Exploring Evernote

For all that I've grown up in the 21st century I don't really consider myself a very technologically proficient person. I pretty much use my computer for Microsoft Office and the Internet which in a way is kind of sad because I know that my laptop is capable of so much more. I knew I was missing out on some stuff, but I was comfortable with what I knew so I didn't explore much with other programs. Consequently, when I learned that I had to explore a new software called Evernote, I was a little worried that I would struggle and my technological incapabilities would become very apparent. In short, messing around on computers intimidates me.

However, Evernote is actually very intuitive and easy to use. I started out with the basics - creating notes and notebooks, setting reminders, and synching my devices. This part was pretty easy. You typed notes and could change font, color, highlighting, use bold or italics, and add bullet points - pretty similar to Word. The assignment required me to explain Evernote for 25 minutes though, and I knew that the basics would take about 5 minutes to discuss. Knowing that I needed more to present to my peers was enough incentive to make me click on every button that appears on the Evernote interface. It may sound silly, but this was a great learning experience and I discovered a lot of useful tools including the shortcut section, the ability to add different tags, and the possibility of annotating notes as PDFs.

In completing this assignment I learned two very useful things. First, that I have a wonderful new resource at my fingertips to assist me in staying organized and completing my work. Just in the past week I have used Evernote to multiple times to jot down important tips or notices and to set reminders. I also use it to record audio of my group's video discussions. Discovering a practical new tool is a great reward for completing this assignment. The second thing I learned from this assignment is that technology should not be intimidating. There are incredible rewards to putting a little effort into understanding new software or programs. Understanding technology and how it can benefit me will be useful as a teacher (we've all had that one teacher who is frustratingly inept with technology). Furthermore, as a future educator, I believe it is important to continue to challenge myself to grow and learn. I appreciate that this assignment pushed me out of my comfort zone, taught me something new, and helped alter my self-identifaction as a technologically challenged individual.