In a digital world, I have attempted to become paperless in many ways. It just makes my life easier to know that I can access things I need on any device that I may have with me, laptop, iPad or smartphone. The one area that I’ve struggled with is keeping track of random notes from meetings, things I need to do, and awesome websites that I’ve found. I’ve used a variety of different tools over the years, yet usually those tools have fallen short of being able to keep me completely organized because they were mainly created to perform one function, not all of these functions together. With the new year just around the corner and organizational resolutions looming, I thought I'd share a tool that's worth a try to "Keep" you on track with your organization.
This fall, I was introduced to a hidden gem of a Google product that was new to me, Google Keep. Google Keep is a shared note taking app. It has many of the features that we love about Google embedded within to make collaboration and searching easy. You can create notes, color code them, share that note with others, and add a reminder to it which automatically syncs to your Google Calendar.
At keep.google.com, you can view all of your notes. You can also search for notes at the top or filter your notes based on labels. I love that you can also create a to-do list or add a picture note. Remember all of the notes give the option to share. A shared To-Do List between collaborators on a group project or add in a teacher can be a great way to keep students on track.
This fall, I was introduced to a hidden gem of a Google product that was new to me, Google Keep. Google Keep is a shared note taking app. It has many of the features that we love about Google embedded within to make collaboration and searching easy. You can create notes, color code them, share that note with others, and add a reminder to it which automatically syncs to your Google Calendar.
At keep.google.com, you can view all of your notes. You can also search for notes at the top or filter your notes based on labels. I love that you can also create a to-do list or add a picture note. Remember all of the notes give the option to share. A shared To-Do List between collaborators on a group project or add in a teacher can be a great way to keep students on track.
For Chrome users, there is an extension that you can add to your Chrome Browser.
This is an excellent addition to help me keep track of websites that I want to remember and find later. Just click on the extension and a box will pop up on the right side, where you can add a note and label to the website (I use the label Awesome Websites) you don’t want to forget. The note feature acts like a sticky note for your website to help you remember why you thought it was so awesome in the first place. When you are looking for that website again, just go to your label or search by key word if you can remember it!
Google Keep is available on different platforms, so I also decided to download the app to my smartphone and iPad. There I discovered a feature that I really like about the mobile app, the microphone option. I can dictate notes into my Google Keep app and it will translate my talk to text and create an audio recording that I can listen to later.
With this piece, I can see a lot of connections to education.
Are any of you using Google Keep? I'd be curious about more applications to education, feel free to share in the comments section.
Amber Bridge, Digital Learning Consultant, Grant Wood AEA, @abridgesmith
With this piece, I can see a lot of connections to education.
- Teachers could share feedback or directions with a specific student or groups of students that gives the students the option to read or listen to the directions. Some students may need to replay directions or a part of a direction and this allows them that option.
- Students can read short passages that can be shared with their teachers. Once an audio recording is created, it can be archived or downloaded as an example of student work. Most audio notes that I've done have been around one minute.
- Every note is timestamped, so your Google Keep could serve as a student portfolio. Students create labels for different subjects and share Keep notes of their online work with their teachers or parents along with an audio reflection of their work.
Are any of you using Google Keep? I'd be curious about more applications to education, feel free to share in the comments section.
Amber Bridge, Digital Learning Consultant, Grant Wood AEA, @abridgesmith
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