This month, the group discussed helpful note-taking mobile applications. Though there are several applications available for both iPad and Android users, the group highlighted five they believe are especially useful to faculty and staff in higher education.

MORE: Read about other useful iPad and Android mobile applications.

1. Evernote (Free): This application, available for both iPad and Android users, increases productivity and organization by allowing individuals to take text notes, capture photos, create lists, and record audio. Users can save, sync, and share files via multiple devices as well as email their notes to others. Individuals can tag their notes with keywords, or they can create notebooks, which essentially serve as themed folders, to better organize their note collections.

2. Penultimate (Free): This application, available for iPad users only, allows individuals to handwrite and save notes and sketches. Penultimate offers three different paper styles as well as black or color ink to users in an attempt to mimic the natural experience of writing on paper. As a member of the Evernote family, Penultimate syncs with users’ Evernote accounts, and just like Evernote, it allows users to create notebooks to better organize their notes. Users can convert their notes or sketches into PDFs to share them with others via email.

3. Skitch (Free): This application, available for both iPad and Android users, allows individuals to capture screenshots, create images, and annotate over photos. Users can mark-up pictures, maps, or screenshots using shapes, arrows, and text. They can draw new images and share their creations with others via email and Twitter. Because Penultimate is a member of the Evernote family, it syncs with users’ Evernote accounts.

4. Simplenote (Free): This application, available for iPad users only, allows individuals to create text notes and to-do lists. Users can sync the Simplenote application to their computers, and they can share or publish notes via email. Individuals can tag, pin, or save multiple versions of their notes to better organize their collections.

5. Moleskine Journal (Free): This application, available for iPad users only, mirrors classic Moleskine notebooks with its signature inner pocket for image and text storage, its plain, ruled, and squared paper selections, its paintbrush, pencil, pen, and highlighter tools, and its ribbon bookmark. Users can import pictures from their photo libraries or take new ones using the built-in camera feature. Individuals can share their creations via email, Facebook, and Twitter, and the application syncs to Evernote.

To learn more about how to use tablet applications or tablet technology in your courses or research, contact TLT. To join in on conversations pertaining to tablet use, attend TLT’s monthly tablet user group meetings. The meetings take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and they are meant to broaden awareness of how to use tablets both at home and in the classroom.

Image by Flickr user andrewkimmell / Creative Commons licensed BY-CC 2.0

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Number One

With 214 total pageviews, “Five useful iPad applications to use in higher education” by Sam Parker secured number one on our list. The blog post highlights five iPad applications we believed were especially useful to faculty in higher education. Read the post.

End of 2012

Teaching & Learning Technologies (TLT) is taking a break until 2013. We will not be posting to the technology and teaching blogs for the remainder of December. Once winter term starts up at the beginning of January, TLT will begin posting to both blogs again.

What to Look Forward to in 2013

For winter term and the spring semester, TLT plans to feature a series of blog posts on students’ perspectives on technology. Among other topics, we plan to discuss what types of technology students prefer to use in the classroom and how students are using mobile devices, social media, online study tools, and other technologies

TLT also plans to include stories on video web conferencing, iPad technologies, Google tools, TLT and Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning workshops, Moodle posts and This Week in Tweets articles during winter term and the spring semester.

We hope you have a safe, relaxing and fun-filled break! Happy Holidays from the TLT staff!

The Countdown

As the semester comes to a close, Campus Technologies took a look at its Top 12 most popular blog posts of the semester. This fall, on the Technology blog, we published 53 posts, and those posts had 9,021 total pageviews. Among our most popular posts, Moodle and mobile device technology were the most prominent themes.

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1. OverDrive Media Console (Free): This application, available to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users, grants individuals access to over 18,000 libraries worldwide. OverDrive Media Console allows users to download eBooks and audiobooks from their school libraries’ digital collections with valid identification cards, and because the book titles expire automatically, users do not need to worry about late fees.

2. LectureTools (Free): This application, available to iPad users only, allows instructors to enhance basic PowerPoint slides through the inclusion of photos and videos, interactive questions and real-time feedback. LectureTools encourages class participation, as it allows students to take notes on slides, answer instructor-generated questions, and pose questions to professors electronically. The application archives students’ notes, so they can be accessed on multiple devices at later times. To learn more about LectureTools, attend Jim Barbour’s presentation on the technology this Thursday, October 25 in Belk Library 102 from 12:15-1:15 p.m.

3. ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard (Free): This application, available to iPad users only, allows instructors to record and share voice-over whiteboard tutorials online. Users can also upload photos into their photo libraries, and by using the highlight and pen tools, they can leave critiques and comments on the uploaded content. ShowMe’s website offers tutorials on how to implement the technology in different classes with lessons on subjects ranging from math and science to English and history.

4. News 360 (Free): This application, available to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users, gathers news articles and blog posts from around the Web to create personalized news experiences for users. With permission, News360 collects information from a user’s Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Evernote accounts to better tailor his or her news content. The application also allows users to bookmark articles and save stories, so they can enjoy them later when using their devices offline.

5. myHomework (Free): This application, available to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch users, allows instructors and students to organize their classes, tests, and assignments on one calendar by simply uploading their syllabi. Users can view their class schedules via the “Classes” button on myHomework, and by paying $1.99, they can sync their information to multiple iOS devices. Also, through the optional $1.99 online account, instructors and students can receive notifications on their devices that remind them of when assignments are due.

To learn more about how to use iPad applications and iPad technology in your courses, contact TLT. To join in on conversations pertaining to tablet use, attend TLT’s monthly tablet user group meetings. The meetings take place on the first Wednesday of every month, and they are meant to broaden awareness of how to use tablets both at home and in the classroom.

Image by Flickr user Sean MacEntee / Creative Commons licensed CC BY 2.0

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Storage capacity will be increased to more than 7 GB (and counting). Students who check e-mail on a mobile device or use an e-mail client can learn how to update their settings by visiting theTechnology Wiki.

Google’s e-mail service is secure and provides students with access to Google Applications, a package of online applications that makes communicating and collaborating at school easier and more efficient. Google Apps includes opportunities to share documents, chat online, sync calendars and create websites. All of these services are hosted online, so e-mail, documents and calendars are accessible from any computer.

Elon’s partnership with Google ensures students will be able to use their Elon e-mail address even after graduation — accounts are active for life. Students graduating in May 2010 will be included in this transition.

At this time, only student e-mail accounts are moving to Gmail. Elon faculty and staff will not be affected. To learn more about the transition and about Google features, please visit the links to the right.

Learn more.

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