Evernote in the Classroom

    Evernote has been extremely useful in the classroom. Being that it is an English class taking notes is a large part of what we do. Before I started using Evernote I took notes on paper so it has been an environmentally friendly change. I like the fact that I don't have to worry about forgetting to email myself my notes or accidentally deleting the email. As log as I remember to save what I typed, I'm set. There was a short period of time when I was taking notes on the iPad and then emailing them to myself, but I would find myself never looking at the notes again when I did that. Now that I have all my notes in one place I feel much more organized. I also like taking notes online because I can rearrange my notes so that they are in whatever order I want.

    I haven't encountered any real problems while using Evernote. I mostly used Evernote for just simple note taking so there were no complications. There was never a time when Evernote didn't work. Admittedly, I did not use Evernote for anything complicated so I didn't really have the opportunity to run into any problems. I never used Evernote to transfer things to Dropbox because I didn't even know that that was an option. I liked the simplicity of the app and I faced little to no problems when I used it. Once I started using it I started taking notes more than I did before because it was so easy. 

     I appreciate the fact that Evernote has been free for our class, however, I don't think that I would use it if I had to pay for it. It has made things more convenient, but I would rather deal with emailing my notes to myself than pay for Evernote. There aren't many specific things that I would want changed about Evernote other than copying and pasting pictures. One once occasion I wished that I could paste a picture that went with a poem I was looking up into Evernote.  Also, it would be nice if there was an undo button. I think the site is very useful and I have been using it for more than just our English class. The site is great for any note taking and I even recommended it to my family. My brother liked the concept of the site, but when he found out he would have to pay for it he decided against it.

iPads in the Classroom

  Our class set of iPads has made class much easier. Whenever we need to research anything we do not have to go to a computer lab because we all have Internet access on our desks in front of us. Always having Internet access means that we can find the answer to any question we need to. Also, almost every book we've read in class has been available on iBooks meaning we didn't even have to bring our hard copies of our books to class. The iPads have also made projects easier because when we have time to work in class we are able to use the iPads for any pictures, film, or research. It has been nice to have to bring next to nothing to class everyday because everything I need I can access on my iPad. Also, with the exception of a few short stories that we had to annotate, we've used almost no paper which is a very positive improvement. All in all, the iPads have made life in the classroom much easier.

    We haven't faced too many problems with the iPads this year. Sometimes we have minor issues with the Wi-fi, but those are easily fixed. Not knowing very much about the iPads or technology in general has been a slight problem for me, but the iPads are fairly simple to use so that hasn't been too difficult to adjust to. Personally, I'm worried every time I pick up the iPad that I'll drop it and break it because I'm not the most graceful person, but no one in any of our classes have broken or damaged any of the iPads. Sharing the iPads with other classes has not been an issue except for occasionally forgetting to log out of Evernote and finding notes from people in the next class. It would have been nice to be able to take the iPads home when it came to working on projects and other assignments. I have enjoyed using the iPads, but I don't enjoy staring at a screen for too long of a period of time. Overall, the drawbacks have been very minor in comparison to the positive aspects. 

    I think that the iPads have been useful in our class setting because of the subject and our teacher's knowledge of technology. However, I don't think that iPads would be useful in all classes. For instance, math is a class that I will always need a pencil and paper to understand. I think that the school district would benefit from receiving more iPads for classes that would utilize them enough to make it worth it, but I don't think that every student should be provided one because in some cases they would go to waste. Considering the expense and the rate at which technology goes out of date I do not think that a 1 to 1 ratio for the entire school would be a worthwhile investment. Though most students are trustworthy enough to receive an iPad and put it to good use, many students are not responsible enough to be trusted with an iPad. It think that if iPads were given to each student in the school, the number of iPads that break or become damaged would increase substantially. However, I do think that the school should receive more iPads because they decrease the amount of paper that is used substantially and many classes would be able to put them to good use.