College and University Blog
Microsoft One Note - a Virtual "Trapper Keeper"
When I was in Elementary School, the very organized students purchased and maintained “Trapper Keepers”:http://www.meadonline.com/Trapper/home.aspx. These were binders with sections for each class, loose leaf paper and folders with three pockets called “Trappers.” This was an all-purpose notebook that made it easy to keep information from each class separate but organized.
As we took our freewheeling ride down the “Information Superhighway” we should have known that there is always a price to pay for technological advancement. In this case, it is “information overload.” Woe is the student or educator who cannot organize information quickly and efficiently …until now.
I have recently discovered “Microsoft One Note”:http://www.office:Microsoft.com which is like the Trapper Keeper of the 2000s. It is a space-aged organizing software that will take the place of your ratty old Trapper Keeper.
Microsoft One Note is a software program that is set up to behave like a notebook with different sections. It makes life easier by giving users a way to file notes away in different notebooks and to access that information quickly and easily. Students can benefit from this software greatly, as it gives them a way to customize notes, import images, use freehand drawing tools to diagram and illustrate, and organize that information using pages, tabs and folders.
Students are also able to record audio and visual notes and file it along with written notes for the same class. Students may also integrate audio and visual clips into their written notes to match the flow of the lecture. Another feature that students may love is the ability to share notebooks with a particular group such as a study group, so students can contribute and share information freely.
There is no way to overstate how helpful this software can be for a student or educator. For students who are interested in trying this product before purchasing, there is a 60-day free trial available on the “Microsoft website":http://www.office.microsoft.com.