I am an Evernote convert.
So much so that I did the following;
- Provided all my senior leadership team with an ipad so they could start to explore Evernote as a tool for observations, walkthroughs and general storage of data
- Ensured my Evernote was on my iphone, mac and iPad (now an ipad mini)
- upgraded to the business account and signed up for the educational pricing for school.
If you have not experienced the beauty that is Evernote, just quickly, Evernote is an App that lets you collect pretty much anything that can be digital and house it in one place. Best of all you can sync it across all your devices – Mac, Android and PC.
I love how I can do something on my iPhone and it will sync with my macbook. I use it for work – but I also use it to house websites (theres a fabulous in app called clipper that I have on my laptop – its awesome and clips websites straight into my Evernote account for use later). I use it to collect information for travelling. I have used it to take notes, add recipes – and to plan things. I just love it.
You can even share and collaborate with it but this is a work in progress!! More about that and apps that work with Evernote another day.
Evernote has been an amazing tool. I have used it to house data, and various elements of paperwork, like all those bits of paper that clog up my desk. I use it at workshops and courses as I take notes, to record interviews with students and of course to record observations and classroom walkthroughs.
In many ways it has become a bit like a digital office. I am attempting to go digital with my office but that is most definitely a work in progress – more about that another day.
I use the camera function for just about everything you can think of. I love the way I can be in a classroom observing or doing a walkthrough, and snap pictures of what I am seeing and they are embedded into the note. (small peeve that I can not scale the size of the picture or edit it in Evernote but I am hopeful that this will one day be a reality in a future update) I use the camera to snap pics of things I see on a course, or if we have been collaborating on a chart or whiteboard, or if the powerpoint page is useful. I even scan with the camera, handouts and brochures, as they are given out so that I do not have to keep the paper copy. The camera is a fabulous way to record workshops, or focus groups with students, teachers and community alike. In short – its fabulous!! I can not overstate how much I find it of use – all the time.
In addition to all the great uses of the camera and scanning, is the ability to record voice. When you are working with a group of students, or working with a team member, you can record the process. I have yet to play with this in depth – but it is a work in progress and thus far I am impressed.
Overall, Evernote has been a godsend. I am looking at different applications for its use all the time – so watch this space as I document my journey using Evernote, and how my team also uses this application. My next foray into Evernote land is to use the app for documenting and providing the evidence for my appraisal process.
In the meantime – you can get Evernote through the various App stores and set your Evernote account up from here;
Happy Evernoting!!