Using Evernote for documentation

[kmhrsn 2]

I use Evernote everywhere (except on my cheesy android phone-crashes). I had a light-bulb moment to use it for documentation of behavior and EC compliance. My principal was concerned that as a cloud based service, there might be privacy issues. (FERPA). Any thoughts?

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

I figure that if it is something you would email, then it is something for Evernote, because they both use similar protocols for protecting data; namely, SSL during transmission of data and no encrypted databases on the Evernote servers, but the ability to encrypt locally.

As long as you encrypt your laptop hard drive (free and simple with File Vault on the Mac) and pin protect your mobile devices (the devices are encrypted) then you should be in compliance with FERPA.

Is this enough to be considred encryption? Maybe. I would go a step further for grades or evaluations of work by encrypting them into a PDF and uploading. Personally, though, I keep most PDFs and other attachments out of Evernote, so no worries.

The IT folks at your institution could give you the final word.

Here is another thread on the topic.

Here is a blog post (see comments for ferpa concerns). You might want to contact some of the people directly.

http://blog.evernote.com/2011/01/13/10-tips-for-teachers-using-evernote-education-series/

[kmhrsn 2]

My idea was to simply make a quick note on my PC in a notebook labeled "Documentation" with student name. Like, "John Doe" for the title, and "refused read aloud" for the note. Or, "Jane Doe," and "head down, refuses to complete assignment." (That one pains me to even say.) Since Evernote automatically dates stuff, and is searchable, this would be a great benefit. Our PC’s are password protected.

I'm going to check out your links. Thanks for the reply!

[kmhrsn 2]

After checking out the links, most comments that were FERPA related were more about grades and student work. Which I have no plans toward doing. But still interesting discussions. I had read the education ambassador's post previously, but not the comments afterward. Hadn't even noticed they were there! Thanks again!

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

After checking out the links, most comments that were FERPA related were more about grades and student work. Which I have no plans toward doing. But still interesting discussions. I had read the education ambassador's post previously, but not the comments afterward. Hadn't even noticed they were there! Thanks again!

You're welcome. I would definitely recommend getting in touch with the ambassador and / or contacting others who have posted education blogs. They have a lot of great ideas for using Evernote in the classroom.