Notably....

This week I was excited to experience my very first "App Smackdown"! You may be wondering, what is an App Smackdown? (I wasn't sure either). Basically, all the members of our class got to go up to the front of the class and explain an app that had to do with their major for two minutes. Being up there for the first time was a little scary but eventually we all did it and we got to learn about a ton of amazing apps that had to do with all types of majors from a Breathalyzer in criminal justice to a painter for Graphic Arts.  The app that I chose was Evernote, ironically enough, this app actually ended up being one of the ones our class had a discussion about along with OneNote. This was good because I would find out that Evernote had way more features than I was even aware of. 

 Jordan Collier gives a great explanation of the best features and how you can use them in Evernote in 19 Practical Evernote Ideas. One of my favorite features is the audio recorder that allows you to use the microphone on your phone to record and then later allows you to attach it to any document. This is great for dealing with classes like foreign languages or for when your on the go and need to document a thought quickly and do not have the spare time to write it all out.  Another great one (if you own a Kindle or the Kindle App) is the feature that allows you to copy your Kindle highlights and put them all on to one document which you can search through. This is extremely helpful for and reports or essays that you may need to put text from a book into so you can easily choose and cite your work. 

It's safe to say that OneNote is Evernote's top competitor. Both apps have a lot of similar useful features. Evernote vs. OneNote: Which Note-Taking App Is Right for You? by Joel Lee gives users the gist of both app's differences. He gives us pictures along with the descriptions so the reader can see for themselves what they may be dealing with, such as the way Evernote is set up in columns each with a different purpose while OneNote is set up much like a filed notebook. OneNote also lacks any sort of reminder system to keep users in check of what they need to be doing, but seems to be much more ideal for web-users in terms of navigation. 

If you do decide that you may want to switch to or try out OneNote but you have a ton of stuff lingering in Evernote, fear not, How to Migrate from Evernote to OneNote has got all the goods for you. This includes an actual separate app interestingly enough, (an app to switch an app to an app: how about that!?) called Evernote2OneNote. You do have to be on a computer to use the app, however, which might be an issue for those who use it primarily on their phones, but because you can synchronize between your different technology on both apps it might be smart to open it up on your computer on the same account after a while just to have. After downloading the app the rest of the process is pretty simple actually, in just a few clicks. Trying both to figure out what works best for you is probably the best way to go.      

The Connected Educator was all about CLCs or  Connected learning communities for this week's reading. These are split into three different subcategories: Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) which are connections among committed group members that can be within the local community, PLNs or Personal Learning Networks that are more connections made online on a global scale providing international resources, and (COPs) a Community of Practice or Inquiry which is almost a combination of PLCs and PLNs focusing on a group that is global and all focused on the need for a connection of beliefs or interests. When all of these are integrated as one there is an amazing amount that can be achieved and reached on a global scale keeping the individual informed and open to possibilities within their careers and goals!