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Evernote (my most favorite app ever!): An Organizational Tuesday Tried It

So…did you notice anything new today? It’s still us, but we’ve got a new blog design…woohoo!  To say we are SO excited for our new blog design is an understatement- we just love it so much! Thanks so much to Christi over at Design by Christi— she just makes the cutest blog designs!

Ok…now on to my post…:)

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I am so happy to be writing this post today since I’m sharing how to use my most favorite app ever: Evernote!  Evernote has been the best organizational tool for me. The most wonderful part is that Evernote is free (there is also a paid version, but the free version works just fine for me and trust me- I use it allll the time). I’m linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tuesday Tried It and Fun in Room 4B & Ladybug’s Teacher Files for their weekly Optimum Organization linky.

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I use Evernote on my computer, my phone and my iPad both for my own personal life and for my school life– and I use it on all 3 of these things every. single. day- all. the. time! The reason I use it so much is because it literally has made my life feel so much more organized. I began using it for personal items first and then got tuned into the idea that it can work for your classroom too.  I started with just ‘to do’ lists, vacation plans, recipes, etc, but in the middle of the school year I tried it out in my classroom as a tool to keep notes on my little friends, document their progress, etc. I am SO glad I tried it out for my classroom too because it truly has been amazing!

You can set up a free Evernote account online and then add the app to your phone/iPad/tablet and everything syncs up so if you edit a note on your computer, it syncs and will be on your phone or wherever you access it next! As I said, I use Evernote for my classroom as a tool to track progress and keep notes on my little friends. So, here’s the way I do that…

After setting up my account, I added a “note” for each student in my guided reading groups. I then organized them by homeroom class so I can easily pull up my tab for my little friends’ in Amanda’s class when that group is with me- so very organized! I then created a little table that aligned with our reading series so that I could see how each of my students was doing with applying fix up reading strategies and meeting the goals of each week.  I tried out a few different formats with a checklist for the week and then ended up creating a more generic version which made the most sense for me each week and helped me stay on top of taking notes each day/every few days during our guided reading groups.  And let me tell you, it sure feels good to check the fun little checkbox each time you see a student meet a goal! 🙂

This is the way it looks on the iPad:

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All my students with their own note.

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My checklist for each day of the week.

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A different version of the checklist. 

So not only can I take my own notes to see how each student is doing so I know what to continue to work on the next day/week, but one of the best features is that you can take a picture and upload it right away to each note. You can do this either directly from the Evernote app or you can take a picture and then upload it later. After doing our word work or a follow up reading response activity, I would ask my students to hold up their white board and I would take a picture of their work and place it directly in their ‘note.’ I absolutely LOVE doing this because, well, teachers do a whole lot in a day and see a whole lot of kids and it’s hard to remember exactly who did what…this solved that problem- I had the pictures right there in front of me for me to refer to whenever I need to in the future.

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One other reason I really love Evernote for the classroom is because I now have this growing portfolio for each student that I can show to parents for conferences/meetings and I use this documentation for our team meetings where we discuss students’ needs. It really is such a great resource for support staff and classroom teachers to see and discuss together. Everything is in one spot and it is readily accessible whenever I need it!

If you haven’t tried out Evernote yet, I highly recommend it…even if it is just to keep yourself organized! 🙂

Have a great day!
Aylin
Picture of Aylin Claahsen

Aylin Claahsen

Providing resources and support to engage all readers.

29 Responses

  1. I came to see what was happening on your blog today and I just love the new blog design! So bright and catchy! Also, love this evernote app you posted about!! This looks like such a great tool and holds tons of information in just one place! I am going to try to figure out how to use it!! {Although it looks complicated!} I might need a tutorial on how you made that checklist and how to add photos!

    -Caitlin
    Table Talk with C & C

  2. Love, love, love the new design. I've had Evernote downloaded on my laptop and iPad forever but haven't taken the time to figure it out. You've convinced me! Thanks for linking up this awesomeness!
    Elizabeth
    Fun in Room 4B

  3. I actually created the checklist myself based on the skills of the week for my little friends. I'll do a tutorial for how to set it up and create your own checklist one of these days so you can see just how I did it (or even use mine if you want it)! 🙂

  4. Hi Tara,
    It really is a very helpful app– and really you can use it with tracking progress for any subject- just have to alter the checklist you create for each subject!
    Aylin 🙂

  5. Hi! I too would like to know about your checklist featured in the evernote blog. How can I get a copy and/or create my own?
    Thanks for any help you can give.
    Sue

  6. Hi Sue,
    I will do a tutorial soon showing how you can set up your own checklist/use mine, but basically, once you start a note you can insert a table similar to how you would in Word/Pages. From there you then add your information that you want in each section with a checklist format by adding the little checkbox. Then once you have the checklist done you can just copy and paste in into each student's note! It's easier to explain with pictures…so I'll do that one of these days!
    Aylin 🙂

  7. I second the need for tutorial on the checklist! That is just what I've been looking to do. Mi used Evernote last year to keep conferring notes on students and wanted to have a table/checklist this year. Yours looks perfect. I'd love to read the tutorial! I'm excited to use tags this year with Evernote. I think it will help to pull groups of students with similar needs.

  8. Hi Ivy,
    I'm so glad that other people are as excited about Evernote as I am…I will definitely write up the tutorial…it just might take me a little while! 🙂
    Aylin

  9. Wow! What a great app. I have kept a notebook in the past but this will do the same thing electronically! Thank you so much. I can't wait to share this with my 1st grade team. You are the best!

  10. After reading your post, I have downloaded Evernote on my iPad and laptop. My biggest question starting out is: Do you create a different *note* or *notebook* for each student?

  11. Yay- i'm so excited that you are all ready to get going with Evernote! I actually recommend creating a new notebook for each guided reading group and then a new note for each student in that group. I have used "tags" in the past, but will be switching to notebooks for each group instead. Once you create a new notebook with the title of that guided reading group, you can add a new 'note' within that notebook for each student that will be in that group.
    Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes 🙂
    Aylin

  12. You got it! Evernote is a tool designed for better organization as it is a storage service. That feature is further fueled by the audio recording option for storage. It captures your note with amazing clarity which, I personally think, take it up a notch from other cloud storages. Ruby@Williams Data Management

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Hi, I'm Aylin!

I’m so happy you’re here! I’m a certified reading specialist who loves talking all things literacy. I have a huge passion for providing resources and support to engage all readers!

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