Simplybox

I wrote previously about Evernote, a website the allows users to save snippets of webpages.

Simplybox provides a similar service.

When I first saw Simplybox in action, I thought that I would end up using it instead of Evernote. However, after trying Simplybox for a time, I think I’ll stay with Evernote.

Simplybox features a drag-and-drop interface. When the Simplybox button is pressed, an orange toolbar appears on the bottom of your screen. This toolbar displays your boxes, which are folders that you create. After selecting the area of a webpage that you would like to save, you drag it into the appropriate box.

SimplyBox - Think Inside the Box via kwout

The ability of Simplybox to organize your notes is the best quality of this service. However, there are two things about Simplybox that I did not like. First of all, it installs a toolbar. Real estate on my computer screen is at a premium, so I don’t like it when a single application installs its own toolbar. Second of all, unlike Evernote, Simplybox does not allow you to capture anything more that what appears on the immediate screen. With Evernote, you can scroll down and select as much content as you want for your note.

Evernote

I needed a specific tool. When I am surfing the internet, and I find a good teaching idea, or I think of a good teaching idea, I want to be able to quickly jot it down or copy it and save it.

Diigo is great for bookmarking pages, and for engaging in online conversations, such as this one. However, when it saves a link, it saves the whole page. What if I want just one idea from a page? Or, what if I want to save multiple ideas from one page? Plus, I did not want to clutter my Diigo account with many small, individual lesson ideas.

I considered keeping a "Teaching Ideas" document on Google Docs, but it is too complicated to have to open Google Docs everytime I find something inspiring. Besides, I would rather not retype a lesson idea everytime; and of course, different text on the internet is in different fonts, sometimes there are pictures, and so on. This makes copy and pasting to Google Docs not always easy.

I found Evernote.

Evernote allows you to clip anything from a page and save it as a note. Below is a screenshot of three notes - lesson ideas - that I clipped from this page. Evernote seems to have many features, including the unbelievable ability to search text inside of pictures, including handwritten text.

Evernote Web: lesson ideas via kwout

Since I only started using Evernote today, I cannot comment on all its features. This video, from Evernote's homepage, provides a good introduction.