What is Evernote ?

Evernote is a web tool that allows users to bookmark, record voicemails, take text and voice notes, upload pictures, docs, PDFs and files, and capture images and information on the web as well as as a software download on your computer or as a plugin for your browser and also as an application for your mobile device.

Why Evernote in education ?

There are several reasons why we should embrace Evernote in education:

• Evernote makes it easy for everyone to easily remember things big and small using computer, phone and the web.
• It is a great organizational tool for teachers and students. Evernote automatically process and index anything one captures on the web and it makes this content searchable. It also allows users to add tags and organize notes into different notebooks.
• Evernote keeps all your important information in one place
• Class notes, schedules, assignments, lesson plans, research or anything related to your schoolwork can be easily added to your Evernote account
• Evernote automatically synce all your notebooks to the cloud and everywhere you have Evernote installed.
• Evernote has apps for all kind of smmartphones meaning you can access your notes everywhere you are.
• Evernote has browser extensions for the major browsers making it down to earth easy to take notes and organize bookmarks right from your browser.
• Evernote allows users to easily share their notes with others via email, or popular social media
• Evernote has a special section for education called Evernote for Education where you can learn about how teachers and students are using this tool.

Top Reasons for Using  Evernote

Evernote has many more awesome features that make it ideal for use as an educational tool :

• You can access your evernote either from the web, or download its software for free and sync all your information right from your desktop to the cloud
• Evernote has apps for Android, iOS, HP/ Palm webOS, Blackberyy, and Windows Mobile devices.
• The different platforms you can use to access your Evernote also makes it easy for you to backup and export your notes in a variety of formats.
• You can use the camera on your phone or web to take screenshots of images. Evernote is able to recognize the text inside the images which is great for capturing posters, printed memos and more.
• You can also upload attachments to your notes. These attachments can be PDFs, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Images and many more.
• Evernote provides web clippers for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox allowing users to clip any web page they want
• You can use Evernote to email both your text and voice notes and scan papers.
• Evernote even keeps hyperlinks in a text when clip it.
• Evernote has a very powerful free version which we can use in education, but it also has a premuim version that offers greater sharing options, gives access to note history, search PDFs, faster image recognition, and no ads for $5 per month or  $45 per year.

Some Ways Teachers can Use Evernote

Below are some of the ways Teachers can use Evernote in education :

• The first and foremost usage of this tool for educators is to take notes  in class or when attending a lecture , a conference, a symposium, wherever they feel the need to capture and save ideas for later review.
• Teachers can get their notes organized into different notebooks
• They can use it to create to-do lists and work logs via recording tasks completed in Evernote, along with the beginning and end times.
• Teachers who are running a classroom blog can use it to write post drafts to be published on their blog when they get access to internet connection
• Teachers can organize their classes in Evernote using tags
• Store all the teaching materials to use during the whole year , one example is the grading templates such as  grade sheets or student assessment forms.
• Use Evernote to make up for your absence by sharing a notebook with the substitute teacher ( like lesson plans, worksheets, answer keys and examples of completed work ).
• You can create a public notebook containing key notes you want to share with your students. Share this URL with the class and parents  and let them view anything you add to your notes.
• Keep your extracurriculars in one place and in order.
• Save bookmarks and anootate webpages using Evernote. Teachers can add screenshots to help kick start their memory when looking for useful website.

• Students can take notes in the class using Evernote and organize their notes into easily searchabe notebooks
• They can use it to scan teachers handouts, taking snapshots using a canera and not having to worry about loosing the orignal copies.
• Students can take handwritten notes in their class and use a camera to capture an image to keep in their Evernote
• Students can create different notebooks where to organize and keep their assignments, class projects, docs, files, school events and many more
• Students can use Evernote to record audio notes on their phones or iPad for lectures and teachers talks.
• Students can share their notes and notebooks with each other and collaborate on their assignments.