With access to so
many electronic devices today, both teachers and students have a
multitude of ways to learn and collect information. One of the best apps
out there for collecting and organizing a lot of varied information is Evernote.
Evernote is a cross-platform and multi-device compatible note-taking
app that allows for text, image, audio, and file notes to be saved. With
numerous features helping in organizing and finding the information you
want in your collection, Evernote is one of the top note-taking apps
available. So let's look at some ways both music teachers and music
students can use Evernote to aid in their studies.

Reference Information
While
print magazine sales are down, they are not gone. Picking up the
occasional copy of Guitar World or Electronic Musician is helpful. It
used to be teachers might loan their magazines and books out to
students, but we're well into the digital age now so let's update that
approach. With Evernote, you can upload scans of magazine articles/book
chapters or use the Evernote Web Clipper to save webpages to your
account. Evernote runs all images through OCR (optical character
recognition) software to make text within images searchable. This means
finding all saved articles pertaining to a specific subject is easy.
With Evernote though, we can take it a step further. You can instantly
bring up any of these articles on your computer, tablet, or phone as
long as you have an Internet connection. You can also share saved
articles to specific students for their usage at home. To further add to
your organization options, Evernote includes tagging so you can create
and filter notes using tags.
Tracking Student Progress
There
are web apps and software you can download to your tablet or computer
to help manage student information and notes on each lesson. But most of
these cost a good bit either up front or as a monthly fee. Instead,
give Evernote a try. There are many ways on how you handle it, such as a
notebook called Students which contains other notebooks for each
student. My preferred approach is to have a note per student with a
table that I use to track what is done each lesson and what is next on
the agenda. No matter how you use Evernote to track your students'
records, you have access to them on multiple devices and can even share
the notes with each student. You could use a URL shortener like bit.ly to create a standardized link like bit.ly/ FirstNameLastNameLessons
to link to each individual student's note. This would make it easy to
share with the student and they can view the note in any web browser.
Create Lesson Plans or Checklists
Maybe
instead of tracking a student's progress as you go, you prefer the
traditional "lesson plan" approach. Or you might just want to create a
progress checklist to create milestones for the student. Make the plan
for each student and share it with him or her.
Tracking Student Payments
This
is probably one of the best uses for Evernote in regards to us music
teachers. While using a spreadsheet with fancy formulas may make some
things easier, sometimes we want something simpler or just want
something we can access on the go. Creating a table in Evernote to track
payments as a whole or by the individual student let's you access it
readily to make sure you are getting paid like you should. If you're the
type to provide written receipts to students, then snap a quick picture
of each receipt into Evernote and have an archived copy of it.
Snap Pictures of Handwritten Notes
I
already mentioned that Evernote lets you load in images, which are then
run through OCR software. It's not restricted to printed text though.
Try in on your handwritten notes as well. Even if it can't recognize
your squiggly writing, it is an effective way to archive the notes you
create on the fly during a lesson. Maybe you're a student in a group
lesson? Take a picture of the whiteboard and save it to Evernote for
later reference.
Make An Audio Note
Not
only can you save pictures and files into Evernote, you can also take
audio notes. This is very similar to the portable voice recorders that
were used. You could have the student play a piece and record the audio
into Evernote. Then later you can pull that recording up to show the
student how much they have progressed. One thing to note however is that
the audio quality is going to be low in order to maintain the "note"
style saving.
Conclusion
Evernote
is an app that many people find to be indispensable after they first
try it. While I have only mentioned a few ways to use it with your
lessons, from tracking progress to just saving useful articles and tips,
Evernote's uses are vast. The more you try to incorporate Evernote into
your routine, the more uses for it you'll surely find.
Great article on Evernote! I am going to download it and take your suggestions. Thanks!
ReplyDeletewww.DonnaSchwartzMusic.com
Glad to hear it piqued your interest Donna. I think once you start using it you'll find no end to the possibilities. Maybe you can add your own uses for Evernote to the list.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteI am considering using Evernote, but others have recommend Dropbox and google.doc. How does Evernote compare with Dropbox or google.doc?
Thanks in advance,
Allen Long