E-folio

For my E-folio, I chose to use Evernote. Evernote is a web-based organizational tool. Prior to this class, I had no idea what Web 2.0 tools were available out there for me to use. After creating and maintaining my account for the past few weeks, I can easily see how effectively I can use Evernote to continue to keep all facets of my life organized.

A few key points about Evernote:
- notes can be easily taken and organized into binders and tagged with labels to easily find them at a later date
- the web-based Evernote is very easy to navigate
- the notes that I take within my account can be shared with other people
- I can access my Evernote account via a computer, tablet, smart phone, etc...

I have only begun to use Evernote to it's fullest potential for myself and within my classroom. Currently I am only using it for my personal use. Before Evernote, I had lesson plans stored on my computer, I had basketball files on the desktop of my laptop, I had personal notes in files on my home computer, I had summer employment information on flash drives...no more! I now have everything stored in Evernote. So far...the best thing I see about Evernote is that at anytime, from any place, I can access all of this information. It is making my life much more organized.

I realize that there are many Web 2.0 tools available to allow me to be more organized and efficient in my personal life as well as my teaching. The more I use Evernote, the more I become comfortable with it. As I become much more comfortable with Evernote, I will be supporting and encouraging 21st Century Skills by using it with my classroom. I will be communicating with my students daily as they log into Evernote to review notes from the day's lesson, to check out the homework, or to contact me with questions. Evernote will allow my students to collaborate with each other on assignments. My goal is to have my students use Evernote to become even more creative in and out of the classroom and use the tool to become more organized.

My students use laptops in our school on a daily basis. I have provided lessons for them covering Digital Citizenship so I am confident that as I require them to use Evernote more often in the near future, they will do so appropriately while keeping the idea in their minds that they must continue to be good Digital Citizens.