Evernote

I’ve been using Evernote for a while now and so I am convinced that it is a terrific tool for library staff and students (in particular.) Anyone who wants to sync documents, websites and notes between their devices will find Evernote just so useful and user friendly. It’s kind of like cataloguing your entire computer’s contents and the ability to access them from all of your devices.

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What does it do? The Evernote website explains more:

1. Capture everything.

Chances are, if you can see it or think of it, Evernote can help you remember it. Type a text note. Clip a web page. Snap a photo. Grab a screenshot. Evernote will keep it all safe.

2. Organise it (or let us do it).

Everything you capture is automatically processed, indexed, and made searchable. If you like, you can add tags or organize notes into different notebooks.

3. Find anything fast.

Search for notes by keywords, titles, and tags. Evernote magically makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable, too.

Infinitely useful.

Put your thoughts, ideas, inspiration, and things to remember all in one place. Use Evernote for work, for play, and for everything that’s noteworthy.

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Evernote is available for:

  • Mac
  • PC
  • iPod touch
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Android
  • Blackberry
  • Windows mobile
  • Palm Pre/ Palm Pixi

This video explains more.

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Oh yes, and it’s free! There is a premium account, but you’d have to do an awful lot of web clipping and note saving to need it.

iPod touch for learning

One of the most useful handheld devices for learning is the iPod touch. Australian iPod touch guru Jenny Ashby shows how the tool can be used in the classroom:

iPod touch 1

Jenny’s recent presentation “iPod iLearn” goes into more depth about how to set up, implement and use iPods in the classroom. Although Primary in focus, there is plenty for Secondary teachers to take from this presentation:

View more documents from jjash.

About a year ago, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) produced an iPod Touch Research Report that includes the recommendations:

On Planning and Implementation

Develop technology projects that focus on the power of visual media and social networking, as they significantly influence literacy, numeracy and life chances for disadvantaged students.

Ensure that innovative projects using emerging technologies provide adequate time for teachers to become familiar with the devices and their functionality, prior to introduction and implementation in the classroom.

Identify clear, precise learning goals that support a culture of learning and skill development in the classroom, as essential for effective implementation of emerging technologies.

On Teaching and Learning

Promote mobile handheld devices, like the iPod Touch, that stimulate learners to want to learn and provide a means to pursue knowledge independently.

Introduce handheld mobile devices like the iPod Touch to support personalised learning and to assist literacy and numeracy in ESL, ‘at risk’ and reluctant learners.

Promote a limited number of handheld devices per class, as opposed to 1:1, to encourage teachers to engage with group work or team work as a successful pedagogy.

Introduce the iPod Touch to classrooms as a tool to stimulate teachers to rethink their pedagogy by considering how to integrate portable devices with learning functionality in curriculum activities.

Develop curriculum plans that involve greater learner autonomy and independence when using handheld mobile devices in the classroom.

Integrate mobile devices with other technologies (such as interactive whiteboards, laptops, Nintendo Wii) for purposeful learning in the classroom, so they are not just add-ons.

On Professional Learning

Provide greater access to well-structured professional learning sessions to promote widespread teacher ICT capacity and confidence.

Promote online collaboration as an effective mode of teacher networking for sharing knowledge and the transfer of good practice.

On Technical Support

Include a budget item for DEECD technical support at the school or cluster level to better support emerging technology projects.

Conduct a technical needs analysis, prior to project start-up, of issues that may impact on successful implementation of innovative projects.

Provide one identified technical conduit within the ITD Branch of DEECD for critical issue liaison involving emerging technology projects.

If you decide to investigate using the iPod touch, or are already using them, then the blog post “50 educational apps for the iPod touch” by U Tech Tips will prove useful.

50 ipod touch

And thanks to @AuntyTech, here is another list of over 170 iPod touch or iPhone apps (beware that some do cost) that keep students connected to the classroom, no matter where they are:

iPod apps

The beauty of iPod touch apps (applications = programs) is that there are many that are free and quite a lot that can be used in educational settings. The iPod touch has the potential to become a revolutionary tool in the classroom.

Handheld Learning Conference 2009

If you are interested in gaming and handheld devices for learning, then you may be interested in the proceedings from the recent Handheld Learning Conference in London. Thank you to presenters and organisers for sharing both audio and video files from the numerous sessions.

Proceedings

 

Navigate to: Photographs | Video: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday | Discussions


  Photographs:Monday 5th October – The Handheld Learning Festival
Tuesday 6th October
Tuesday 6th October – The Handheld Learning Awards for Innovation & Best Practice
Wednesday 7th October  Audio & Video:Monday 5th October – The Handheld Learning Festival“Best Practice in Action” – 11:00 – 17:00 (online discussion)
Dawn Hallybone, Senior Teacher/ICT Co-ordinator, Oakdale Junior School, England – “Consoles in the classroom”
Philip Griffin, Y6 Teacher, Radstock Primary School, United Kingdom – “Technology v Pedagogy”
Paul Hodgkinson, Co-ordinating Officer, ITSS (Durham County Council), United Kingdom – “24/7 Learning with families”
Joyce Ness, Education Consultant, RM Education, United Kingdom – “One size doesn’t fit all”
Katrina Smith, School Improvement Facilitator for/Head of ICT, Priory School Business & Enterprise College and Leading Edge School, England – “Handheld devices to enhance learning and teaching”
Adam Blackwood, E-Advisor, JISC RSC SouthEast, England – “Transforming Engagement with Proximity Communication”
Richard Scullin, Founder, MobileEd.org, United States – “mLearning in the cloud: a drop(.io) in the bucket”
Shawn Gross, Project Director, Project K-Nect, United States – “Mobile Phones for Math and Science”
Gavin Cooney, CEO, Learnosity, Ireland – “Use of mobile phones for language learning”
Derrick Welsh, Artist – “Cellphone touch screens to bring drawing messages?”
Nick Short, Royal Veterinary College, London – “Androids for Africa”
Louise Duncan, Leading Teacher / eLearning Co-ordinator, Shepparton High School, Australia – “Essential ingredients for the successful implementation of mobile learning”MirandaMod11:00 – 13:00
HHECKL11:00 – 13:00
“Pecha Kucha for 21st Century Educators”14:00 – 16:30
The Nesta Challenge14:00 – 16:00

“Learners Y Factor” – 14:00 – 16:30 (online discussion)
Burnt Oak Junior School
Loughton School
Normanby Primary School
Oakdale Junior School
Packmoor Primary School
Scargill Junior School

The Handheld Learning Awards for Innovation & Best Practice

Tuesday 6th October

Conference Opening Session – “Reflections on Learning” – 09:30 – 13:00 (online discussion)
Industry Announcements
Graham Brown-Martin – Welcome & Introduction
Opening Address – Zenna Atkins, Chairman, Ofsted
Malcolm McLaren, agent provocateur & artist
Yvonne Roberts, Senior Associate, Young Foundation
James Paul Gee, Presidential Professor, Arizona State University

Conference Session Two – “Creativity & Innovation” – 14:30 – 17:30 (online discussion)
John Davitt, International Learning Advocate
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, CEO and Co-Founder of Tinker.it
David Braben, Founder & Chairman, Frontier
Tim Rylands, Teacher & Innovator
Dr. Phyllis Hillwig, Chief Operating Officer, Words & Numbers, United States – “M-Learning: Challenges in the US Market”
Linda Hahner, President, Out of the blue design inc, United States – “Literacy Mobile Applications”
Dr Naomi Norman, Director of Learning, Epic, United Kingdom – “Be the best – mobile learning and the Army”
Tony Vincent, Independent Consultant, LearningInHand, United Kingdom

Breakouts 14:30 – 18:00:

Games for Learning
Social Media for Learning

Wednesday 7th October

Conference Session Three – “Inclusion” – 09:30 – 13:00 (online discussion)
Donald Clark, e-Learning Expert
Niel McLean, Executive Director, Becta
David Cavallo, Chief Learning Architect, MIT OLPC
Professor Elizabeth Hayes, Arizona State University
Sal Cooke, Director, TechDis
Sir Tim Brighouse, Former Commissioner for London Schools
Helen Milner, Managing Director, UK Online Centres
Discussion
Learners Y Factor’s Winners Presentation

Conference Session Four – “Transformation” – 14:50 – 15:50 (online discussion)
Clare Woodward, Lecturer, The Open University & Mike Solly, Senior Lecturer, Open University, United Kingdom – “Mlearning in the developing world: not 3G but 4C”
Nabeel Ahmad, Mobile Learning Design Leader, IBM Learning, United States – “Mobile, Connected, Empowered, Transformed”

Closing Keynote – Ray Kurzweil (online discussion)

Breakouts 09:30 – 16:00:

Research Strand (part 1) – 09:30 – 13:00
Research Strand (part 2) – 14:30 – 16:00
Spotlight Scotland (part 1) – 09:30 – 13:00
Spotlight Scotland (part 2) – 09:30 – 13:00
Emerging Technologies and New Practices14:15 – 16:00
UK Policy Strand – It’s All In Hand09:30 – 11:00
UK Policy Strand – Leading Learning in Handheld Technology11:30 – 13:00
UK Policy Strand – The Impact of Mobile Learning14:00 – 15:15
UK Policy Strand – ICT Register Showcase Session15:15 – 16:00

  Discussions:

Opening Conference Session – “Reflections on Learning”
Conference Session Two – “Creativity and Innovation”
Conference Session Three – “Digital Inclusion”
Conference Session Four – “Transformation”
Best Practice in Action Session
Learners Y Factor
Handheld Learning Awards for Innovation and Best Practice
Delegate Reflections
Blog Roll for Handheld Learning 2009

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 October 2009 17:50 )

Plenty here to keep you busy for weeks!