When I attended York Public School's technology professional development day in January I was lucky to sit in on Laura Kroll's packed session on Evernote. If you don't follow her on Twitter. You're loosing out. She is inspirational with daily quotes, she is constantly providing feedback to others, she actively participates in chats, she's funny, she is a leader in so many ways, she constantly talks about Evernote and how amazing it is...my list can go on and on. Basically she knows her stuff! Because of her session, one of my goals has been to utilize Evernote more often; really become fluid in using it. So at parent-teacher conferences tonight I made a to-do list. One of my items on my agenda was to NOT print off the long schedule for the NETA conference I'll be attending in April but instead download it onto my iPad Well, I couldn't find the downloadable version into iBooks like they had last year. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get creative.
First, I saved it as a PDF then uploaded it to my docs in Google Drive. But. The inner elementary teacher in me has this screaming urge to grab my beautiful and brightly colored Sharpie markers and decorate with fun stars or a puffy cloud around the sessions I really want to go to. And then perhaps add sun rays beaming away from the session "winner" as if they've just won The Price is Right. So, I remember back to Laura's Evernote session and how she used Skitch I feel it has some really great potential that can really make life a whole lot easier. You're never going to really understand how useful something is unless you use it, right? So, I am treading in unfamiliar waters. First Evernote novice mistake: let it intimidate you!
I tried to download the PDF to Skitch but it wasn't working. So, at this point I am thinking I have just found the most difficult problem that only a true genius will be able to answer. What do I do? I contact THE Laura Kroll. I'm thinking this is going to be a difficult one even for her. NOPE.
What does she do? She made a new note (for non-Evernote users that's like making a new document in docs or Word) and did the unthinkable...are you ready? (Someone play some suspense music here.) SHE COPIED AND PASTED the schedule into the new note! I know, right? Can you believe this? Then, you know what she did NEXT?! She was able to highlight the text AND change the color AND manipulate the document how she wanted to so that the schedule stood out. Can you believe it? She conquered my challenge with flying colors. You know what she did next? Just for ME? She made her Evernote session from the NETA schedule really stand out for me...
I know what you're thinking. Holy smokes. This is an easy fix...I could have done that! Jennifer is loosin' it! Yeah...well I'm going to blame it on a crazy day, my long list of to-do items, the constant flow of people in the library restricting me from thinking clearly...and...uh...a late night at parent-teacher conferences. Am I allowed to pass the buck?
Lessons learned: slow down. Think. Don't let yourself get intimidated. Don't be afraid to ask for help even if you don't think you should be. And...don't be afraid to slap your forehead and exclaim, "DOH!" and admit when you do silly things!!!
Special thanks go to Laura Kroll for this learning experience. You are the Evernote Goddess!
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