit are located in a drop-down menu and not as buttons within the interface.
• I can preview posts before posting, though not with my true blog theme in the background.
• I can easily select categories for my posts or tags.
• I can post either as a draft or as a live post with the click of a button.

My overall assessment of MarsEdit? It is a functional blog editor for those Mac users who, like me, are looking for a way to compose posts offline and don’t particularly care for the online Blogger interface. Obviously, I could compose those posts in a word processor or other text processing tool, but as you know, when you copy and paste that text into the Blogger editor online, sometime very quirky things happen. All in all, I am satisfied with MarsEdit. It is a completely functional blog editor.

MarsEdit Interface

One of the grandest lessons I've learned in one semester in my EdD, doctoral program, is that being able to organize all my journal articles and documents is a must. I tried several reference manager options, but Mendeley seems to help me manage all the articles I am collecting as a part of my research in a manner most compatible to my own organizational needs. While certainly not as fully-featured as other options like Endnote, Mendeley gives me exactly the features I want to help me with the collection and reading of the many journal articles and documents I have. My favorite features of the software include:

• Cloud Access: I can upload PDF copies of my articles and have web access wherever I need it. The articles are stored in the cloud, also making it possible to download them to other devices as needed.
• Desktop App: Mendeley offers an easy-to-use desktop app as well. The app interface is much simpler and easier to use than some of the other reference management software I've tried.
• iPad app: Mendeley offers a fully featured iPad app that immediately gives me access to my research on my tablets. 
• Free with 2 GB of Storage Online but inexpensive to upgrade: While a user only gets 2 GB of cloud space to begin, there are inexpensive options for increasing that storage up to having an unlimited account.
• PDF reader that allows sticky notes, highlighting and note-taking: Once users have imported journal articles or documents into Mendeley, they can then read them with a PDF reader, highlight passages, add sticky notes or take notes within the reader. These can then be exported for use elsewhere.
• Groups Feature Offers Ability to Collaborate with Others: Users of Mendeley can use the groups feature to collaborate with others on research projects. I haven't fully explored this yet.

Mendeley Desktop Interface

Mendeley iPad

Evernote, version 5, now has a sleeker interface for the Windows desktop version. The navigation panes to the left are similar enough to the previous versions. I am just beginning to explore its new features, but here's some great features I've already discovered that add a even more functionality to Evernote.

• When you access a note in a notebook, Evernote now displays "Related Notes" at the bottom of the Notes Pane, suggesting other notes that might be connected to the one you are accessing.
• New Shortcuts Feature allows users to drag notes, notebooks and tags to a ___location in order to allow quick access.
• Window users can now attach "Reminders" to notes as they could in the Mac and iOS versions of Evernote.
• Better organization so users can more easily access to notes and notebook.
• Users can use Smarter Searching for an improved searching experience for their notes.
• Users can now use a "Card View" feature that allows for easier scanning of note content.
• Evernote offers a redesigned note editor panel and the ability to pop a note out of the pane to work on a single note.

New Windows Evenote 5 Interface

Evernote's attention to the note taking and providing users with software with lots of features continues. For more information on these features, and to download Evernote 5, check out their blog, http://blog.evernote.com/blog/2013/09/04/evernote-5-for-windows-is-here/

Today, I had the pleasure of conducting a training session with education professionals regarding Evernote, the note-taking software. Evernote is a “must-have” app for any educator these days.
But in order to get even more from Evernote, I suggest obtaining the following apps and Chrome/Firefox Extensions.

• CamScanner: CamScanner is a fully functional document scanner app for your iPad. (Also available for Android users.) With this app, turn your iPad or Android tablet into a document scanner, then upload that document right to your Evernote account. There is a free version with limited functionality, and a paid version as well. For more information about CamScanner, check out their web site.
• CamScanner iPad App
• CamScanner Android App

• Skitch: Skitch is an app that allows users to annotate photos with shapes, images, and text. Use Skitch to mark maps, screenshots, and photos. The photos can then be synced to your Evernote notebooks. Skitch is available for download for free in the iPad App store or Google Play store. For more information about Skitch, check out their web sites.
• Skitch iPad App
• Skitch Android App

• Penultimate: Penultimate is an app that allows users to take handwritten notes on their iPad. Create notebooks to organize your notes. Then, sync your handwritten notes to your Evernote account.
• Penultimate iPad App

• Evernote Web Clipper: Evernote Web Clipper is a browser extension that allows users to clip articles and web pages and send them to a notebook in their Evernote account. Clip all or part of a web page and save it to your Evernote notebooks. This extension is easy to use, and a must for those who find themselves stumbling on articles that they want to read later. Check out Evernote Web Clipper on their web site.
• Evernote Web Clipper

• Evernote Clearly: Evernote Clearly removes unwanted advertisements and other web page clutter and reduces web articles to “just-the-text.” Users can highlight key points, then upload to their designated Evernote notebook.  Use the text-to-speech feature and allow Clearly to read your articles to you. Check our Evernote Clearly’s Guide for more information.
• Evernote Clearly

Evernote is a powerful web-desktop-tablet application on its own, but add these five apps and browser extensions to make Evernote even more powerful. You can almost collect everything with Evernote with these additional applications and extensions.

ScribeFire is a simple-to-use blog editor that you can use right within your Chrome, FoxFire or Opera Web browser. So far my testing shows that it works more smoothly than other editors I have used, even Windows Live Writer. Often, when I've used Windows Live Writer, I've lost format selections and media inserts when I posted to the web. ScribeFire has some features that make it much easier to user for administrators who want to wade into blogging. For the educator looking for a way to edit blog posts, ScribeFire is a simple, free blog editor.

Here's an overview of some of its main features:

• Publish to multiple blogs at once: This feature allows you to post an blog entry to multiple blogs at once.
• Edit and update existing posts: It is quite simple to edit and update existing posts using ScribeFire.
• Schedule posts for the future: If you would like to schedule a post to go out at a later time, ScribeFire allows you to schedule those posts.
• Categorize your posts using tags: Using tags to categorize your blog posts is easy within ScribeFire.
• Upload images: This feature works only with images posted on the web.
• Available for Chrome, FireFox, and Opera users: You can use ScribeFire with all three of these browsers.

ScribeFire Screenshot

RockMelt is a Web Browser for educators and others who want to blend their Web reading and social media sharing into a seamless combination. It is relatively easy to use and even offers some of the same customization features found in Chrome.

This week, I decided to take some time and really work with the browser.  Here’s some features I have found interesting and most useful.

• It is very similar to Google Chrome, my usual browser of choice. This is not surprising since it is based on Google's Chromium. As an experienced Chrome user, this has meant that I had little difficulty getting accustomed to RockMelt.  Everything is Chrome. If you are a Chrome user, RockMelt is familiar. In some ways, it looks like and functions as a customized version of Chrome, optimized for social media.
• Users can still download and use favorite Chrome extensions. RockMelt allows users to install and use Chrome extensions, though users may have to use short-cut keys to access those extensions. For example, Evernote’s Clearly extension is one of my Chrome favorites. I installed it in RockMelt, but it does not install a toolbar button. Instead of this, I have to press CTRL+ALT+Right Arrow to activate Clearly.
• Posting to Facebook and Twitter is as easy as clicking on a single button. Also, the share button means I can easily share out something from the web. RockMelt is built for sharing. This feature alone makes it the way to go if you are always sharing things from the Web.
• The Apps give users quick access to favorite sites and alllow quick sharing through social networks. Using the icons on the right-hand side of the browser interface by clicking on them, I can preview headlines from these selected sites, and click to load the full article or share it from that window.

RockMelt Screenshot with Twitter Pop-Up Notification Box

RockMelt is certainly not a browser for everyone, but it might be the Web browser for the educator who wants to be connected to social media networks just a bit more seamlessly. To read about and download RockMelt, check out their web site. It’s free.

I have posted on Evernote several times. It is undoubtedly the most versatile application I use. It is the perfect note taking, resource collecting tool available to users. And, I would add that it is one of the few apps that is entirely worth the premium price. (I say that not as a paid advertiser, but as a highly pleased user.)

Here are my favorite Evernote extensions and apps.

Evernote Web Clipper
This extension allows users to save items found on the web with the click of a button. It is available for all major web browsers. Easily clip web items, choose which notebook to place them, and add tags to help with later access. It is a very easy to use web extension. For more information about Evernote Web Clipper check here.


Evernote Clearly
Evernote Clearly is one of those extensions that makes reading the web easier. With just one click of the Clearly browser button, users can enjoy reading web pages distraction-free. There are user options available for how the article is viewed. Users can even save distraction-free copies of the articles into their Evernote account notebooks. For more information about Evernote Clearly check here.


Sticky Notes
There are sticky note programs everywhere on the web. Some have lots of features that make them quite functional. Evernote’s Stick Notes app allows users to create desktop sticky notes that are linked to their Evernote account. Users can post a reminder on a sticky note on the desktop, and it will automatically be synced to an Evernote notebook. It is just another way that Evernote helps users get things done. For more information about Evernote Sticky Notes, check Evernote Sticky Notes Here.

Yesterday, I posted about the “Send to Kindle” extension and how useful it was to Kindle users. Amazingly, there are quite a few other extensions in the Chrome Web Store that are just as useful. One of those versatile Chrome Extensions is the Awesome Screenshot Extension. This is another must-have Extension for the Chrome browser user. (Firefox and Safari users can add the extension to their browsers too.)

The Awesome Screenshot Extension is a tool that allows users to do three basic things: 1) capture a Web page image, 2) annotate and edit that image, and 3) save or share that image. Because Awesome Screenshot can be synced with your Diigo account, you can upload those captured screenshots to there and share them with your groups or followers.

To begin capturing a Web page is as easy as clicking on the Awesome Screenshot button located in the top right-hand corner of your Chrome Browser.

Awesome Screenshot Button

Once you click the browser button, you have three capture choices: capture visible part of the page, capture the selected area, and capture the entire page. Once you select what you wish to capture, it immediately appears in another browser window or tab. From this screen, you can edit, annotate, add arrows, and add shapes. Once you are finished annotating, you can either save the map locally on your computer, save it temporarily on your clipboard, or save it permanently in your Diigo account.

Awesome Screenshot Annotation Screen

Awesome Screenshot is another extremely useful extension for your Web browser. It is available for Firefox and Safari browser users too.