Showing posts with label notetaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notetaking. Show all posts

Friday, 26 April 2013

Google Keep, Google's Note Taking App, get's some improvements and new features.



Google’s Keep, Google's easy to use note taking app, has some new features, improved features and bug fixes. Here is the list of new features from the Google Play Store.

• Create notes, lists, and audio notes
• Add photos to any note
• Hide and show checkboxes to turn notes into checkable lists
• View and create notes from homescreen and lockscreen widgets (lockscreen widgets require Android 4.2+)
• Selectable color for notes
• Safely sync notes to Google Drive and other devices
• Notes can also be used from http://drive.google.com/keep


I use Evernote for most things, but also use Keep for quick notes on the go, along with voice notes, and then I can share the notes to other apps, or just access them as needed.




Thursday, 21 March 2013

Google Keep note taking service launched


Google Keep

Google has just launched Keep, a note taking service, that is free. It is a cool note taking system, that allows you to quickly jot down notes, checklists, transcribe a voice memo, search your notes, and more.

Your notes are saved in Google Drive and synced to all of your devices. There is an Android app for Android 4.0+ and you can access, edit and create new notes on the web at http://drive.google.com/keep and Google will be adding these functions directly in Google Drive shortly.

It has a nice layout, using boxes instead of text and you can rearrange the notes based on your needs and priorities and you can color code your notes.

Knowing that I am a huge user of Evernote, many people have asked me about Google Keep. I will be using both. Evernote has many more features that I use and I have over 4900 notes in Evernote. However, I find Evernote a little more cumbersome for quick note taking on my phone or tablet. So, I'm going to be using Keep for quick notes on the go, along with voice notes, and then I can share the notes to other apps, or just access them as needed. I don't feel like I have to choose one note taking app, but rather that I can use two or more based on my needs.

Here's a nice video overview of Google Keep:




Evernote Resources





Saturday, 17 November 2012

Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen - very handy in my new job


Two weeks ago I started a new job. I'm the Chief Information Officer for my district. In this capacity, I oversee the IT department and coordinate technology issues with all other departments, as well as advise on educational technology issues, products, and pedagogy.

This job entails a lot of meetings, issues, and challenges. One way I have been able to keep up with things is through my Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen. With this smartpen, I'm able to take notes in meetings on paper, which is very efficient, especially with my note taking style, which incorporates sketches, symbols, arrows, and more that don't translate well with a keyboard. The smartpen saves all of my notes and syncs them to Evernote over WiFi. This means that all of my notes are stored in Evernote so that I can access them anywhere. They are even searchable. I can also record audio in important or fast moving meetings to make sure I don't miss anything.

I have used it extensively and it has made me more efficient and organized. I am able to take notes quickly, and then have them saved and accessible from anywhere.




Related:

Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen - save notes and audio via WiFi to Evernote
Evernote for Education Resources






Thursday, 27 September 2012

Kustom Note - templates/fields for Evernote Notes



Evernote, one of my favorite and most used apps, is a great note taking, web clipping, and organizing app. The notes are free form though. You can make your own templates and copy/paste the template into a new note, but there is now a better way. Evernote Trunk is a collection of apps that work with Evernote. Each year, Evernote holds a conference and contest for develops and this year, Kustom Note won a Silver DevCup award. It was well deserved.

Kustom Note is a app that works with and integrates into Evernote and allows you to create custom note templates with fields similar to databases. You can also use pre-made templates. These templates can help make your note taking more organized and efficient.

For example, you could create a template based on how you like to take meeting notes, class notes, or a template for teacher observations, lesson plans and much more. Students could set up class note templates based on the class and the format they like.



Here is a list of many of the features Kustom Note has:

  • User Friendly. No seven-level menus to go through. Once logged in you are 1 click away from taking a note.
  • Set a default notebook for each form template you have.
  • Configurable tags. You can set your tags once for each note form template, new notes will be automatically tagged for you.
  • Preset title prefix and suffix. Set that once and it will be applied to all new note titles created with that template.
  • Include fields in note title. Set fields to be included in the note title which means you get meaningful titles without doing anything.
  • SmartField - Movies. A non-conventional field that shows up as an autocomplete field that searches for movies.Select a movie and it will magically render a beautifully designed snippet with the poster, ratings, stars and links to IMDB, RotternTomatoes and to book tickets on Fandango.
  • SmartField - Music. Selecting one of your template fields to be SmartField - Music, same as for Movies, it will display an autocomplete field that matches against Artists, Tracks, and Albums and renders an amazing snippet about that song or artist, with an album art graphic and links to iTunes.
  • Set your fields to be required, such fields won’t be allowed to be left blank in creating notes.
  • Flexible and constrained. Pick a type for every field and and once set, rules like email format, URL or numeric would be fully enforced.
  • Date and Datetime easy entry. Note creation forms will automatically have date and time selectors for easier and valid values entry.
  • Preset values to select from. For field types like Multiple checkboxes, Single Select, Multiple Select or Radio Group, you create a set of possible values that will be presented on creating notes.
  • Set multiple attachments of files and images with structure and rules for a note template.
  • Take notes in style. No more bland and boring notes. With KustomNote you initially get two themes to select from with color variations (all themes are fully ENML compliant).
  • Icon Stamps. Mark your templates with icons to be easily recognizable. Notes created are automatically stamped, stored and shared with the icon selected.
  • Set email reminders. Once set for a day and time, KustomNote will send you an email reminder to remember that appointment or movie note.
  • Share your templates. Get some good karma and share your amazing templates. You can share your note template forms to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
  • Browse and use public templates. If can use some help with setting up templates for effective note-taking, browse public templates created by other awesome KustomNoters, clone them and make any changes you like.
  • Everything in one place. With KustomNote you get all those 9 yards, create, update and list your notebooks and notes within the application.
  • KustomNote is mobile and everywhere. With an effective responsive design you can access KustomNote from your desktop computer, iPad or smartphone.
  • Customized notes for applications like Peek is a breeze, it would be a template with two fields Question/Hint & Answer with the Question field set to be used in the note title.
  • Evernote is huge in Japan (also). KustomNote fully supports the Japanese language for the whole interface and data entry.
See all the features for yourself at http://kustomnote.com and start creating note forms for your calories log, workout log, travel itineraries, homework's, your medical appointments, your children art collection and vaccination shots, your pets log, workout and medical records.. well, you get it, for everything in your life!

A new feature is the ability to integrate your Google Contacts and Google Calendar with Kustom Note.

Future updates that are coming include offline access and mobile apps for iOS and Android. The site does have a mobile version for use on your mobile device.

Find Kustom Note in the Evernote Trunk.



Related:

Evernote for Education - resources, tips, help, ideas and more

Evernote Trunk - applications, hardware, and more that works with Evernote

10 Great, Free Apps for Students for Notetaking and Class Planning



Sunday, 12 August 2012

Evernote - my adventure this year using it with my students



Evernote is one of my favorite tools and resources. I use it for lesson plans, research, collecting resources, clipping things from the web, organizing materials and much more. Evernote and Google Apps get 90% of what I need to do done.

Education banner

I just won a very cool contest Evernote hosted for educators. Along with 9 other teachers, I won a year of Evernote premium for me and all of my students, along with training and support to implement it with my class.

I have been using Evernote myself for years and always share it with my students, but this will be my first year really using it with them. I'm learning more about sharing notebooks and setting up groups and classes with Evernote. The first webinar from Evernote was great and we have a Yammer group  for support, as well as more training from Evernote throughout the year.

I'm really looking forward to learning more about how to use Evernote in my classrooms. I want to use it to eliminate paper, simply my students' lives, share resources, and create e-portfolio's for them.

When the year is up, the students will still have their Evernote accounts, at the free level, and all of their data and information. They will also have learned how to use this great tool as an educational resource. Since I teach mostly seniors, this will be a great resource for them in college.

I will be posting about my experience, things I've learned, ideas to implement this with your students, and more as the year goes by.

Thanks again to Evernote for this great opportunity!

Evernote also has another great contest for Educators: "Win an IdeaPaint and Evernote Classroom Makeover" where you win Premium Evernote accounts for you and your students and IdeaPaint, which turns any surface into a whiteboard.


Related:

Evernote Resources for Education

Evernote For Schools Site: Resource for Using Evernote in Education

Monday, 7 May 2012

Pegby - free online notes, tasks, organizing, mindmapping, outlining and more




Pegby is an interesting site that lets you get materials and information organized online and even work with others on it.

You create Boards that allow you to work online, collaborating with others or just organizing things for yourself. Each Board can have columns to help you organize the Cards in each Board. The card is a kind of post it note that you title and add descriptions to. The Cards go in Columns on the Board. You can even Stack Cards on top of each other to organize them together. You can also Tag and Filter your Boards to make it easier to work with.


It's a great way to organize notes, tasks, and other information. It's also a great way to organize your thoughts (mindmapping) and you can use it to outline research and papers.



This is a very useful tool for educators and students to use.


Check it out and share it with your students and colleagues: https://www.pegby.com/home/view








Friday, 13 April 2012

Fetchnotes - simple cloud based note taking app


Fetchnotes

Fetchnotes is a new, simple and easy to use, cloud based note taking app. It's simplicity makes it very useful because you don't have to worry about or learn a bunch of functions. It's great for taking notes and staying organized.

There are apps available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux. Your notes are also available on the web. All notes are available on each device.

You can capture and organize short notes and access them via the web, mobile device and computer. You can even assign hashtags to the notes to help you better organize them. You simply open the app, hit the plus button and type the note and then add the hashtag to organize it. It makes it faster and simpler to create and organize your notes. You can even create a note via text message from a non-smartphone.

Many smartphones come with simple note taking apps, but most don't sync to any other devices like Fetchnotes does.

If you are looking for advanced features, Fetchnotes is not for you. Take a look at Evernote instead.

If you are looking for a simple note taking app, that allows you to access your notes across multiple devices, then Fetchnotes is for you.

Here are some screen shots:





Related:

Android for Education - resources, apps, tips, and more

Notetaking Apps - a comparison of some of the popular ones

10 Great, Free Apps for Students for Notetaking and Class Planning
Springpad, a great note taking/organizing app, gets upgraded
Evernote for Education - resources, tips, how to, and more






Wednesday, 11 April 2012

Springpad, a great note taking/organizing app, gets upgraded


Springpad

Springpad is a great note taking and organizing app and service that I've reviewed before and really like. It is similar to Evernote in many ways, but also has some differences. Springpad is free and has web and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Springpad allows you to create and organize tasks in a different way than Evernote, and organizes your notes differently. You can take notes, clip web sites, create task lists, and more, just like in Evernote, but you can also import data from a bar code, search by location, and add photos. You can organize things by notebooks and tags like in Evernote, but Springpad also has "The Board" which is a digital cork board to help you organize the important things.


Springpad organizes your notes, bookmarks, web clippings, and other data and information in different ways than Evernote and lets you share notebooks with others also. They also have tons of notebooks available for viewing on their site.

There is a new interface, new ways to share and follow notebooks, and more. Here's a video from Springpad on their new features.







Updates are to the web app, the iPhone and iPad apps, and the Android app
Springpad


Related:

Evernote in Education Resources

Springpad - free notes and organizer software - very cool

Notetaking Apps - a comparison of some popular ones

10 Great, Free Apps for Students for Notetaking and Class Planning