After watching the video and taking notes in my I Phone I understand better my students: "Miss may I take notes in my blackberry / phone?". It is easy, it is fun. Students can really effectively take notes in their devices, they are used to do so constantly when texting with friends, so they are very fast in doing so. By using their devices students can avoid the constant problem of losing their binders or notebooks.... leaving them at home, in their lockers... It is important to take into consideration that is better if they use a Cloud system as it is not recommended to have all their information in their device and only there.
Using mobile devices for taking notes is really a great advantage, is one step forward in tools for educations. Students can share their notes, they can work in different assignments and then easily share what they got. If they have question or concerns or they need to investigate they can acces to internet easily in their devices. Even if they want to double check some information....
There are many aplications and resources for note taking. Some students are more visual some are more auditory or even they can use both for better learning. They can use note taking as I did with Evernote or even Dragon Dictation if the lesson allows it. Also in Evernote they can record their voices or their teacher`s voice. Notes in Evernote can also be easily shared. Both of them are free Apps available in Mac. Students who usually work at a slower pace can finish their work easily later.
But, I need to say that I am still concern, not about note taking, but about sharing notes. In the Middle School environment, students may find this as an easy tool to share what they didn't do in classroom not because they didn't have the opportunity, but because they are relying on their peer`s work. Teacher should be very cautious with this and find ways to avoid plagiarism and encourage team work and collaboration between students. We are learning with them to do so!!
