Feedback After an Evernote and iPad Workshop

I recently hosted a one hour technology session for district staff. The topic: Using Evernote on the iPad to Confer With and Assess Readers.

Afterward, I emailed each participant a survey via Google Forms to gather feedback. The last question I posed was, "What is one way you see using Evernote with the iPad in your current teaching position?" Here are their responses:

"I plan to have students read and record them, then play back. I am working on fluency with a lot of kids and I would like them to hear themselves. I'm not sure on the conferencing part/note taking yet, but we'll see as I mess with it. With things like this I don't make plans, I just jump in and see where it takes me."

"I plan on recording students' one minute reading fluency assessments and then embedding a picture of the actual passage they read with miscues and self-corrections marked. I am also going to take a pic of a page in their independent reading book and record them reading as part of my 'running records on the fly'"

"I plan to record running records and allow students to hear themselves read, both immediately after reading and later on in the year (to show growth)."

"Photograph and save student work samples using hash tags so that I can easily access them later."

"During running records: record students' reading of the selection in order to score/check the record at a later time. This allows for me to focus on fluency during the assessment as well as have documentation of the students' reading at that point in time."

"I plan to use this when I conference with my students. It is my hope to try this today!"

"I could see myself taking a picture of what a student is working on and sharing it with the classroom teacher."

"In Reading Intervention, I could record a students' reading of a passage and replay it for them to hear. Together we could discuss strengths and weaknesses and set goals for improvement."

"I plan to use Evernote by making notes as I meet with students during guided reading groups. Each group is reading a different book that they were able to choose. I will use it to create a notebook for each group. - Jot down their predictions and record audio of students reading and/or our group discussions at the end of each chapter."

"I don't have my own iPad, so I don't see myself continuing with this. Maybe having your own iPad should be a requirement for this course."

"I find this to be effective for my guided reading. I can keep all of my notes together instead of having a post-it here and a post-it there. I can view my notes from home too without having to bring my notes home with me."

"I started using Evernote the next day. I took pictures of student tradition writing and them recorded their voice reading it. Next I am going to use volunteers to display on reflection and go through the process of editing on the SMARTboard."

I am scheduled to run this workshop again for Central Wisconsin reading teachers in January. This information is invaluable to me as I think about how I will change my instruction to better meet the needs of the participants.