Penultimate: Handwritten Notes App for iPad That Syncs with Evernote

Earlier this week, I mentioned Notability as an app of choice to take handwritten notes on the iPad. It is an excellent choice for those looking for an inexpensive option for notetaking and an app with a number of features.

Another app for the iPad that offers users an excellent experience in taking handwritten notes is the iPad app, Penultimate. Now that Evernote has assumed control of this app, it's ability to sync with that application offers users an interesting feature not found in Notability.

Penultimate is an excellent choice for a note taking app for a number of reasons.

Penultimate's Notebook Interface

• Currenty Penultimate is a free app.
• It has a simple user interface.
• Users can create multiple custom notebooks for their notes.
• Insert existing photos or take new ones and insert those within your handwritten notes.
• Penultimate fully syncs with your Evernote account, which means you ultimately have access to your handwritten notes within your Evernote account.
• Choose your pen color or size.
• Choose the paper format for your notes.

Note Taking Page in Penultimate

But unlike Notability, Penultimate only allows you to take handwritten notes. There is no feature that allows you type text notes. Still, for those looking for an excellent app for taking handwritten notes that syncs with your Evernote account, Penultimate is a great choice. For more information about Penultimate, check out Evernote's web site. http://evernote.com/penultimate/

 

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6 Strategies to Make Your School of District’s Office Paperless

This morning’s #satchat turned to a discussion about using technology to make the school administrator’s office paperless. I have actually always been “less paperful,” if I may coin a term, than other administrators because it is a by-product of relying heavily on technology, which I always have. I won’t go into the rationale for why one would want to have a paperless office because I think the reasons for doing so are rather obvious. Instead, let me just list some of my own practices that have facilitated being paperless as an administrator. I can’t hardly remember the last time I opened my file cabinet; maybe it was sometime in July. At any rate, my file cabinet lives a lonely and neglected life these days because its utility has been reduced to simply some place to put my printer. Still, I think these 6 simple strategies will go a long way in reducing the reliance on physical documents, hence paper.

• Find some free/inexpensive Web 2.0 tools to streamline your practices. For example, I have a paid Evernote account and it is well-worth the subscription price. With this software, I take meeting notes, anecdotal notes, and  share articles/resources with staff. Evernote’s simple sharing feature means I can share the minutes from our last Professional Learning Community meeting with an email. Web 2.o tools like Diigo allow means I can share web resources I find with teachers, again, through email. My tablet’s Scanner app gives me a “scanner-on-the-go” and Dropbox gives me a virtual filling cabinet that follows me everywhere with access across devices. To go paperless requires finding Web 2.0 tools and apps that help you do many of those things you currently do on paper.
• Invest in a copier that acts as a scanner and will send scanned documents to your email as PDF files. Or, you can get copiers that will scan documents and place them in specified folders on your network server. Our copier is capable of scanning any document, and with the press of button, you can send it to your email account. When I receive a document of importance in the mail, I scan and then file it electronically. To facilitate your paperless office, find the hardware that allows cut down on your need to store paper copies. A copier that scans and then sends the document to you will do just that.
• Keep your computer file system simple; only use a handful of folders, the less the better. Many use conventional wisdom and start creating folder after folder on their desktop computers to file e-documents as they come in or are created. The problem with such file systems is two-fold. First, it takes time to ponder which folder in which you should place the created or received file. And then it takes time to remember which folder you put it when needed later. Instead multple folders, create one called “Working Docs” and another called “Docs Archive.” When working on that presentation next week, keep it in the “Working Docs” folder so you can access it quickly. If you are finished with a document or just are keeping an e-copy, dump it into your Docs Archive. One thing people seem to forget is that a computer is FULLY SEARCHABLE so finding a  file is a snap. Of course you have to put a little thought in what you name your files to begin with, but I bet you five dollars I could find my copy of last month’s principal’s meeting before you can!
• When you receive a physical document in the mail that is important, always scan and then shred it. Walk in to any administrator’s office and I bet there’s a stack somewhere. In that stack are things received in the mail that are awaiting their fate, either filing in a folder or in the trashcan. I will confess that I have one of those stacks too, but I bet mine is smaller, and I use the “scan and shred” method for physical documents I receive to keep that pile in line. While sorting the mail, I immediately make a determination: doc-to-be-archived or junk. It is that simple. I handle mail only once. Docs-to-be-archived go into to pile which goes to my copier-scanner then the shredder. This keeps the paper pile at bay in my office, and immediately gets those documents into my Docs Archive, which I described in the above bullet.
• Insist that others send you documents either as email attachments or share it with you as a Google Doc. I repeat constantly to everyone who will hear: “Just send it to me as an attachment.” Or I tell them, “Create your schedule on a Google Doc and just share it with me.” The rationale here is to get others to utilize the tools that will minimize the paper coming into my office. Most happily assist me. Those who don’t? I just keep encouraging them.
• Create a simple email sorting system and avoid using multiple email folders. Keeping a simple sorting and filing system in email will also affect the paper load coming through the office too. I use a two-folder system in my email similar to that I use for my desktop. I create two email folders in my Gmail. One is called “Follow-Up” and the other is “Hold.” By using these folders and my email processing procedure, I always have an empty “Inbox” at the end of the day. I usually conduct two or three main email processing sessions a day. The first step in this processing is to read each email and immediately decide whether a) it requires action from me, b) it is information I will need in the next several days, c) it is informational, or d) it is spam or junk. If an email  requires action from me, I put it in the “Follow-Up” folder. If it is information needed in the short term, I put it in the “Hold” folder. If it is general information I  hit the “Archive” button, which automatically places it in my archive. If it is junk or spam, I hit delete. At the end of each session, my Inbox is empty. Later, I go back through the Follow Up folder and take care of each item there or add it to my “To-Do List.” Once an item in my Follow Up folder is done, I archive it. The goal is to only handle an email once or twice.

School leaders can set the example for everyone else in efforts to cut back on paper usage by employing the technological tools and the processes/procedures that help reduce both the need for paper documents and for  the file cabinets to store them.

RockMelt: Web Browser and Social Media Tool for Administrators and Other Educators

RockMelt is a Web Browser for educators and others who want to blend their Web reading and social media sharing into a seamless combination. It is relatively easy to use and even offers some of the same customization features found in Chrome.

This week, I decided to take some time and really work with the browser.  Here’s some features I have found interesting and most useful.

• It is very similar to Google Chrome, my usual browser of choice. This is not surprising since it is based on Google's Chromium. As an experienced Chrome user, this has meant that I had little difficulty getting accustomed to RockMelt.  Everything is Chrome. If you are a Chrome user, RockMelt is familiar. In some ways, it looks like and functions as a customized version of Chrome, optimized for social media.
• Users can still download and use favorite Chrome extensions. RockMelt allows users to install and use Chrome extensions, though users may have to use short-cut keys to access those extensions. For example, Evernote’s Clearly extension is one of my Chrome favorites. I installed it in RockMelt, but it does not install a toolbar button. Instead of this, I have to press CTRL+ALT+Right Arrow to activate Clearly.
• Posting to Facebook and Twitter is as easy as clicking on a single button. Also, the share button means I can easily share out something from the web. RockMelt is built for sharing. This feature alone makes it the way to go if you are always sharing things from the Web.
• The Apps give users quick access to favorite sites and alllow quick sharing through social networks. Using the icons on the right-hand side of the browser interface by clicking on them, I can preview headlines from these selected sites, and click to load the full article or share it from that window.

RockMelt Screenshot with Twitter Pop-Up Notification Box

RockMelt is certainly not a browser for everyone, but it might be the Web browser for the educator who wants to be connected to social media networks just a bit more seamlessly. To read about and download RockMelt, check out their web site. It’s free.

School Administrator Uses of Evernote & Must-Have Evernote Extensions

Evernote is a must-have application for the school administrator. This week, I conducted a concurrent session on it and other web tools at the North Carolina Technology in Education Society’s annual conference. From that conference, here’s 7 Ways Administrators Can Use Evernote:

Evernote Desktop App Screenshot

• Note Taking: This is the most obvious use of Evernote since that is the application’s purpose. Evernote has some capabilities that make note taking even more powerful. Users have anywhere-any-device access to those notes. They can also tag their notes to make them fully searchable, and sharing notes through email or social media is as easy as clicking on a button. This means the next time you attend a meeting and someone asks about what was discussed, just tell them you will send them your notes from Evernote.
• Administrators Log: I’ve kept an administrator’s log since I was an assistant principal. It has evolved over the years from a spiral notebook to a Microsoft Word document to an Evernote note page. In Evernote, I have a notebook entitled Administrator Logs, and each day I open a new page and entitled it “Administrators Log (and date).” Throughout the day, I document the significant events I deal with, especially those that I feel might need the extra documentation. I use this log for investigation notes about school incidents, notes about important conversations with stakeholders, or notes about other significant events. With the Evernote app on my Droid phone, iPad, desktops, and my Kindle Fire, like my notes, my administrator log follows me everywhere I go.
• Collection Tool for Sharing:  As I go through the day, I am always stumbling across web items to share. Evernote allows me to capture those pages into a notebook so that I can later share the information with others.
• Online Inbasket: I no longer use a physical “Inbasket” on my desk, I have a notebook in Evernote entitled “Inbasket.” In this notebook I put items that require action or attention in the near future. This means my “Inbasket” does not stay on my desk, but it follows me wherever I go too.
• Weekly-To-Do List: Evernote allows me to easily create a To-Do list that follows me everywhere too. That means I can add more things to that list any where I happen to be, and check off the things I’ve accomplished. Like my Notes, Administrators Log, and Inbasket, using Evernote means my To Do List is always with me.
• Sticky Notes:  This is a new Evernote Trunk Item that allows users to create a Sticky Note on your desktop that automatically syncs with your Evernote account. This means that any sticky notes I create on my computer will also be on my work computer.
• Web Clipping: With a simple extension, it is simple to clip a page into Evernote for later reading, reference, or sharing. Evernote Web Clipping allows me to easily capture things I might want to use later.

In addition to these specific uses of Evernote, I would recommend the following extensions.

Evernote Clearly Screenshot

• Evernote Clearly: This is a Chrome Extension that allows users to easily capture a web page without all the ads and other distractions and either print it or upload it to Evernote for later reading.
• Evernote Web Clipper: Allows users to clip web pages and resources and send them to specific notebooks in their Evernote account.