Using OneNote to Organize My Library

**This blog was originally written for and posted on the PSLA Blog.**

Recently in a listserv there was a discussion about digital portfolios, and I immediately thought of my OneNote notebook.  As a disclaimer, I did really learn about OneNote through a Microsoft In Education (or is it Microsoft Partners in Education?) training, but I'm not affiliated, nor am I "pushing" OneNote for them.  I know that there are other platforms out there, like livebinders, which I'd love to learn more about, but there I was, sitting in a training, seeing all these cool things that OneNote could do, and I had OneNote on my school laptop and voila! I'm a OneNote user!

How I Use OneNote Currently

I started small: I opened it up and made a notebook for that school year.  Every school year since, I have done the same thing: in August I start a new notebook.

The notebooks function just like, well, notebooks.  You have section tabs up top that divide the sections, and create pages in each section along the right hand side.  I like that you can click anywhere in the page and type, that you can drag and drop things in, that you can save files, that you can easily input screen shots and comment on them, but most of all I like that it just seems to work for the library world.  At least for me.

To give you a glimpse into my current notebook, here is a screenshot of one of my pages:

The tabs across the top, for me, are Induction (yes, I have to go through it again since I switched schools), Professional Development, Library Administration, Programming, Blended (we are starting a blended academy-- more on that in another blog), Budget, Curriculum, Communications, Library Club, Planning, Logins.  Some of these sections are password protected.  Each section is then broken into pages that grow throughout the school year.  At the close of the school year, I will go through the process of turning this notebook into a portfolio that I can use for my end of the year evaluation.  

I use this notebook for everything.  I collaborate and co-plan with teachers in the curriculum section.  I build out my budget, send budget related e-mails to, and keep track of purchasing in the budget section.  I have a page in the curriculum section for each class that comes in (okay, maybe I'm not that good... most classes, when I remember) and handouts for what we did (most of the time).  I keep track of all of our contests in programming and the library club minutes, ideas, and events in library club.  

Next year I will be able to reference this year's notebook for a reminder on how I did things in previous years.  

How I'd Like to Use OneNote in the Future

There was talk in the listserv about organizing our digital portfolios around Charlotte Danielson's Framework For Teaching.  I love that idea as it would be much easier to translate the onenote notebook into the digital portfolio.  Does anyone do this this?  I'd love to hear/see what you do!

I'd also love to start working with students in OneNote.  Especially as we continue to have more students bringing their own devices, I'd love to show them how to organize their notes and their thoughts into notebooks for the year.  These can also become portfolios for classes.  I love that students can record lectures and/or their own voices in onenote.

Finally, I'd love to figure out how to put my notebooks "in the cloud."  So far, I think I've found that my school's version needs to be upgraded to 2010, or we need to go to Microsoft 360.  When that happens, game on!

Here are some links I found for further information.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and your additions to what I know.  Let's work together on this!

Using OneNote Mobile
Cool Examples of Teachers Using OneNote in Education
OneNote Video Tutorials

Downingtown Ivy Academy: Digtial Resources Available

*Note*  The following post is a double post that I actually wrote for another blogger at Downingtown Ivy Academy, the new blended academy my school district, Downingtown Area School District, is starting this upcoming fall.  The post is intended specifically to target the teachers in my school, Downingtown West, focusing on the resources available to them through our library program.  As the year goes on, I'm sure I'll be blogging more about the Ivy Academy.  Until then,

My hope is that we can work together to collaborate in your curriculum to build experiences that are rich in digital resources, and have a differentiated approach through content, product, and process.  The libraries can offer an continually building collection of physical and digital content, but more than that, my hope is that we offer live support for both you and your students.   Below, please find a list and review of the resources that we have. 

Content Resources

1.        Our Destiny book catalogs are both available at destiny.dasd.org.  Did you know that you can create resource lists for your students to access?  This way you can create lists that are specific to your course or even to a project to help focus the students on what they should be accessing.  You could also do a “recommended reading” list for your course!  I would be happy to support you in the creation of resource lists or help you use the catalog.  Also within the catalog, you can perform searches that will access websites and *some* of our database collection. 

2.        Our database collection includes Gale Opposing Viewpoints, Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale US History in Context, Gale World History in Context, Gale Science in Context, JStor, and Power Library (including EbscoHost and EbscoHost E-book collections). 

a.       Gale Databases- My personal bias is that I love these databases.  They are so student friendly and easy to use.  They provide access not only to journal articles, magazine articles, and newspaper articles, but to audio, video, and web resources.  Additionally, they provide levels for their content so that you can match readers to content.  I love it!  Student Resources in Context is the most general database and provides a large amount of content across a wide scope of curricular areas.  

b.      JStor- Many of you have probably used Jstor in the past.  It is a more collegiate resource.  Make sure you log in to get the content!  (All login information is available on my West Library page on the West Website).  This resource provides peer reviewed journal material from a very wide array of academic journals.

c.       Power Library-  EbscoHost is the most used database in Power Library. It, like JStor, provides access to a wide array of sources but includes more non-academic sources as well.  Students can limit their search by peer reviewed journals and linked full text to access content if desired.  The students cannot access Power Library at home without a public library card, unfortunately.  Another notable PL databases include EbscoHost Ebooks—a wonderful resource of ebooks that we get for free (!).  The problem with this resource is that only one student may access a specific e-book at a time, so be mindful of this point when planning.  Take a moment to explore the other PL resources to see how you can connect them to your content!

3.       Ebooks- We do have some Follett ebooks that are accessible through our Destiny interface.    These books are readable from any device with a browser.  Follett ebooks come in single user format and in simultaneous use format (many students can use at one time).  We can certainly get more of these if you would like them to be added to our collection to fit your curriculum.  You can browse for them at www.titlewave.com. 

4.       Nooks- We also have library Nooks that come preloaded with books and are lendable to the student population. 

Process Resources

1.       Hardware—In the West library we have 30 laptops and 30 ipads for student use, in addition to the computer lab and desktops in the library proper. 

2.       Nooks- We have 12 Nooks available for circulation

3.       EasyBib- You and your students all have access to our EasyBib Pro subscription.  The Coupon Code for West is dhswest.  This subscription allows students to set up their projects in EasyBib and share their project with each other and with you.  EasyBib allows them to create and import citations in MLA and APA formats; analyze their bibliographies for currency, validity, and diversity; create note cards that are color coded, organizable, and allow for paraphrasing and commenting, linking to sources; and an outlining tool.   This also connects to their Turn It In accounts and their Google Docs. 

4.       TurnItIn-  You and your students have access to turnitin.com, an anti-plagiarism software that screens their work for plagiarism and allows for peer editing. 

I hope you will be able to find these resources helpful.  I also hope that we will be able to work together to collaborate on your projects so that I can be a support to both you and your students at West.  Let me know how we can work together!

For more updates on  what is going on in West’s library land,

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Check out our blog: http://dwestlibrary.blogspot.com/  (to be updated this month!)

Happy Searching!