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The U-M Center for Research on Learning & Teaching has a helpful tool for finding and exploring paperless technologies to use in your classroom. It is organized based on the particular task you wish to address.

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The list below highlights technology tools commonly used to promote student learning across a variety of disciplines. Click on the technology type to see tips for implementation, possible pedagogical uses, a comparison of available tools, examples of faculty use at U-M, and additional related resources.

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Michael Ruffini (2012),

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Key Takeaways

Screencasts can provide learners a student-centered and engaging learning experience in both distance and traditional learning settings.

To align screencasts with lesson objectives, goals, assessment practices, and standards, instructors can create their own screencasts rather than searching through the thousands of educational screencast videos on the web.

Good educational screencasts depend not only on thorough planning but also on thoughtful and careful editing to re-sequence lesson elements, eliminate awkward and unnecessary portions, and craft a focused, easy-to-follow presentation that uses students' time efficiently.

Students in both K-12 and higher education will spend all of their personal and professional lives immersed in a digital society. Educators in today's classrooms must be able to use and integrate both current and emerging technologies. One of the keys to effective 21st century teaching is to balance traditional pedagogical methods with the effective use of technology to foster learning.

Many educational technology tools can be used in instruction; however, one fundamentally useful tool in teaching is the screencast. A screencast can provide learners a student-centered and engaging learning experience in both distance and traditional learning settings. Screencasts enable teachers to create a digital recording of any instructional activity performed on a computer screen, ¹ and they can be used as learning resources, learning tasks, and learning support. ²

This article focuses on educational screencasts. The topics explored include an overview of screencasting, its benefits, the flipped classroom, screencast software, tools, planning, and teacher-created screencasts. (For specifics on creating screencasts from PowerPoint slides, see my tutorial " Creating a PowerPoint Screencast Using Camtasia Studio.")

Screencasting Overview

A screencast is a digital video and audio recording of what occurs on a presenter's computer screen, and it can be used to create sophisticated, information-rich multimedia presentations. The word "screencast" was first coined by columnist Jon Udell in 200 5. Udell first used the word in an article published in InfoWorld, describing the benefits of using this technique to show his readers how computer applications worked. In a screencast, the presenter records all the screen activity and images continuously to complete a designated task. Audio can be recorded simultaneously or afterwards in postproduction along with sound effects and music tracks. ³

Screencasting can be integrated across the curriculum and into many learning activities. Screencasts are an effective instructional format that can be used for tutorials, demonstrations, digital storytelling, and narrated PowerPoint presentations. During the video editing process a variety of media can be imported into a screencast project, such as video clips, photos, music, and animations. Screencasting is a multimedia alternative to video recording, is easy to use, and helps fill a need for dynamic, engaging content.

Screencasts have many applications, which include:

Training - such as learning new software and orientations to new products.

Teaching - a lesson on a particular topic or showing a step-by-step process, in which students can learn material at their own pace or catch up on missed sessions.

Selling - a product.

Blogging and YouTube - communicating opinions, facts, and ideas, etc.

Screencast Benefits

As computer technology continues to evolve and advance, many teachers from K-12 and higher education use screencasting as an online or stand-alone teaching tool with traditional teaching approaches to enhance and engage the learning experience of their students. Sugar, Brown, and Luterbach noted that screencasting as an instructional strategy may be viewed as a modern descendent of instructional film and video. ⁴

A screencast can include many multimedia elements - music, sound effects, audio, and graphics - along with text, making any content topic engaging while also appealing to different learning modalities. Mayer's theory of multimedia learning suggests that animated presentations that have a corresponding audio component, essentially moving picture and sound, provide a more effective learning experience than a more traditional alternative (e.g., a sequence of still images accompanied by descriptive text). ⁵

Screencasting has emerged as a prominent teaching tool on the Internet. There are several advantages for both the instructor and the student. For the teacher a screencast is an efficient and effective means of describing a step-by-step process, explaining a particular concept, or presenting a PowerPoint presentation with narration. Teachers have the ability to craft succinct and concise presentations because each screencast can be edited. The inclusion of video-based instruction in online environments, such as screencasting, can have positive effects on student learning and can be pedagogically equivalent to their face-to-face instruction counterparts. ⁶

For the student, screencasting allows them to learn by example, seeing for instance a step-by-step sequence in great detail or viewing a screencast video directly related to lesson content. In addition, students can watch a screencast video anytime, anywhere and have complete control of the lesson, which means they review any part of the presentation as needed. Screencasts can be delivered via streaming or downloaded in their entirety for later viewing. ⁷

The ability to pause or review content also gives students the option to move at their own pace, which is not always feasible in the classroom. Screencasts are excellent for those learners who just need an aural as well as a visual explanation of the content presented. Screencasting is a perfect medium to explain difficult technical concepts to anyone with a non-technical background. Teachers can also use screencasting for a variety of other classroom activates such as reviewing lesson content and presenting online lectures and professional development. ⁸

The Flipped Classroom

Screencasts as instructional tools can be used in many different instructional modes such as an introduction to a topic, overview of a lesson, in-depth discussions, remediation, etc. The pervasiveness of online instructional videos such as Khan Academy, TeacherTube, YouTube, Lynda.com, neoK12, and many others gives student access to many educational screencast videos on the Internet. Recently there has been a lot of interest generated in the " flipped classroom" teaching model.

The term " flipped" is so named because the classroom and homework paradigm is reversed. What used to be done in the classroom is now done at home, and that which used to be done at home is now done in classroom. Students watch and listen to a teacher's lecture via screencast video for homework, and then use class time for what previously, often, was done in homework: tackling difficult problems, collaborating in groups, and researching.

For example, instead of starting classes with an overview of (a lecture) on the Big Bang theory, the overview and equations are completed at home via a Big Bang theory screencast. The next class could start with questions and discussion on the screencast content about the origins of the universe and transition into a class activity in which students are given the equation used to determine the rate at which the universe is expanding according to the Big Bang theory. As a result students come to class having prior knowledge of the content, more interest in the topic, and lessened cognitive overload. The flipped teaching method - a blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning activities - can be integrated across many curriculum areas.

Benefits of using the flipped classroom methodology include:

Makes class time more productive for both teachers and students

Increases student engagement

Increases student achievement

Combines direct and online learning in a hybrid approach

Provides more time in which students can work collaboratively in groups

Engages students in learning and gives them knowledge of content before class

Gives students access to content if they missed class or need remediation

Flipped Teaching Strategies

Flipped teaching can be a very effective learning technique in learning content. However, students have to watch the screencast video to learn the content. How do you know students have watched the screencast? Here are a few strategies you can employ to track student responses, interaction with the screencast, and reflection using Google forms. (Google forms are a tool in Google Docs.)

A Google form lets you create an easy to use web form to track student results. A Google form is automatically connected to a spreadsheet with the same title. When you send or share a form, recipients' responses will automatically be collected in that spreadsheet. To create a Google form, sign up for a Google Account and follow the Google steps in creating a form. Two form methods (screencast summary and question forms) can validate a student interaction with a screencast as the student writes a screencast summary and goes through questions and answers.

1. Screencast Summary:

Embed a Google form directly below the screencast and have students write a summary response about the screencast content. Students can stop and write every few minutes so that they can "chunk" the information for better understanding and reflect on what they have just learned. Students can interact with the screencast (figure 1).

Figure 1. A screencast video summary form

Paragraph summary guidelines:

a. Sentence 1: General summary. "In this video I learned...."

b. Sentence 2: More details. "Specifically...."

c. Sentence 3: Something you understood well. "I really understood...."

d. Sentence 4: Something you did not understand well. "I am still confused about..."

e. Sentence 5: Real-life connection. "This screencast can be related to...."

Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/27990320.

EXAMPLE:

In this screencast I learned about the Battle of the Bulge. Specifically, we learned where and when the battle took place, the nature of the attack, the German objectives in the battle, strengths of the allied and axis forces, casualties of the American, British and German forces, American Commanders that led the battle and why this battle was important. I really understood how this was such an important battle in World War II. I am still a little confused about the German objectives in planning this battle. This screencast lecture can be related to other battles in World War II.

2. Have questions students answer about the screencast (figure 2).

Figure 2. A screencast video question form

Screencasting Software

Numerous programs create screencasts, and they vary in size, features, ease of use, and cost. There are free (table 1) and commercial (table 2) screencast software programs available for both the PC and Mac platforms. If you are interested in creating screencasts to supplement your lessons without limitations, I recommend a commercial program such as Camtasia Studio, which has a user-friendly interface and functions designed to be easy to use while providing a quality production. (See my tutorial on using Camtasia Studio to convert PowerPoint slides to screencasts.)
Table 1. Popular Free Screencast Programs Table 2. Popular Commercial Screencast Programs
Creating a presentation in Camtasia is similar in many respects to creating a digital movie. Using Camtasia Studio, teachers can record, edit, and share high-quality instructional movies that can be optimized for many popular distribution methods, including blogs, CD, DVD-ready, HD, iPhone, iPod, Screencast.com, web, or YouTube. For a guide to screencasting software, see Five Awesome Screencasting Tools and Screencasting software: Comparison and features.

Screencast Tools

The following guidelines list some tools I have found useful in creating a professional screencast:

A PC running Windows 7 or a Mac with the OSX operating system

Microphone

Webcam

Digital tablet
A Wacom Bamboo Connect Pen Tablet (CTL470) for text and illustrations

Drawing application (optional)

Teacher-Created Screencasts

Many online content-related screencasts can be used to supplement or even replace direct instruction, as in the flipped teaching model. Instructors can choose from thousands of educational screencast videos on the web for a particular lesson. However, searching and prescreening screencasts that align to specific lesson objectives can be a very time-consuming task. Therefore, teacher-created screencasts are the best way to ensure meeting lesson objectives, goals, and alignment to assessment practices and standards.

In designing a screencast, instructional planning is essential in delivering quality instruction, as is a systematic approach to planning. The following eightsteps will help you create a screencast quickly and effectively:

1. Topic: Give your screencast a specific name related to a content topic from your lesson or unit of instruction. The content is what the screencast is about. Decide if the content format will be a presentation, tutorial, or demonstration.

2. Objectives: Specify the screencast's learning objectives.

3. Script/outline: From the objectives write a script and/or outline.

4. Practice: Read through your script and practice.

5. Record: Make the screencast recording. Keep the screencast no more than 10-12 minutes. You have the option of recording the narration in postproduction, which is recommended.

6. Recording size: Decide on a size for your recording. Some common sizes are blog or web page, 640x360; Screencast.com, 800x450; YouTube, 1,280x720.

7. Edit video: When you have the recorded screencast, edit it to include graphics, special effects, music, audio, and other video clips.

8. Publish video: You can publish the video into a variety of formats. Camtasia has presets to allow you to render your project to WMV (Windows Media video), MOV (QuickTime Movie), AVI (Audio Video Interleave video file), MP4 (iPod, iPhone), iTunes-compatible video, MP3 (audio only), GIF (animation file), and many other custom settings. From the Production Wizard you can share your video to YouTube and Screencast.com.

The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative " 7 Things You Should Know about Screencasting" contends that good screencasts depend not only on thorough planning but also on thoughtful and careful editing to re-sequence lesson elements, eliminate awkward and unnecessary portions, and craft a focused, easy-to-follow presentation that uses students' time efficiently. For example, look at the screencast on the Battle of the Bulge.

Screencasts Summary

Screencasts have emerged as a prominent teaching tool on the Internet. Screencasts are an effective way to share ideas, deliver content, and obtain student feedback. Screencasts can be used for describing a step-by-step process, explaining a particular concept, or presenting a PowerPoint presentation with narration and multimedia elements. A screencast can be used in any class as a part of real-time instruction or as the lesson itself as in the flipped teaching model. With the flipped teaching method, instructors use screencast videos to deliver their lectures, assigning them as homework. Then, in class, students can ask questions as they work through problems that they normally would have done at home without teacher help.

Creating an educational screencast that meets content objectives requires a systematic approach to planning. It seems clear that screencasting is a powerful, highly effective, and affordable learning tool that can facilitate learning across any curriculum area. Screencasting is a remarkable instructional tool. Give it a try!

1. Gary B. Shelly, Glenda A. Gunter, and Randolph E. Gunter, Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology in a Connected World, 7th Edition (Boston, MA: Course Technology, 2012).

2. Stuart Garner, "The Use of Screencasting and Audio to Support Student Learning," Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, J. Luca and E. Weippl (eds.) (Chesapeake, VA: AACE, 2008): 4693-4698.

3. Joseph Friedman, "Common Elements of Effective Screencasts," Xchanges Issue 8.1 (2011).

4. William Sugar, Abbie Brown, and Kenneth Luterbach, "Examining the Anatomy of a Screencast: Uncovering Common Elements and Instructional Strategies," International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11, vol. 3 (October 2010): 1-19.

5. Richard E. Mayer, Multimedia Learning (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001).

6. Katherine Pang, "Video-Driven Multimedia, Web-Based Training in the Corporate Sector: Pedagogical Equivalence and Component Effectiveness," The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 10, no. 3 (2009); and Tomoko Traphagan, John V. Kucsera, and Kyoko Kishi, "Impact of Class Lecture Webcasting on Attendance and Learning," Educational Technology Research & Development 58, no. 1 (February 2010): 19-37.

7. Mark J. W. Lee, Sunam Pradhan, and Barney Dalgarno, "The Effectiveness of Screencasts and Cognitive Tools as Scaffolding for Novice Object-Oriented Programmers," Journal of Information Technology Education 7 (2008): 61-80.

8. Paul McGovern, "Screencasts and Education," The Screening Room (July 2010).

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Screencasts can provide learners a student-centered and engaging learning experience in both distance and traditional learning settings. To align screencasts with lesson objectives, goals, assessment practices, and standards, instructors can create their own screencasts rather than searching through the thousands of educational screencast videos on the web.

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Michael Scherer (2014), TIME

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A national push to get a computer into each student's hands will upend the way American children are taught

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5 Ways to Use Integrated Google Drive Apps for Group Projects

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5 Ways to Use Integrated Google Drive Apps for Group Projects

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Leah Levy (2014), Edudemic

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Google Drive empowers teachers as they use Google Docs to provide real time feedback. It also helps students engage in discourse via Google Moderator, and provides project participants a platform for brainstorming remotely on Google Hangouts. But Google Drive's power doesn't lie solely in its own features. In fact, it is Drive's integration with third party apps that really empower student collaboration. In this post, we'll explore 5 creative ways to use integrated apps for group projects.

One of the biggest problems students encounter in completing group projects is staying organized. With multiple people responsible for completing different tasks, it is hard to see work as it is delivered. It is also difficult to keep track of project deadlines, especially benchmark dates students set for themselves to keep on pace. While students can easily create organized folders on Google Drive to be shared with the group, this doesn't solve the problem of tracking the pace of work, and if one student is particularly disorganized, they won't necessarily place items in the right place.

Enter Trello, an app commonly used in the workplace to power group work. With Trello, students can create multiple boards to cover every aspect of project work. This can be as simple as, "To Do, Doing, Done," or as specific as, "Research, Brainstorming, Artwork, Writing, Final Presentation."

For a glimpse into how Trello works, take a look at the screenshot below:

In the top tab, students can easily add other members to the board so that they can edit it too. Labels are provided for easy organization, as is a task checklist. Students can assign a separate due date for the board itself and for separate tasks. But perhaps most useful of all, students can attach project work directly from Google Drive.

For more tips on making the most of Trello, we highly recommend the video below:

For students who are looking to create a video for their group project, WeVideo is an easy to use platform for creating and editing movies. While it does function as a standalone site, it is also a Chrome extension app, and footage can be imported directly from Google Drive. Unlike other video editors, WeVideo has an intuitive user interface and can be directly integrated with social media apps for easy sharing. And because footage is stored either on Google Drive or on the WeVideo website, multiple students can edit video at one time, so students can begin a project together in the library and finish work in their separate living rooms at home.

Another nice feature: WeVideo allows users to choose an editing setting that suits their proficiency. Options range from a simplistic storyboard editor with instant themes like "Noir" or "Classic," to highly advanced editing tools. It is easy to add captions, sync footage with a soundtrack and edit clips just by dragging and clicking. For a more in-depth guide on how to use WeVideo with Google Drive, we highly recommend the below tutorial:

Mindmeister is a simple mind mapping tool - perfect for brainstorming those initial group project ideas.

For students who think visually, mind mapping is stimulating and generative on its own. But again, it is this tool's integration with Google Drive that makes it a no-brainer for group projects. Once this app extension is installed, students can launch a new mind map from within Drive itself. Though they'll work on the Mindmeister platform, the map will also be stored on Drive and will be regularly synced (as long as Google Drive Sync is enabled). This means the map can be edited collaboratively during a Google Hangout brainstorming session, and that any student who missed the meeting can add their own ideas further down the road. Students can also add attachments into the mind map from Google Drive, and maps can be imported and exported both individually and in bulk between the MapMeister and Google Drive servers.

Faxing may seem like a relic of days gone by - and it mostly is, except when students are working with primary sources recorded on that ancient technology we call paper. From genealogy projects that have students working with old family letters to history projects that have students leafing through 1940s issues of Life magazine, there are many potential sources of paper that students will want to track and organize digitally.

With HelloFax, students can fax these documents to themselves or to group members and organize them easily in Google Drive folders. Files can also be integrated through Drive into a project organizer like Trello. And in the rare event the need arises, students can also fax those papers back to a waiting fax machine, old school style. For an in-depth tutorial, check out the video below:

Why should students pay for an expensive graphing calculator when they've got this popular online tool, available via its own site and through the Chrome store? The Desmos calculator helps students easily plot complex graphs, storing the results in Google Drive. And of course, it's that Drive storage that makes collaborative math projects so easy. With a click of a button, students can share their work, whether they'd like their partners to edit the graph or they're trying to explain a key issue over Google Hangouts. Functions can be dyed different colors, and there are numerous settings for labels and settings.

Math teacher Kristen Eckhoff provides an excellent tutorial here:

Collaboration Made Easy

Google Drive is a centralized hub for student projects. Used the right way, it provides easy storage, even easier sharing, and access to the integrated applications that make collaborative projects possible.

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5 Ways to Use Integrated Google Drive Apps for Group Projects

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Google Drive empowers teachers as they use Google Docs to provide real time feedback. It also helps students engage in discourse via Google Moderator, and provides project participants a platform for brainstorming remotely on Google Hangouts. But Google Drive's power doesn't lie solely in its own features.

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Sympodiums allow you to project digital notes to your class. Most U-M classrooms with computer podiums also have a Sympodium.

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Electronic Attendance-Taking Methods at Michigan using MCards

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Electronic Attendance-Taking Methods at Michigan using MCards

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Ross School of Business

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Last summer, during routine meetings held by the Ross BBA Program Office and other units around the school, a common problem was identified over and over again. There had to be a better way to keep track of student attendance at events sponsored by Ross in such a way that also allowed for the meaningful collection of data and statistics.

Paul Kirsch, Managing Director of the Ross BBA Program, volunteered to start asking questions and attempt to identify a potential solution.

"For years, the way we've figured out what students were at which events was basically a paper sign-in sheet," Kirsch said. "But, sign-in sheets get lost, they get passed around and left behind, students may not sign-in, they may sign-in for others who aren't actually there, and so it wasn't the most beneficial or efficient use of everyone's time or attention."

Kirsch reasoned that an electronic means of attendance taking must be available, so reached out to Computing Services for input. Geordie Calhoun, a member of the Ross Helpdesk team, volunteered to look for potential solutions.

They determined that the easiest way would probably be to scan something like a barcode when the students walk in.

"We identified a few different kinds of scanners," Calhoun said. "Right now we're using a device from Wasp, [a barcode technology company], but there are many others out there. We may try a Bluetooth device soon that would route everything into an iPad the person would carry, but for now this works pretty well."

Once a barcode scanner was obtained, all that was needed was something to actually scan.

"We chose the M Card, since as freshman everyone is issued one and it's required to carry. We figured it was the one ubiquitous piece of data we could use that everyone would have on them," Kirsch said.

Paul Townsend, an Application Programmer in Computing Services, developed the database that keeps track of the data being scanned.

"Every M Card has a barcode," Townsend explained. "So someone like a student volunteer could easily stand at the entrance and scan the cards as people enter. Then, the codes would get checked against a database and translated it into a unique identifier, so we can log it."

Since the "log" of names exists as a database, the possibility exists to pull more specific data. For example, Kirsch said they may be able to query a student and see how many events he or she has attended.

"If we find out that there are students who aren't going to anything, it gives us an opportunity to flag and figure out what's happening and why they aren't taking advantage of it," Kirsch said. "Maybe they just don't know [about it]."

The data has the potential to be not just logistically beneficial, but functionally as well. Services around the school could tell if a student attended a particular workshop and then expand on the knowledge presented later, in one-on-one situations.

"Career Services may have a very strong interest in knowing if a particular student showed up for a resume workshop," Kirsch said. "It's helpful for them to have that information when meeting with students during advising sessions. Without this scanning technology, the academic advisors would have to sift through [potentially inaccurate] paper records to see who's attended what, something that might take the whole appointment just to find out."

Both Townsend and Kirsch caution that the electronic sign-in process is still a pilot program, with a few lingering kinks that need to be worked out.

"At this point, it's simply to replace the old paper sign-in process," Townsend said. "And even after we open it up for the entire school, the more advanced functionality will still need to be developed."

Kirsch expects that once this service is ready, the school may have six or more devices that departments could check out from Computing Services as an equipment loan. Both Kirsch and Townsend said they expect this technology to officially roll out sometime during the first part of 2013.

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Roll Call! Piloting an electronic attendance-taking system

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Taking attendance to see who is attending what events around Ross might soon get a lot easier. As it is, many departments or organizations rely on the old paper and pencil sign-in system. But people might not feel like waiting in line to sign-in, miss it altogether, not have a pen or pencil handy, or the paper itself might get lost in the shuffle.

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Many technologies can be used to assess or evaluate student performance. Here are a few:

Canvas Quizzes: http://guides.instructure.com/m/4212/l/191535-what-are-quizzes

CTools Test Center: https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/public/gateway/testcenter.html

Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/

Google Forms: http://tinyurl.com/k62w2ks

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TechSmith, 2014

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This video highlights 10 ways educators and students are using TechSmith tools to create, share and assess with video. The full article can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/1lhPjXI 10. Flip a Lesson 9. Teach While You're Absent 8. Personalize Feedback 7. Parent & Community Communication 6. Stop Repeating Yourself 5.

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TechSmith, 2015

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Preparing for a screencast is half the battle. This tip video guides you through the important parts of the pre-recording process including writing a script, best practices of screencasting, and recording your narration. 00:00 Intro 00:06 Outline 00:11 Write a script 00:30 Practice your screencast 00:45 Cursor courtesy 1:10 Recording your narration 1:27 Outro SUBSCRIBE TO THE TECHSMITH YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

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English 124 “Making and Unmaking the Modern Self”

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English 124 “Making and Unmaking the Modern Self”

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Example Paperless Syllabus

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This is focused on students with learning disabilities (sld), but the perspectives and tips are important for all students.

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Training Students to use Assistive Technology

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Respondus is an application that locks down student browsers and computer screens for use during test-taking.

Respondus works in conjunction with Learning Management Systems like Canvas.

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LockDown Browser locks down the online test environment to prevent cheating in Blackboard Learn, Brightspace, Moodle, Canvas, Schoology, Angel, Sakai

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Using Appointment Slots in Google Calendar

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Using Appointment Slots in Google Calendar

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Use Google Calendar appointment slots - Calendar Help

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This feature is available only with a work or school Google Calendar account. You can set up appointments on your calendar that people can reserve. For instance, professors can have their students re

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50 Little-Known Ways Google Docs Can Help in Education

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50 Little-Known Ways Google Docs Can Help in Education

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Tips and tricks to take your Google Doc-ing to the next level!

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Maybe you're using Google for your personal email or to look someone up, but have you considered the many ways you can use this web search engine in the classroom?

Since Google.com was first registered as a domain name in 1997, it has become a ubiquitous source of information. And that's not all. Google also provides an ever-growing list of tools that can make your and your students' day easier and more interesting.

Use Google to Find ANYTHING

Search for information. There's a reason so many of us use the word Google and the word research almost interchangeably. As the most popular search engine in the world, Google handles three billion queries a day. If Google can't find your answer, it just may not be found. But the search engine itself is not the only source of information. Through Google's many tools and apps, teachers and students can quickly hone in on the information they need.

Google Translate - change text into one of 90 languages. Not only is this helpful when translating educational material, it can also be an effective way to communicate with students or parents who might not share your first language.

Google Images - some descriptions are best left to visuals. Google Images allows you to look up a name or topic and get a slew of pictures that, truly illustrate your point.

Google Earth - whether it's understanding the sheer height of Mount Everest or looking at the proximity of middle eastern countries, Google Earth lets you take your students on a visual tour that is often more effective than photos.

Google News - what are the most important things that happened in the world today? Google News can keep you and your students updated. This site curates news from major news sources. You can also personalize the settings to make it more appropriate to your readers.

Google Goggles - what plant is this? It's hard to find out the name if you don't already know what it is. Google Goggles is an app that performs searches visually and gives you the answer.

Google Books - need to research a topic? Google Books provides the world's index on the latest books. Some may be free to read online and others can be purchased, but this site is a great place to get the pulse on the latest literature on your subject.

Google Scholar - if you and your students are looking for scholarly research, this search engine can point you to the right literature, online and digital.

Google Alerts - just in case you missed anything, you can also set up an alert that will send you an email whenever a new item with your keyword shows up.

Use Google to Organize and Create

Google has many tools that can help your work flow more smoothly.

Google Calendar - create a calendar that your students, their parents, and other classrooms can have access to. Assignments deadlines, tasks, and event notifications can be set up on your calendar. You can even indicate times you are available for student-teacher conferences.

Picasa - at last! One tool that's not named Google-but only because Google purchased it after it had been named and developed! Picasa is an image organizer where you and your students can upload and share photos. Pictures from field trips or classroom activities and experiments can be posted for others to see.

Google Drive - we've saved the best organizing, creating and collaborating tool for last: Google Drive. This file management and cloud storage system allows you to create documents (Doc), spreadsheets (Sheets), slides and forms and store them in the cloud. This lets you access your work from anywhere-mobile devices as well as other computers. It also means you can work collaboratively on the same document at the same time. If you're familiar with Microsoft's Office (which contains software for Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Google Drive will look familiar. But unlike Microsoft Office, Google Drive is free.

Google Doc is used in schools for:

Having students create and collaborate on a paper, play or other project.

Getting students to peer edit.

Decrease the use of paper in the classroom.

Allowing teachers to see a writing project in progress so they can recognize where students may get stuck.

Editing digital documents. Students can complete a reading and add their observations and comments.

Collaborative brainstorming. Use docs to help students work together to create ideas.

Use Google to Communicate With Others

Blogger - create a class blog that tells the world (or a more limited audience) about your classroom activities. Blogger is an easy to use platform that allows you and your students to add posts, articles, pictures or videos. With mobile apps for the software, you and your students can tell your stories from just about anywhere.

Google Plus (Google +) - people sometimes struggle to explain what Google Plus is. With similar social media functions to Facebook and LinkedIn, Google Plus allows you to connect with others, expanding your "circle," and finding and joining "communities" that share your interests. Within Google Plus, you'll find Hangout for group chats, and video and voice calls. You can also record your Hangout session and post it on YouTube for others to review later. Some great ways to use Hangout in the classroom include:

Have speakers talk with your class, even from a distance.

Conduct virtual office hours.

Create review sessions for a group of 10 or less through Hangout, or for more students on Hangout On Air. Hangouts can be a great way to have speakers talk to your class from a distance. Teachers can also conduct virtual office hours using the Hangout.

Use Hangout to flip your classroom: record a lesson or problem solving session on Hangout and post it to your YouTube channel. Students can access this from home and prepare for the lesson in advance.

Designed Especially for Schools

Even if you use Google and its apps on your own, Google Apps for Education were designed to make those tools work even better in your classroom. With shared access to Drive, Calendar, Docs and other functions, a professional email address at your school (instead of @Gmail) and 24/7 phone and email support, Google makes it easy for teachers and administrators in schools and school district to share work.

Teachers using Google Apps for Education have one more advantage: access to Google Classroom, a productivity tool that helps paperless workflow by allowing teachers to create, review and grade assignments from one place. Students can keep track of upcoming assignments and class material can be stored on Google Drive.

Is It Time to Begin Using Google in Your Classroom?

Far more than an email tool, or even a massive search engine, Google offers a plethora of tools that can bring information, collaboration and increased efficiency in the classroom.
Editor's note: This article is a revision and combination of several older Edudemic articles, updated and re-analyzed to reflect the latest innovations.

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The Best Ways to Use Google In the Classroom

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Maybe you're using Google for your personal email or to look someone up, but have you considered the many ways you can use this web search engine in the classroom? Since Google.com was first registered as a domain name in 1997, it has become a ubiquitous source of information.

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David Babb, 2012

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Screencast that shows how you can use Piazza.com to have students interact online to generate sample test questions.

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K.T. Bradford (2014) Techlicious

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Whether you're at school or in business, taking notes at lectures and meetings is the best way to keep track of what's happening. But traditional paper notes can turn into a disorganized mess. Pages may get mixed up or lost, and there's no way to edit or organize them.

Fortunately, technology offers plenty of solutions; it's just about picking the one that works best for you. Type your notes on a laptop, tablet or even a smartphone, if you add a wireless keyboard, or hand write them on tablets or using a smart pen. Apps can help you organize and search your notes as well as sync them between all of your devices so you can stay up to date anywhere.

But which device should you use? Let's take a look at your options.

Laptop, tablet or smart pen?

You may assume that taking notes requires a laptop. But while laptops are more powerful than tablets, they can be difficult to carry around. If you only need to take notes and do word processing, you can do just fine with a lot less, which is where Chromebooks, tablets and smart pens come in.

A slim tablet (almost as slim Chromebook) is easier to carry and often has better battery life than a laptop. Tablets make great replacements for bulky textbooks for students. Even smartphones make good note-taking devices when paired with a stylus (for handwritten notes) or a wireless keyboard (for typed notes).

Because Microsoft Office is available for both Android and iOS devices, it's easy to use a tablet for all of your word processing and still wind up with files that are compatible across platforms. Some tablets even come with pressure-sensitive styluses that are perfect for taking notes by hand (or doodling, if you'd rather). The iPad Pro and Surface Pro both have optional keyboard covers for easy typing.

If you want the feel of paper with the convenience of a digital device, you want a smart pen. These gadgets look exactly like pens, if slightly bulkier than usual. They capture what you've written and send it to your computer or mobile device. Some can translate your handwriting to text (some with the help of an app), making searching and organizing your notes easy. While smart pens typically require special paper, an additional and ongoing cost, you'll spend less up front than you would on a laptop or tablet.

If you prefer to use your favorite pen and paper, some apps let you import handwritten notes by photographing them. This effectively turns your handwritten notes into typed notes, although you should expect to accumulate some typos.

The type of gadget that's right for you depends on your note-taking style.

The best laptops for taking notes
Samsung Chromebook Pro

While it won't run Windows apps, a Chromebook can handle web browsing and word processing. Samsung's 12.3-inch Chromebook Pro is a great portable option that weighs just over 2 pounds. This multipurpose device can serve as a tablet or laptop, letting you take notes with a keyboard or a pen. Use the Chromebook Pro as a standard laptop, or fold the screen back to use it as an Android tablet. If you don't want to type (the keyboard is admittedly a bit cramped), a built-in stylus lets you take handwritten notes. The biggest downside to this device is that you can't run standard Windows apps on it, which could be a problem if you need to move beyond word processing and web browsing.

Dell XPS 13

If you need a laptop that can run Windows apps or just has a little more power, the Dell XPS 13 has both. It's a bit heavier and a lot more expensive than the Samsung Chromebook Pro, but it's still a lightweight machine that you can easily carry anywhere you need to go, with all the flexibility of a Windows PC. Grab the XPS with an Intel i5 processor (plenty for office work) for $1,099, or get the more powerful Intel i7 processor (better for gaming or other processor-intensive tasks) for $1,299. The downside, beyond the higher price, is that the only way to take notes is to type. If you want more options, you'll want the Samsung Chromebook Pro or one of the tablets below.

Price: From $1,099 at Amazon

Apple MacBook Pro

For Mac users, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best mix of power and portability. Like the Dell XPS 13, the MacBook Pro runs a full assortment of macOS apps and has plenty of power for more than word processing. But all of that power comes at a steep price, and the MacBook Pro doesn't have a touchscreen or stylus support. You'll only be able to use it for typed notes. If your budget doesn't stretch that far, the MacBook Air is rather dated now but starts at $999, while the more recent MacBooks start at $1,299.

Price: From $1,499 at Apple

The best tablets for taking notes

Apple iPad Pro

The iPad Pro comes in 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch varieties, and given the wide range of apps for iOS, either model makes a fairly decent fill-in for a laptop. The 12.9-inch version is even about the same size as a laptop, though it's thinner and lighter. The Apple Pencil ($99) is tremendously precise and feels a lot like an ordinary pencil, which makes it a great choice for handwriting. When iOS 11 comes out this fall, simply tapping your Pencil to the screen will let you write a note in the Notes app without even unlocking your iPad. For typing, turn the iPad Pro into more of a laptop with Apple's Smart Cover ($149 or $169, depending on size) that easily snaps onto your iPad and automatically pairs for complete simplicity.

The downside, of course, is price. If you buy the least expensive tablet with both a keyboard cover and pen, you'll be paying over $800. Still, Apple users will appreciate how easily the iPad integrates with their other gadgets. If you just don't have the budget for the Pro, the iPad mini 4 starts at more reasonable $399, and you can find budget-friendly keyboards and styluses, too.

Microsoft Surface Pro

The latest version of the 10.6-inch Surface Pro looks a lot like the previous version, but don't be fooled. It has better battery life (13.5 hours) and is both faster and lighter. That's not too shabby for a multitasking tablet with a keyboard cover ($159) for typing notes and an active stylus ($99) for taking handwritten notes. That makes it awfully similar to the iPad Pro. The big difference here is that it runs Windows 10, which lets you use Windows apps right from your tablet. That's a big benefit that lets the Surface Pro easily fill the role of a laptop. Sure, the iPad Pro aspires to that, but it's still limited to apps from Apple's App Store, which may not work for you.

The newest Surface Pro is already available. You could pick up the last generation Surface Pro 4 for a slight discount ($699), but we think the new Pro is worth the extra $100.

Price: From $799 at Microsoft

Samsung Galaxy Tab A with S Pen

Android fans have a good choice too. While the next iteration of the Galaxy Note smartphone isn't here yet, the Galaxy Tab A comes with the S Pen we know and love from the Note. It's a digital pen that's fully integrated with Samsung's Galaxy Tab A for seamless note-taking even on the fly, even without even unlocking your tablet. While this 10-inch tablet isn't quite as ideal for jotting down quick notes as a smaller smartphone, it's great for long note-taking sessions. While it doesn't have a custom keyboard like the iPad Pro or Surface Pro, if you prefer to type, it's easy to use with any portable Bluetooth keyboard.

Best of all, the price is right. Not only does the Galaxy Tab A cost less than the competition, but it also comes with the S Pen so you don't have to spend an extra $100 to get a stylus.

reMarkable

This unique device, due out this October, is a hybrid of a tablet and an e-reader. And instead of a glossy surface, the high-friction surface of the reMarkable has a paper-like feel. The e-ink display lacks the glare of a standard tablet and is easier on the eyes, too. It's great for reading and supports PDF and EPUB files. The reMarkable also lets you annotate what you're reading, take handwritten notes or sketch. It won't multitask as well as a tablet - there's no Netflix or Evernote here - but it is an excellent note-taking gadget, and any student would be sure to appreciate its features.

Price: Preorder for $479 at reMarkable

Want something else?

While the versatility of these tablets makes them great choices for anything you want to do, you can turn any tablet or smartphone into a note-taking powerhouse. Just pick up a wireless keyboard or stylus, and you'll be well on your way to taking notes using the tech you already have.

The best smart pens for taking notes

Livescribe 3 Smartpen

The Livescribe 3 works almost like an ordinary pen. Just press the Livescribe to paper and start writing. Your writing is automatically sent to your iOS or Android device, then transcribed to text. How well the device transcribes depends greatly on your handwriting, but you still have a digital copy of your handwritten notes as well as the transcription.

Livescribe has another trick: it can record audio using your iOS or Android device. Tap on any text in the Livescribe app to hear the relevant part of the recording. Your notes are searchable, and you can sync them with Evernote or OneNote and back them up to Dropbox or Google Drive. You get all of the benefits of digital devices while enjoying the convenience of analog note-taking.

The downside? The Livescribe (and most other smart pens) requires special paper to work. That's because it records your handwriting using a tiny camera that needs those dots to keep track of just what you're writing. You can print the dots out yourself using a decent color laser printer, but if you have to buy special paper, this will be an ongoing cost. Depending on the type of notebook you want and how many you buy at once, paper costs as little as $3 or as much as $12.

Price: $179.95 at Livescribe

Neo Smartpen N2

The Neo N2 works the same way the Livescribe 3 does, letting you take handwritten notes that are sent to your iOS or Android phone and transcribed. Like the Livescribe, your notes are searchable and can be synced to major services like Evernote, OneNote and Google Drive. You'll also need to buy paper just for the N2 or print it yourself, but as we've noted, this is a downside you'll find for any accurate smart pen.

The N2 doesn't have the same recording ability the Livescribe does, but the device is significantly slimmer. Where the Livescribe feels like a fat fountain pen, the N2 is closer to the size of a normal pen. No smart pen feels exactly like a pen, so that's a downside you'll need to accept.

The best wireless keyboards for taking notes

While the iPad Pro and Surface Pro both have keyboards designed just for them, they're pretty pricey. Most tablets don't have specific keyboard accessories. If you want to type notes on your tablet or smartphone, try one of these keyboards.

Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard

This modestly priced keyboard works with almost any device that supports Bluetooth, including smartphones, tablets and computers. Better still, it recognizes what kind of device you're connecting it to and changes its function keys to match. Considering its nicely portable size and a two-year battery life, it's hard to say no to this petite keyboard.

Price: From $25.78 at Amazon

Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard

While it represents a sizable price jump, this full-size keyboard makes for easy typing (and no cramped hands!) while still being portable. The secret? It folds in half, turning it into a slim 4.8-inch by 5.8-inch rectangle just a bit wider than a large smartphone. It's easy to tuck into your purse or laptop bag without adding bulk. It's also spill resistant, so while you don't want to drop it in the sink, a splash of water won't be the end of its life. Despite being a Microsoft product, this Bluetooth keyboard works with nearly any Bluetooth device, including most smartphones and tablets.

Price: $99.99 at Microsoft

The Best Styluses for Taking Notes

If your tablet has its own stylus accessory available, it's worth buying. Styluses that are custom-made for specific tablets offer better integration, better accuracy and more features than any stand-alone stylus. Even though they're more expensive, device-specific styluses are worth it if you want to take handwritten notes.

Adonit Jot Pro

Though writing with the odd disc-style tip of the Jot Pro may be a little tough at first, it makes for accurate handwriting.

Adonit Mark

Best for Budget-Buyers: Adonit Jot Mini

If you can't get used to the disc on the Jot Pro, this stylus has a more traditional mesh tip, feels great in the hand and has a budget-friendly price point.

The best apps for taking notes

Microsoft OneNote

It doesn't matter which note-taking gadget you're using - it's only as good as the application you use to keep your notes organized. OneNote lets you sort your notes into folders and subfolders, where you can keep notes (typed or handwritten), photos, videos and clippings from the web. Handwriting can be converted to text, whether you're taking notes with a stylus or snapping a photo of something you've scrawled on a napkin. Then everything can be tagged and organized. You can even share and collaborate with others, making it more than a personal note-taking app.

All of your notes sync through Microsoft, and apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android (plus an offline editing mode) mean you can edit your notes from any device at any time.

Price: Free at Microsoft

Evernote

Evernote has been around longer than OneNote, but these days, OneNote matches it nearly feature for feature. Evernote offers more features, with photo scanning software to digitize your receipts ( Scannable) and digital note-taking app ( Penultimate), as well as more ways to organize. But the cost is an extra complication. While the basic version of Evernote is free, if you want more storage space, the ability to edit documents offline and access to customer support, it costs $34.99 per year. To add the capability to search for text in PDFs and Word documents, scan business cards and browse note history, you'll have to upgrade to Evernote Premium for $64.99 per year.

Since Evernote and OneNote work on the same platforms, it's hard to recommend subscription-based Evernote over OneNote unless you really do need all of its premium features.

Price: Free, or subscription for extra features, at Evernote

Google Keep

If OneNote and Evernote are too complicated for your taste, Google Keep may be the answer. This simple service handles the basics but not much more. You can type notes or make lists online or via an app for iOS or Android, all of which can be organized or searched. It's not a great option for handwritten notes, as it can't convert them to text, but it does let you take notes via voice recognition, a handy feature that other apps lack.

Apple Notes

If you use an iPad, Apple Notes is getting an upgrade in iOS 11 (due this fall) that will make it competitive with the rest of this list. The Notes app already syncs notes to iCloud for easy access across all of your devices, but in iOS 11, you can scan documents with your camera, add your sketches to documents and search through your handwritten notes. Apple Notes doesn't quite match the features of OneNote or Evernote just yet, but these features are big improvements and could mean this built-in note-taking app has everything you need.

Price: Free at Apple
Updated with all new picks on 6/7/2017
[Image Credits: tablet and stylus image via Shutterstock, Dell, reMarkable, Evernote, Google, Logitech, Neo, Jot, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple]

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Whether you're at school or in business, taking notes at lectures and meetings is the best way to keep track of what's happening. But traditional paper notes can turn into a disorganized mess. Pages may get mixed up or lost, and there's no way to edit or organize them.

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How to annotate PDF documents with Adobe Reader

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How to annotate PDF documents with Adobe Reader

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University of Alberta, 2013

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How to annotate PDF documents with Adobe Reader

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A screencast is a digital recording of a computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration.

Many of the "How-To" videos on this Padlet are screencasts: the creator is narrating directions as he/she is demonstrating tasks on the computer screen.

What are screencasts used for in the classroom?

to explain a difficult concept or common mistake outside of class time

to offer audio feedback on student assignments or writing

to add commentary to assigned video materials

to use the "flipped classroom" model (content delivery occurs outside of the classroom, while the class session itself is reserved for discussion/analysis/application)

Screencast technologies to explore (in order of intensity):

Jing: https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Snagit: https://www.techsmith.com/snagit.html

Camtasia: https://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html

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Review: 3 Note-Taking Gadgets Keep You Scribbling

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Review: 3 Note-Taking Gadgets Keep You Scribbling

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John P. Mello, Jr. (2014) Computer World

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Old habits die hard. That's especially true for note taking.

Despite a plethora of digital gadgets -- laptops, smartphones, phablets and tablets -- pen and paper remains popular among note takers. Why? Probably because a digital equivalent hasn't been invented yet to satisfactorily mirror the experience of scribbling notes on paper.

Also, there's evidence that old-fashioned note taking has benefits missing from its digital counterpart. To begin with, writing your notes manually instead of typing them may aid memory retention (see the sidebar below). In addition, the New York Times recently cited several studies concluding that children learn better if they write by hand.

As a result, some tech companies continue to woo note takers with digital alternatives to keyboards. For example, Microsoft's recently introduced Surface Pro 3 comes with a sophisticated stylus so users can write or draw on its touch screen.

Other vendors have sought to add note-taking abilities as well. In this roundup, I've tried out three products with different approaches to combining the act of writing manually with current technology:

Improv Electronics thinks digital slates like its Boogie Board Sync 9.7 are the way to go for note takers.

Adonit believes it can make note taking more attractive on a tablet by improving the instrument used to put ink to glass, and so has come up with its Jot Script Evernote Edition stylus.

Livescribe tries to tie analog and digital note taking together with its Livescribe 3 Smartpen, a system that involves special paper and a high tech pen to digitize notes.

How well do any of these products work for those who want to write? After spending some time with each method, here's what I found.

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Review: 3 note-taking gadgets keep you scribbling

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Old habits die hard. That's especially true for note taking. Despite a plethora of digital gadgets -- laptops, smartphones, phablets and tablets -- pen and paper remains popular among note takers. Why? Probably because a digital equivalent hasn't been invented yet to satisfactorily mirror the experience of scribbling notes on paper.

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Maria Konnikova (2014) The New York Times

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Does handwriting matter?

Not very much, according to many educators. The Common Core standards, which have been adopted in most states, call for teaching legible writing, but only in kindergarten and first grade. After that, the emphasis quickly shifts to proficiency on the keyboard.

But psychologists and neuroscientists say it is far too soon to declare handwriting a relic of the past. New evidence suggests that the links between handwriting and broader educational development run deep.

Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words, it's not just what we write that matters - but how.

"When we write, a unique neural circuit is automatically activated," said Stanislas Dehaene, a psychologist at the Collège de France in Paris. "There is a core recognition of the gesture in the written word, a sort of recognition by mental simulation in your brain.

"And it seems that this circuit is contributing in unique ways we didn't realize," he continued. "Learning is made easier."

A 2012 study led by Karin James, a psychologist at Indiana University, lent support to that view. Children who had not yet learned to read and write were presented with a letter or a shape on an index card and asked to reproduce it in one of three ways: trace the image on a page with a dotted outline, draw it on a blank white sheet, or type it on a computer. They were then placed in a brain scanner and shown the image again.

The researchers found that the initial duplication process mattered a great deal. When children had drawn a letter freehand, they exhibited increased activity in three areas of the brain that are activated in adults when they read and write: the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior parietal cortex.

By contrast, children who typed or traced the letter or shape showed no such effect. The activation was significantly weaker.

Dr. James attributes the differences to the messiness inherent in free-form handwriting: Not only must we first plan and execute the action in a way that is not required when we have a traceable outline, but we are also likely to produce a result that is highly variable.

That variability may itself be a learning tool. "When a kid produces a messy letter," Dr. James said, "that might help him learn it."

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Karin James, a psychologist at Indiana University, used a scanner to see how handwriting affected activity in children's brains. Credit A. J. Mast for The New York Times

Our brain must understand that each possible iteration of, say, an "a" is the same, no matter how we see it written. Being able to decipher the messiness of each "a" may be more helpful in establishing that eventual representation than seeing the same result repeatedly.

"This is one of the first demonstrations of the brain being changed because of that practice," Dr. James said.

In another study, Dr. James is comparing children who physically form letters with those who only watch others doing it. Her observations suggest that it is only the actual effort that engages the brain's motor pathways and delivers the learning benefits of handwriting.

The effect goes well beyond letter recognition. In a study that followed children in grades two through five, Virginia Berninger, a psychologist at the University of Washington, demonstrated that printing, cursive writing, and typing on a keyboard are all associated with distinct and separate brain patterns - and each results in a distinct end product. When the children composed text by hand, they not only consistently produced more words more quickly than they did on a keyboard, but expressed more ideas. And brain imaging in the oldest subjects suggested that the connection between writing and idea generation went even further. When these children were asked to come up with ideas for a composition, the ones with better handwriting exhibited greater neural activation in areas associated with working memory - and increased overall activation in the reading and writing networks.

It now appears that there may even be a difference between printing and cursive writing - a distinction of particular importance as the teaching of cursive disappears in curriculum after curriculum. In dysgraphia, a condition where the ability to write is impaired, sometimes after brain injury, the deficit can take on a curious form: In some people, cursive writing remains relatively unimpaired, while in others, printing does.

Samples of handwriting by young children. Dr. James found that when children drew a letter freehand, they exhibited increased activity in three significant areas of the brain, which didn't happen when they traced or typed the letter. Credit Karin James

In alexia, or impaired reading ability, some individuals who are unable to process print can still read cursive, and vice versa - suggesting that the two writing modes activate separate brain networks and engage more cognitive resources than would be the case with a single approach.

Dr. Berninger goes so far as to suggest that cursive writing may train self-control ability in a way that other modes of writing do not, and some researchers argue that it may even be a path to treating dyslexia. A 2012 review suggests that cursive may be particularly effective for individuals with developmental dysgraphia - motor-control difficulties in forming letters - and that it may aid in preventing the reversal and inversion of letters.

Cursive or not, the benefits of writing by hand extend beyond childhood. For adults, typing may be a fast and efficient alternative to longhand, but that very efficiency may diminish our ability to process new information. Not only do we learn letters better when we commit them to memory through writing, memory and learning ability in general may benefit.

Two psychologists, Pam A. Mueller of Princeton and Daniel M. Oppenheimer of the University of California, Los Angeles, have reported that in both laboratory settings and real-world classrooms, students learn better when they take notes by hand than when they type on a keyboard. Contrary to earlier studies attributing the difference to the distracting effects of computers, the new research suggests that writing by hand allows the student to process a lecture's contents and reframe it - a process of reflection and manipulation that can lead to better understanding and memory encoding.

Not every expert is persuaded that the long-term benefits of handwriting are as significant as all that. Still, one such skeptic, the Yale psychologist Paul Bloom, says the new research is, at the very least, thought-provoking.

"With handwriting, the very act of putting it down forces you to focus on what's important," he said. He added, after pausing to consider, "Maybe it helps you think better."

Maria Konnikova is a contributing writer for The New Yorker online and the author of "Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes."

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Does handwriting matter? Not very much, according to many educators. The Common Core standards, which have been adopted in most states, call for teaching legible writing, but only in kindergarten and first grade. After that, the emphasis quickly shifts to proficiency on the keyboard.

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A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop

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A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop

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Cindy May (2014) Scientific American

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"More is better." From the number of gigs in a cellular data plan to the horsepower in a pickup truck, this mantra is ubiquitous in American culture. When it comes to college students, the belief that more is better may underlie their widely-held view that laptops in the classroom enhance their academic performance. Laptops do in fact allow students to do more, like engage in online activities and demonstrations, collaborate more easily on papers and projects, access information from the internet, and take more notes. Indeed, because students can type significantly faster than they can write, those who use laptops in the classroom tend to take more notes than those who write out their notes by hand. Moreover, when students take notes using laptops they tend to take notes verbatim, writing down every last word uttered by their professor.

Obviously it is advantageous to draft more complete notes that precisely capture the course content and allow for a verbatim review of the material at a later date. Only it isn't. New research by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer demonstrates that students who write out their notes on paper actually learn more. Across three experiments, Mueller and Oppenheimer had students take notes in a classroom setting and then tested students on their memory for factual detail, their conceptual understanding of the material, and their ability to synthesize and generalize the information. Half of the students were instructed to take notes with a laptop, and the other half were instructed to write the notes out by hand. As in other studies, students who used laptops took more notes. In each study, however, those who wrote out their notes by hand had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material than those who used took notes with their laptops.

What drives this paradoxical finding? Mueller and Oppenheimer postulate that taking notes by hand requires different types of cognitive processing than taking notes on a laptop, and these different processes have consequences for learning. Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture. Instead, they listen, digest, and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the information. Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some heavy "mental lifting," and these efforts foster comprehension and retention. By contrast, when typing students can easily produce a written record of the lecture without processing its meaning, as faster typing speeds allow students to transcribe a lecture word for word without devoting much thought to the content.

To evaluate this theory, Mueller and Oppenheimer assessed the content of notes taken by hand versus laptop. Their studies included hundreds of students from Princeton and UCLA, and the lecture topics ranged from bats, bread, and algorithms to faith, respiration, and economics. Content analysis of the notes consistently showed that students who used laptops had more verbatim transcription of the lecture material than those who wrote notes by hand. Moreover, high verbatim note content was associated with lower retention of the lecture material. It appears that students who use laptops can take notes in a fairly mindless, rote fashion, with little analysis or synthesis by the brain. This kind of shallow transcription fails to promote a meaningful understanding or application of the information.

If the source of the advantage for longhand notes derives from the conceptual processes they evoke, perhaps instructing laptop users to draft summative rather than verbatim notes will boost performance. Mueller and Oppenheimer explored this idea by warning laptop note takers against the tendency to transcribe information without thinking, and explicitly instructed them to think about the information and type notes in their own words. Despite these instructions, students using laptops showed the same level of verbatim content and were no better in synthesizing material than students who received no such warning. It is possible these direct instructions to improve the quality of laptop notes failed because it is so easy to rely on less demanding, mindless processes when typing.

It's important to note that most of the studies that have compared note taking by hand versus laptop have used immediate memory tests administered very shortly (typically less than an hour) after the learning session. In real classroom settings, however, students are often assessed days if not weeks after learning new material. Thus, although laptop users may not encode as much during the lecture and thus may be disadvantaged on immediate assessments, it seems reasonable to expect that the additional information they record will give them an advantage when reviewing material after a long delay.

Wrong again. Mueller and Oppenheimer included a study in which participants were asked to take notes by hand or by laptop, and were told they would be tested on the material in a week. When participants were given an opportunity to study with their notes before the final assessment, once again those who took longhand notes outperformed laptop participants. Because longhand notes contain students' own words and handwriting, they may serve as more effective memory cues by recreating the context (e.g., thought processes, emotions, conclusions) as well as content (e.g., individual facts) from the original learning session.

These findings hold important implications for students who use their laptops to access lecture outlines and notes that have been posted by professors before class. Because students can use these posted materials to access lecture content with a mere click, there is no need to organize, synthesize or summarize in their own words. Indeed, students may take very minimal notes or not take notes at all, and may consequently forego the opportunity to engage in the mental work that supports learning.

Beyond altering students' cognitive processes and thereby reducing learning, laptops pose other threats in the classroom. In the Mueller and Oppenheimer studies, all laptops were disconnected from the internet, thus eliminating any disruption from email, instant messaging, surfing, or other online distractions. In most typical college settings, however, internet access is available, and evidence suggests that when college students use laptops, they spend 40% of class time using applications unrelated to coursework, are more likely to fall off task, and are less satisfied with their education. In one study with law school students, nearly 90% of laptop users engaged in online activities unrelated to coursework for at least five minutes, and roughly 60% were distracted for half the class.

Technology offers innovative tools that are shaping educational experiences for students, often in positive and dynamic ways. The research by Mueller and Oppenheimer serves as a reminder, however, that even when technology allows us to do more in less time, it does not always foster learning. Learning involves more than the receipt and the regurgitation of information. If we want students to synthesize material, draw inferences, see new connections, evaluate evidence, and apply concepts in novel situations, we need to encourage the deep, effortful cognitive processes that underlie these abilities. When it comes to taking notes, students need fewer gigs, more brain power.
Are you a scientist who specializes in neuroscience, cognitive science, or psychology? And have you read a recent peer-reviewed paper that you would like to write about? Please send suggestions to Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and regular contributor to NewYorker.com. Gareth is also the series editor of Best American Infographics, and can be reached at garethideas AT gmail dot com or Twitter @garethideas.

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A Learning Secret: Don't Take Notes with a Laptop

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"More is better." From the number of gigs in a cellular data plan to the horsepower in a pickup truck, this mantra is ubiquitous in American culture. When it comes to college students, the belief that more is better may underlie their widely-held view that laptops in the classroom enhance their academic performance.

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Computer Classrooms:

LSA: https://rooms.lsa.umich.edu/classrooms

CAEN: http://caen.engin.umich.edu/computers/search

OMSE: http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/osp/

Ross: https://www2.bus.umich.edu/MyiMpact/technology/instructional-technology/classroom-equipment

Workshops and Online Tutorials:

TeachTech Workshops: http://ttc.iss.lsa.umich.edu/ttc/sessions/upcoming/sponsor/university-library/

Online Guides: http://guides.lib.umich.edu/profile/knc-fe

Training Sites:

Digital Media Commons: http://www.lib.umich.edu/digital-media-commons

Faculty Exploratory: http://www.lib.umich.edu/faculty-exploratory

CRLT: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/programs

Content Delivery:

7FAST: http://www.lib.umich.edu/7fast

Ebrary Academic Complete: http://www.lib.umich.edu/database/ebrary-academic-complete

Learning Management System Guides:

Canvas: http://nextgen.umich.edu/lms/student-guide.php

CTools: https://ctools.umich.edu/portal/help/main

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Recycle Mania: Battle of the Buildings
http://www.plantops.umich.edu/grounds/recycle/recyclemania.php Sustainable Computing

http://www.sustainablecomputing.umich.edu/take-charge/reconsider-printing.php

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Learn how to change non-Google Doc files into a common, cloud-based format.

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Handwriting versus Typing in Lecture and Textbook-Reading Contexts

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Handwriting versus Typing in Lecture and Textbook-Reading Contexts

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Ian Schoen (2012) Pitzer College

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Effects of Method and Context of Note-taking on Memory_ Handwriti

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Virtual Nuts and Bolts of a Paperless Classroom

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Virtual Nuts and Bolts of a Paperless Classroom

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Dr. John Whittier-Ferguson's (johnaw@umich.edu) advice and experience in paperless classrooms for literature and writing courses.

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"Virtual Nuts and Bolts: Running a Paperless, Writing-Intensive Course"