Episode 83 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores three note-taking apps for teachers and trainers.
As a child, I was obsessed with notepads. As an adult, I am obsessed with note-taking apps. I’ve been trying out three ‘new to me’ apps lately so I thought I’d share my findings with you. These are not intended to be detailed reviews by the way - I want to give you just enough information to decide whether you want to try these tools out.
You’ll note (pardon the pun) that Evernote is conspicuous by its absence. I’ve tried Evernote several times in the past, and for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on, it just never seems to be the right fit for me, despite that fact that LOTS of people love it. Evernote does many things fairly well but doesn’t seem to me to do anything REALLY well.
I think this one will surprise a few of you. OneNote is a Microsoft app and I am a dedicated Apple girl. However, I am studying with the Open University and they use Office 365. I need a suitable place for my reflective learning journal, study notes and professional development plan. They recommended OneNote so I thought I would give it a try. Here’s what you need to know about OneNote and a few things I like (this is a non-exhaustive list):
SimpleNote is described as ‘the simplest way to keep notes’. It is light, clean and free. It is available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux. Here’s what you need to know and a few things I like (this is a non-exhaustive list):
Bear is the Apple option. I’ve just started using Bear for outlining podcast episodes, newsletters and articles as I’d become a little frustrated with how Ulysses handles links (amongst other things). Incidentally, I still rate Ulysses highly, but will likely only use it in the future for long-form writing (for example, when I tackle my second book). Here’s what you need to know about Bear and a few things I like (this is a non-exhaustive list):
I’m going to cheat and choose two. I am currently using OneNote for all my OU work, but outside of that, it is Bear. I thought it would be SimpleNote, due to the web access element. This is because I use Microsoft/PC at work and a Mac at home (all my personal devices are Apple too). But Bear has more flexibility in terms of export options, how it handles images, and note organisation. I am considering using OneNote at work actually, but for now, I tend to jot down notes in a Google Doc, as needed.
What about you? What are your favourite note-taking tools? Let me know; I would love to hear from you.
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If you have any questions about this episode or thoughts you’d like to share please join The Teaching Space Community: community.theteachingspace.com. At the time of recording, the community is free to join. It’s just launched so I’m very keen to get some members in there to test it out and give me some feedback.
The show notes for this episode include any links I’ve mentioned; you can find them at theteachingspace.com.
Thanks for listening and I hope you’ll join me for the next episode.