Having recently completed a PD session on literacy and how to support and teach literacy throughout different subject areas and disciplines, the topic of notetaking came up.
Taking notes is a skill in itself and as with any skill the process of notetaking needs to be practiced and developed. However, with technology changing the way we document and communicate with the world around us, it is only inevitable that it will change the way students regard their notes and how they create them.
Recently, I have started to dive back into a notetaking tool called Evernote. It is by no means the only tool out there that performs the following features but it helps to illustrate the power and potential of this and other notetaking utilities.
No pen... no paper.
I can access evernote on my iPhone and on any computer with an internet connection. I don't need to carry a pen with me, I have a smartphone that I can type on, save and then send wirelessly to someone via email or store in 'the cloud' for later retrieval from another computer.
Why type when a picture will do?
Attaching a picture, audio or video is another common feature found on many of these notetaking applications and software. Nearly all modern day smartphones, netbooks and laptops have the ability to record pictures, voice and video. Evernote provides the ability to include this media as another method of documenting and recording your notes.
Search your notes
The use of tags allows for the fast and easy search of documents and media later on. Essentially, you search your notes as you would if you were searching on Google, Bing, etc.
Access your notes from anywhere
Having your notes stored in 'the cloud' provides access to your notes from any computer and mobile device that has a connection to the internet.
I am not an English teacher by title and I am not advocating that the practice of writing pen to paper be phased out of classroom completely. However, when it comes to notetaking as a way to document, record and store information for use as a future reference, technology provides a compelling alternative to the traditional pen and paper.
Curious? Check out
Evernote.com
Other similar services include...
Simplenote
OneNote (Microsoft)
Zotero (Firefox) Open Source
