Exploration of Mobile Affordances-Evernote

For the past several years I have used Microsoft OneNote to save and manage emails for work purposes. This has worked well as a personal collation tool as it has allowed me to save important messages with all of the contact details of the message while being able to group related information into sections within notebooks. I only used the most basic function of this productivity tool, but it served my needs. As it is a Microsoft program, the integration with the other Microsoft programs that I use on a regular basis (Word/PowerPoint/Publisher/Outlook) enables the use of these document types within OneNote. The best advantage though for me has been being able to quickly save emails for later reference. OneNote also has very limited functionality on Apple and Android devices.
When exploring productivity functions on my mobile device, an Apple iPad, I chose Evernote, as I had it installed but hadn't taken the time to work out how best to use this program. As a tool that works relatively seamlessly across different platforms, it is an excellent tool for collecting, organising and interacting with documents, websites and notes that can be used for research, document planning and creation. Some functions only work to the full extent when being used on a computer, but the ability to use the same collection tool on different platforms, that allows for creative ways to create and annotate notes and always being able to access the same material by syncing Evernote, makes this a very powerful tool, even the free version.

Tangible learning benefits of mobile device in context

Feature/Benefit of mobile learning	Analysis of mobile device - selected function
Personal, private and familiar (reduce perceived barriers to learning)	Allows for personalisation of learning journey by capturing and organising a variety of content
Pervasive and ubiquitous	Compatible with a range of devices and easy interface with internet sites
Fit into the lives of learners (allow for productive ‘dead’ time - e.g. when travelling or queuing)	Anywhere, anytime learning on various mobile devices, ability to use voice recognition
Portable - allow anywhere, anytime learning	Access to notes, documents 'on the go' from computer or mobile devices when synced across all platforms
Immediacy of communication (including speech and data-sharing)	Notebooks can be shared for communication and collaboration
Allows access to learning by those in dispersed communities and isolated situations	Basic Evernote is free, compatible with PC, Mac, iOS and Android devices. Can be accessed offline or online. Some features only function with online access
Contextualisation through location-aware features such as GPS.	Use of geotagging to assist with searching and access of notes according to location
Allows data to be recorded and learning processes captured wherever they happen.	Notes can bet created, added to using a variety of modalities including text, audio, images as well as annotation of websites with live links
Access to mentors, tutors and others learners on-the-move.	Collaboration is possible by sharing notebooks and emailing directly to and from Evernote
Perceived as an acceptable way for learners to receive reminders and chasers - and to manage their time	Learners can set reminders for themselves. Assists with time management as research materials and document access can be located in one place
Bite-sized e-learning resources can be delivered to learners (especially useful for basic skills or work-based learning)	As the main purpose is note-taking and collation of resources, leathers can save a variety of learning material within Evernote with monthly storage capacity upto 60MB for the free version or 1GB for Premium subscription
Abstract (representational) and concrete (environmentally-situated) knowledge can be integrated.	Theoretical information can be accessed easily while the mobility of various devices makes it possible to access this information and apply it in real-life contexts
Peer-to-peer networks make learning more student-centred.	Shared notebooks enable peers to interact as long as a network connection is available
Promotes active learning	Notes can be created on the go so that learning is continually being enhanced
Enable new learning environments	Evernote allows links and connections to be recorded that can be integrated into other learning environments rather than actually creating these environments
Increases accessibility for learners with special educational needs	Ease of use with voice recognition software is one feature of this benefit
Encourages reflection in close proximity to the learning event	Notes can be typed or recorded orally at time of learning event. These notes can then be shared in various ways: email, sharing to other collaborative tools, elaborated on with web clipper allowing live websites to be accessed
Reduces technical barriers to e-learning	Ease of use (similar to actual notebook) and other digital features promotes use of Evernote as supporting digital tool

Wes Heberlein shared some excellent videos by Steve Dotto about Google Drive in his post during the previous semester. I was so impressed by Steve's insights into the benefits of this cloud based application that I watched some of his videos about the affordances of Evernote.

The main features of Evernote that make it a really powerful tool are:

• Free account with 60MB of free storage per month (1GB per month with paid subscription)
• Voice recognition to capture notes or memos with speech to text although a mobile connection is required for this feature to work
• Email documents directly to Evernote with an email address automatically linked to the account. This is useful for archiving emails, itineraries, bookings, documents adding tags for easy searching
• Document photo capture enable easy access to hard copies of documents, but especially useful for capturing hand written notes from meetings
• Web Clipper: clip part of or whole websites and saves directly into Evernote with live links, images and videos. Web pages can be annotated in Evernote. Video links open the website in a new browser page. The free web clipper tool only works on the computer program, but once saved in a notebook, all of the other features of this application work across all platforms
• Geotagging of notes to enable easy searching of notes by location and date

One feature that I had to find a work around for, was that when opening a Word document in Evernote on the iPad it isn't possible to edit this document (it can be edited when using the computer version). In order to be able edit documents on the iPad, it can be opened in QuickOffice, edited and then emailed back into Evernote.

Evernote provides an excellent way of collecting and organising notes and materials in a ubiquitous manner while keeping up with the changing demands of mobile learning.

Dotto, S. 2012. Dotto Demo-Introduction to evernote. Retrieved 17th July 2014 from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/an-introduction-to-evernote-video.html

Gralla, P. 2014. OneNote Vs Evernote: A personal take on two great note-taking apps. Retrieved 13th July 2014 from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9247097/OneNote_vs._Evernote_A_personal_take_on_two_great_note_taking_apps?taxonomyId=86&pageNumber=3

Mobile Pedagogy: iPad Affordances

The availability and prevalence of mobile devices has grown so much in the recent past, that a majority of students that we teach will have some personal experience in their daily lives with some form of these devices. Whether this be with iPods, iPads, smart phones or another tablet device. They come to the educational environment already knowing how to navigate and utilise mobile devices. There are many educational benefits to using these devices in the school environment, but there is a need for a pedagogical change to maximise the potential of these benefits.

“If you change the technology but not the method of learning, then you are throwing bad money after bad practice.” (Davidson. C, 2011)

In order to address the change in pedagogy, it is first necessary to identify the affordances of mobile devices. This then allows links to be made to ways to harness the potential of these devices for 21^st Century learning. As I predominantly use iPads in the educational environment, this is the mobile device that I have created an overview of with regards to its technical features, affordances and limitations.

Davidson, C, 2011, Pointed response to NYT article on iPads in schools, retrieved 1^st July 2014 from http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/pointed-response-nyt-article-ipads-schools

Why Mobile Learning?

In the current climate, Education Queensland is investing in mobile learning via the use of predominantly iPads. Many schools have purchased iPads for the use of teachers and students. The Learning Place is providing significant opportunities for teacher professional development to develop the skills and knowledge to utilise these devices across a range of curriculum areas. The Australian Curriculum is also being developed to provide learning tasks that utilise the benefits of digital tools, with a variety of mobile devices being encompassed in these tasks.

In saying this, there are still many classrooms and learning environments that are not taking advantage of mobile learning. Teachers will need considerable support and time to embrace this form of technology. Significant money is being committed to improving access to stable broadband infrastructure to enable regular and widespread internet access in school settings, but many educational settings are a long way off achieving this.

It is recognised that mobile learning is going to be a part of every school setting and that with technology evolving at an ever increasing pace that schools will need to embed these practices to provide students with skills needed for future life skills. This will take time, professional support and monetary commitment to make this happen. There are lighthouse schools that are taking on the challenge and showing the way. By sharing these success stories, teachers can be shown what is possible if they step outside of the box.

NB: this post has also been shared in the Topic 1 Discussion Forum