Evernote in an English Classroom

             I believe that using Evernote in an English classroom, or any classroom, is a great tool for the students and even for the teacher. My students can use this website as a means of keeping their notes organized and sharing information with their classmates for projects. For example, if they are working on a debate, students can use Evernote as a means of keeping track of their evidence and all members can access this information. There are also different tools on Evernote that students can use to keep statistics and create charts that can also be used for the debate.

            On Evernote, students can keep notebooks, images, graphs, links, etc. There are endless tools that can be used on Evernote and that’s what makes it special. I was first exposed to this website in my co-op’s classroom. Since her classroom is a “paperless” class, she needs to use Evernote for students to keep notes. Students can type up notes while the teacher gives her lesson, and then they can even share their notes with a classmate to make sure they captured the correct information. Evernote makes it easier to share notes because students can just copy and paste the notes and send them to their classmates. This technique would be appropriate if a student was absent or missed class. The students do not need to worry about copying them over or trying to figure out each other’s handwriting. It is a functional tool for students who may have a hard time organizing their notes.

            On the other hand, Evernote can turn some students lazy and unorganized. For example, some students might not take notes and instead expect their classmates to share the notes with them. In this case, I would have to first go over certain rules of using the technology and Evernote. As well as doing a routine notebook check. This will motivate students to keep their notebook up to date and will count as a participation grade. Another issue with Evernote is that it relies on the internet alone. What happens when the internet is down? What if the school does not have a computer for each student, or can’t afford that amount of technology?