Edmodo and Evernote

This is the first in a series of several posts. I will be reviewing and explaining the features of the apps we are using in my classroom. This post will focus on two apps used not only in English class, but in several other classrooms as well.

Edmodo – This is the very first app I had students download for my classroom. If you are familiar with Blackboard, Edmodo is a very similar concept, having both a website and an app. One of the great features of Edmodo is its similarity in appearance to Facebook. Students are familiar with the set-up and, as a result, find it very easy to navigate.

Edmodo is perfect for my daily journal writing. I simply post a note each morning and students reply at the beginning of class. I often use this as the anticipatory set for the day’s lesson. Another great feature of Edmodo is the ability to send assignments to students, a much easier and more effective process than email. Edmodo also gives the option of creating quizzes, polls, and adding parents. I have not worked with these features, but plan to try them in the near future.

I enjoy the ability to select multiple classes to receive notes and assignments, as I have two sections of English 11, Speech/Drama, and English 12. The app is free and, in my experience, it can do everything the website can do. I would suggest using the website itself for administrative purposes, as one downside to the app is load time. Often students have to close the app and reopen several times before the internet will load content. I personally find it quicker to post assignments and notes on the web rather than the app.

Evernote – There are lots and lots of note taking apps out there and your iPad comes with an already installed note app. So why bother installing Evernote? There are many reasons to take the plunge and install! First of all, the app is free. You can pay for more storage space, but the amount they give you per month is plenty for the average high school student or teacher. Evernote is incredibly easy to use and the features are easy to learn. You can email notes right from the app and it automatically syncs your notes from iPad to computer to phone. Several of my students sync their notes with their phones to allow studying on the go!

Evernote had many of the features of a typical word processor, including some that are helpful for note taking, such as bullets and numbers. One downside to the app is that all notes must be typed, which slows some of my students down. However, Evernote makes up for this by allowing recording within the app. Recordings, pictures, video, and links can be inserted directly into notes. Students can snap a picture of vocab terms on the board and insert. Students can record a lecture and insert. Perhaps the best feature of the app is the ability to organize your notes into notebooks. This is very helpful for students who use the app in several classes and especially beneficial to students who have trouble keeping track of notes over the course of the year.

I highly recommend both Edmodo and Evernote in the iPad classroom!

Mrs. Wyatt