Having a good note taking app is a must. Three things I believe every successful person should have on their phones: a calendar app, notes, and an e-reader. Successful individuals show up on time and plan their schedules accordingly, pay attention, write things down, and read. I also think they dress to reflect current trends and styles to look the part, but that’s a whole other issue.
Finding the perfect notes app for me has been a journey, but I believe I finally have it down. For the longest time I was a devotee of Evernote. I’ve presented at many conferences on the benefits of Evernote. But in 2017 there was some ambiguity as to the privacy of your content. At first, Evernote employees could access your notes in an effort to improve functionality. Then, after a shockingly unforeseen outcry (seriously, they didn’t see that coming?) Evernote had to retract the policy and currently claims that notes will only be accessed by employees with your express permission. The whole thing left me cold. Will or won’t, they still CAN, and that bothers me. Privacy is an issue for me. Ever since a teacher reported me for a photo I had posted on Twitter (jealous) I’ve become more guarded. I have photos on my phone from my modeling days, nothing I would consider inappropriate, but that isn’t the point, someone else did, they reported it and even though I didn’t get in “trouble” it was enough to make me stop and think. I don’t want someone getting ahold of those photos and twisting something that was fun and exciting, something I’m proud of (because honestly, how many 5’2” models were out there before Instagram?) and turning into something dirty. So for this reason, the Apple ID for my personal devices and the Apple ID for my professional devices are two totally different things. I added my work computer to my family share account so that I don’t have to pay for apps twice but those apps don’t sync up. That means, in order to be considered a top contender in my eyes, notes have to be accessible across devices and platforms. This leaves me with three options: Evernote, OneNote, and Apple Notes. Bear Notes & Noteability are excellent apps, but I can’t sync them, at lest not with the methods I’m using.
Mar 14, 2020
And then…the world of education changed. All of a sudden, I’m working from home. And it became more about ME and less about my institution. I really just needed a place to dump my thoughts. And Bear notes all of a sudden came to the top of the list. Why?
• The interface is clean and free of distraction.
• I can add multiple tags such as agenda (for the week) and assignments. After all, this could be the new face of education for awhile.
• Interlinking Notes. HUGE. So easy for me to reference what my honors class was doing previously so I can build upon prior knowledge.
• Markdown. Period.
• Ability to use my Apple Pencil.
• Password protected notes.
And… basically, I just like it. In the end, it came down to what I like. THIS was my favorite note taking app.
Because I’m doing “distance learning” I’ll be posting a lot more blog posts and my YouTube channel will expand from bags (because honestly, my bag collection is super cute, check it out @CarolynNicole YouTube) to at home fitness, remote teaching, et al.
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