As it’s a new academic year, DigiKnow wants to concentrate on students’ digital needs. Last week, we did a demo of using O365’s OneDrive and some Apps to assist staff and students working and studying online.
This week, we turn our attention to OneNote and introduce this to students.
OneNote
OneNote as notebooks are typically private and are digital notebooks created by you. It can be accessed online via Office 365.
Why use OneNote?
When it comes to note-taking or organizing ideas and gathering information for study, OneNote is a cool Office 365 App which can deal with multiple media types.
As an App, OneNote allows for different sections to be created for different subjects or themes and pages can be added to each section. This is very much like a folder with dividers in physical terms.
The created pages can hold text, audio, video, dictation, images and more. The page colour can be amended for audience members with visual or contrast considerations.
You will find many more uses for OneNote as you become more familiar with using the App. The real benefits of OneNote are:
- As an App, OneNote is secure and can be accessed 24/7 with an internet connection
- Students can create more than one OneNote, these can be shared
- Users can add notes and capture media on the go
- OneNote can be downloaded to the Desktop
- You can integrate OneNote with other software
- Class Notebooks can be created between your lecturer and you for specific topics
- These Class Notebooks are great for collaboration and group work
OneNote Class Notebook
We would also like to point out OneNote (which is a personal notebook) and Class Notebook (which is not a personal notebook). The Class Notebook is a digital tool lecturers would set up between student and lecturer.
To view this in physical terms, the lecturer can be considered the ‘hub’ of activity. In OneNote, as lecturers create digital materials, the materials can be disseminated to the students’ notebooks and slotted into the relevant sections automatically.
This process was the same during classroom teaching with one exception. Students had to make notes by copying from the board and slot the notes into they physical notebooks. The idea is the same but digital technology has automated the process.
What accessibility features does OneNote have?
You will discover OneNote is packed with useful digital tools. From dictation, text readers, page colours, different languages, etc., it’s very versatile for all users of the App.
If students don’t like typing, they can dictate notes which appear as text within OneNote, the text can then be moved, formatted, etc.
Some students might prefer listening over reading text. Again, OneNote allows an immersive reader to read the text aloud. There is an immersive reader which can be changed to other languages with options for male or female voice. This immersive reader can read text faster or slower to suit the audience member.
Can I use multiple devices?
Yes, of course.
Office 365 can be accessed by students signing into their O365 accounts (via Queen’s Online or via the web). It might be advisable to sign into O365 on all devices as this allows access to all the O365 Apps, storage and tools.
Users can take photos or capture video on a mobile device and it can be inserted into OneNote. If students need to draw diagrams, this can be done via a tablet device in the same OneNote.
Can we see a demo of OneNote?
Yes, sure can!
In the video below, we demonstrate how to add in sections and pages to OneNote. How to colour pages, add text, audio, images and other media. How to use dictation, immersive readers and other languages within OneNote.
Summary
Hopefully, you found this demo of OneNote useful. In the demo, we looked at how to create a OneNote, where to find and how to access it both by OneNote and OneDrive.
When using OneNote, it allows different sections and pages to be added and the sequence of these sections or pages can be changed at any point.
We have demonstrated the types of media that can be included within OneNote and we have made you aware you can sign into Office 365 on other devices. As OneNote users, you can include content from these other devices and sync the information in OneNote to keep content updated.
Next week
In our blog post next Monday, we will be looking at PDFs, what they are and how they can benefit students in their learning.
Please do join us then to learn more and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @MDBSelearn.
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