The 21st Century Principal: educational uses Evernote

Showing posts with label educational uses Evernote. Show all posts

Friday, January 31, 2014

6 Reasons for Using Evernote as Your To-Do List Application

Still looking for a good way to keep track of all those administrative tasks? I've tried several to-do apps but Evernote's versatility and features make it an excellent choice to keep up with your daily, or in my case, weekly task lists. I have a notebook in Evernote dedicated to keeping my weekly tasklists in one place. Every Monday morning, I open and start a brand new list. Using the Evernote's check-box feature, I create a box and enter each item. I check off items as the week progresses, and I add new ones as I stumble across them. As often happens in the life of a school administrator, I have a few items left over at the end of the week. I just copy and past them into the next week's Task List. There are several great reasons for using Evernote as your "To-Do List App."

You can create task lists very easily.
Once created, you can access your task list across devices and on the web. Your task list follows you around like a shadow.
You can create a notebook where you store all your task lists for back reference if needed.
Use the "Tag" feature to make your task lists fully searchable.
Upload any files such as Word Docs, PDFs or photos right into the task list. That means you don't have to search elsewhere for the files needed for the task.
Create a shared task list and share it with your assistance principals. That way you can tackle the tasks as a team.

Evernote's versatility make it my "To-Do List App" of choice.

Evernote Task List

Get Evernote by visiting their web site. https://evernote.com/

Sunday, December 29, 2013

6 Must-Have Evernote iPad Apps and Chrome Extensions for Educators and School Leaders

Evenote, as I've posted many times, is such a versatile application that every educator is bound to find it useful. Besides the fact that you can access the application across devices, there are some additional extensions and tablet apps that make it even more useful and versatile for the school leader and classroom teacher. Check out each of these tablet apps and Chrome extensions to extend the usefulness of the application even further.

iOS and Tablet Apps

vJournal: vJournal is a simple, free iOS app that allows your to create dated journal entries that are then uploaded to an Evernote notebook called "My Journal." It is extremely simple to use. Each entry is automatically dated. When you are finished typing an entry, simply click the upload button. You can also insert photos in your entries as well, which means vJournal also gives you the ability to create a photo journal. From the perspective of a school leader, vJournal is an excellent app for keeping various log entries and observational data. Check out vJournal in the iTunes store here.

vJournal Interface

Penultimate: Penultimate is a free handwritten note-taking app for the iOS device. There are times when all you need is a place to jot info and, if you're like me, you don't even carry a pen or paper any more. Penultimate is a handwriting app for the iPad that syncs to your Evernote account. You can also insert photos from your Camera Roll or take a picture and insert it into your handwritten notes. Penultimate's features add even more functionality to Evernote. Check out Penultimate here on the Evernote Penultimate Web Site.

Penultimate Interface

Skitch: Skitch is a graphics app for the iOS or Android device that allows users to communicate graphically. You can take a photo and use graphical tools to mark that photo up and then send it to others. For the school leader or educator, it is excellent way to make communication more visual. Skitch is also available for download to a Windows PC. For more information about Skitch, check out the Skitch Evernote Web Page here.

Skitch Interface

Boxer: Boxer is an email app for the tablet that offers users a whole range of features. The one feature that is of interest to Evernote users is that it allows you to send email messages to whichever Evernote notebook you select. This integrates your email into your Evernote application, adding still another function to your Evernote capabilities. Check out Boxer for email in the iTunes store here.

Boxer Interface

Chrome Extensions

Clearly: This Chrome extension has so many features for a free extension. With a single click, users can make blog posts and web articles clean and easy to read. Clearly removes all the superfluous content such as ads and sidebar content. Users can read articles easily. Using the "Text-to-Speech" feature, users can have that article read to them too. Articles can be highlighted and then uploaded to either a default Evernote notebook or one chosen by the user. For more information regarding Clearly, check it out in the Chrome Web Store here. Clearly is also available for Firefox and available for Opera users too.

Clearly Interface

Evernote Web Clipper: This Chrome extension also gives users many, many more features that expand Evernote's functionality. Users of this extension can choose how they want the Web content to be "clipped" and saved. They can save it into the Evernote notebook of choice as an article, simplified article, full page, bookmark, or screenshot. Users can also highlight text, insert arrows, and type text notes. Users can also share the Web article through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or email. This Chrome extension is just another powerful way to extend your use of Evernote. Check out the Evernote Web Clipper in the Chrome Store here.

Chrome Evernote Web Clipper

Evernote by itself is certainly useful, but as the tablet apps multiply and the capabilities of Web browser extensions expand, its usefulness only gets better. Evernote proves time and again that technology is only as good as the software we use, and the software is only as good as its functionality.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

25 Ideas for Using Evernote as an Educator and More!

Evernote is one of the most powerful apps available. I've been a heavy Evernote user all the way back to 2010. It is absolutely one of the first applications I open on my desktop every single day. It's power is greatly enhanced because it gives users access across many devices and the web. Its Trunk and Extension apps extend that versatility even further. Tomorrow afternoon, I have the pleasure of sharing my Evernote experiences with Phi Delta Kappa in Raleigh, North Carolina. My goal is to show them how Evernote's versatility can streamline their jobs as educators. Here's my presentation for that session. I hope many of you find something useful in Evernote.