When I was packing up my English teacher office last year I was not surprised by the number of books I have. I know that most people don't haul 30 plus linear feet of books with them everywhere they go, but what can I say I am exceptional. I also doubt that very many K-5 tech integration specialists have the complete works of Ogden Nash, Allen Ginsberg, and Frank O'Hara in their lab.
What surprised me was the number of binders, notebooks and course readers I was hauling around. Although I am in love with technology, these collections of paper are important. The course readers contain essays that helped shape my thinking. Some of the essays even have notes I wrote in response. There are texts that my teachers curated for me, and I paid good money to have access to, so why would I throw those away.
The binders of typewritten journals from college and grad school, beg to be saved even though I have NEVER read through them again. This monolith of paper has traveled with me, saved but largely useless. Now, with Evernote and the ScanSnap ix500, I can scan all this work in easily and have searchable access to it from any connected device.
Last weekend I took the plunge and started feeding these docs and notebooks into the ScanSnap. Over the course of the day I created an Evernote notebook with over 100 documents, some of them 50+ pages long.
It was amazing to be able to get through all of my unbound journals and course readers in a single day. I filled the recycling bin and didn't feel any guilt that I was getting rid of so much original writing because I still have it, now in a more accessible form than ever. Check out the quick videos I made of how each type of document scanned in easily.
Archiving a Pocket Notebook
Archiving a Course Reader
Archiving a Poetry Portfolio
What surprised me was the number of binders, notebooks and course readers I was hauling around. Although I am in love with technology, these collections of paper are important. The course readers contain essays that helped shape my thinking. Some of the essays even have notes I wrote in response. There are texts that my teachers curated for me, and I paid good money to have access to, so why would I throw those away.
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| Where my typewritten journals used to live |
Last weekend I took the plunge and started feeding these docs and notebooks into the ScanSnap. Over the course of the day I created an Evernote notebook with over 100 documents, some of them 50+ pages long.
It was amazing to be able to get through all of my unbound journals and course readers in a single day. I filled the recycling bin and didn't feel any guilt that I was getting rid of so much original writing because I still have it, now in a more accessible form than ever. Check out the quick videos I made of how each type of document scanned in easily.
Archiving a Pocket Notebook
Archiving a Course Reader
Archiving a Poetry Portfolio
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