Evernote, e-portfolios and iPads
I have a couple of schools looking at using Evernote as an e-portfolio. So far it ticks all boxes except one!
Ticked boxes are:
- many of their favourite iPad apps will share directly to Evernote
- Notability
- Pages, Keynote and Numbers
- Book Creator
- Inspiration
- Kidspiration
- And any app that will save to Photo Album (tap and hold and select copy, paste into a note)
- Pic Collage
- Trading Cards
- Popplet
- Paper53
- Artrage
- Feltboard
- Paint and Create
- or any app that can be saved to Dropbox can be shared to Evernote as well
- Tools 4 students
- students can leave self assessment
- record voice
- make notes about what they are sharing
- take photos of non digital work
The box that it doesn't tick is teachers able to leave text or voice comments from their own accounts with notebooks shared from the student.
One of my schools has paid for the Premium account which allows them to have more storage space each month and to share notebooks with free accounts. The free accounts can create notes, and the teacher account can leave text and voice comments and vice versa...but the students cannot share from apps into that premium notebook.
So students share their notebooks (maths, reading, writing, inquiry) with teachers and the teachers make stacks of the individual student notebooks. So as we see it the only way teachers can make comments is to either
- do them directly on the student iPad when conferencing (works some of the time, not feasible all of the time
- or have the individual sign ins for all student accounts (time consuming)
I have searched the forums and haven't found anyway that teachers can comment on student shared notebooks other than the above.
I have worked with many other e-Portfolio solutions and so far I have found this the fastest, most seamless and easiest way of students showcasing their work with their 'voice' but not so seamless for teachers.
Is there anybody else using Evernote as an e-Portfolio?
How are you managing the comments?
Replies
Mohi Mete (View all users posts) 30 Aug 2013 10:49am ()Hi Jaqui,
Our school has been experimenting with a bunch of stuff this year and one of those was using Evernote.
The boss set it up and ran it as you have described with a Central paid teacher account and a seperate Notebook in that account that was shared with the individual student who makes posts to that Notebook.
I will add that this was trialled in our Y5-10 classes which has a 1to1 iPad program.
Yes the initial setup is rather tedious, but she found that once it was up and running it was very effective. Will see if I can get her to comment herself when she gets back next week.
Personally I love Evernote, another teacher and I used it last term for planning a class we were team teaching. It worked great.
- Anjela Webster (View all users posts) 26 Aug 2013 4:05pm ()
Awww - forgive me Jacqui - I have got confused early this morning in reading 'edmodo' and forgetting that you are talking about Evernote!! what a silly billy I am .... well, we'll have to petition Evernote to get cracking!!
cheers :))
- Jacqui Sharp (View all users posts) 26 Aug 2013 11:28am ()
Yes that works well with Edmodo, but not so with Evernote, you still need to use the student's iPad or log in to make a direct comment.
- Anjela Webster (View all users posts) 26 Aug 2013 6:59am ()
I just received this list of 15 things you can do I with Edmodo in the classroom. Below is a link and there is also an in-depth tutorial from Free Technology.
I see that the opportunity to annotate directly into students' assignments appears to be possible. Would this serve the need that you were raising Jacqui? cheers.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/08/15-things-you-can-do-with-edmodo-how-to.html
- Jacqui Sharp (View all users posts) 25 Aug 2013 9:18pm ()
Thanks Anjela, that will be my next step to approach Evernote themselves. It would be interesting to hear from others how far and much they are using Evernote with students. There are lots of blog posts where teachers are saying their students are using it for reflection and collecting of learning but nobody is saying if and how they provide the teacher feedback.
- Anjela Webster (View all users posts) 25 Aug 2013 6:17pm ()
Thanks Jacqui for the outstanding list of compatible apps and tools that work with Evernote. The missing element of being able to contribute and add in to students' content and work is pretty essential. Have you contacted the creators of Evernote with your well researched and explored query? I'd love to know what they suggest or reply .... it could be that the more voices to Evernote on this very issue, means shifts in affordances of the tool. It is an outstanding tool, and if they could address these issues - then WOW! it could supercede other tools out there that are enabling this function.
Thanks again!
