search tool, the researcher can tap into
every;imaginable;book;database;acces-
sible on the Internet and pull up not only
public;domain;works;via;Project;Guten-
berg,;but;also;E-Books;written;by;more
contemporary authors, supplements for
homeschool parents to assist in the edu-
cation of their children of any age, and
previews of hard-copy books available
for;order;through;your;local;bookstore;or
at;amazon.com;or;barnesandnoble.com.
Imagine;needing;a;book;on;a;particu-
lar topic. Instead of relying on the search
engines of online retailers who stand to
profit;from;your;purchase,;you;can;use
this unbiased search engine and see more
of;the;book’s;contents;than;any;of;the
retailers permit. For example, I down-
loaded entire multi-volume sets of Gib-
bon’s;The History of the Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire and Blackstone’s
Commentaries on the Laws of England for
free, but both sets cost hundreds of dol-
lars when bought in a hard-copy format.
Also, there’s an app for that. That’s
right;;just;as;Kindle;and;Apple;have;read-
ers;for;their;bookstores,;Google;Books
has;an;app;for;PC,;Mac,;iOS,;and;An-
droid;devices,;making;it;a;snap;to;search
and;read;your;Google;Books;downloads.
Take Heed!
It;doesn’t;do;any;good;to;discover;great
information for your term paper if you
don’t file it in a place where you can
find it later! I’ve gotten frustrated in
the;past;when;I;knew;I;was;researching
something I had researched before but
couldn’t;recall;where;I;had;filed;the;infor-mation. I have also been so rushed when
researching time-sensitive motions or
arguments;that;I;didn’t;bother;saving;the
cases and statutes I cited. The result was
more;work;on;future;cases;that;better;fil-ing and cataloging of information could
have avoided. Then I discovered the most
amazing;research;assistant;ever;invented
by man: Evernote. 6
Evernote;is;a;note-taking;and;filing;ap-plication;for;PC,;Mac,;iOS,;and;Android
devices that is sync-able between all the
user’s;devices.;When;used;as;the;timesav-er;it’s;meant;to;be,;it;is;much;more;than
just;a;note-taker.;Evernote;pulls;all;the
wonderful research tools discussed above
into a nice, tight bow. First, it gives you
a;way;to;take;notes;on;all;your;devices.
Have;your;iPhone;but;not;your;computer
and;need;to;take;a;picture;of;a;book;you’d
like;to;check;out;or;have;an;idea;for;a;pa-
per;you’re;writing;and;are;afraid;you’ll
forget?;Just;pull;up;Evernote;and;take;that
picture or write that memo to yourself,
and;then;file;it;under;the;project;name.
When you pull up Evernote on your
computer;or;iPad,;it’s;synced;and;there-
fore;available;on;both;devices.;But;.;.;.
this is just the beginning.
Remember that Colorado case we
pulled up at the beginning of this article?
If you have Evernote, you can send the
entire;PDF;document;to;your;Evernote
account and file it under that contro-versial;topic;you’re;researching;for;your
term paper. You run across an article on
the same topic? Send it to your Evernote
account;and;it’s;filed,;ready;to;cut;and
paste;when;you’re;ready;to;write;your;pa-per—don’t;forget;to;cite;the;source;so;you
can’t;be;accused;of;plagiarism!
For;PCs;and;Macs,;Evernote;has;plugins
for Google Chrome, Internet Explorer,
Mozilla;Firefox,;and;Safari;browsers;to
make sending articles and documents
to Evernote as easy as tapping a button
on the toolbar. Evernote also provides an
email;address;to;send;articles;and;PDFs
to your Evernote account just in case the
button;plugins;aren’t;supported.
With a paid subscription, you can add
collaborators;to;project;files, 7 which enables team or project members to save
their;memos;and;articles;to;the;specified
files;without;giving;them;access;to;other
more;confidential;ones.
I recently discovered EverClip, an app
for;iOS;and;Android;devices;(iPad,;iPhone,
Android tablets, and smartphones) that
supplements Evernote. 8 It allows you to
copy portions of articles, or even entire
documents or pictures, without sending
the individual clips to Evernote one at a
time. At the end of your research session,
you open up EverClip and send all your
clips to Evernote in one single document.
You can even add notes to the clips before
sending the master document. This one
costs;money,;while;all;the;other;apps;I’ve
listed are available in free versions.
Use Technology Wisely
Technology is wonderful as long as you
use;it;to;make;your;life;better.;There;are
many more productivity apps available
to the serious scholar. However, the ones
discussed above are the ones I use every
day. They have greatly improved my research and writing productivity, and I
know;they’ll;help;you;and;your;home-school student too.
Kevin Mark Smith is an allied attorney with
the Alliance Defending Freedom in Wichita, Kansas, where he lives with his wife and
three daughters. He writes often on the law,
homeschooling, and issues of importance to
Christians, families, and conservatives on
www.kevinmarksmith.com.
Endnotes:
1.;See;en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editing_policy.
2.;See;www.google.com.
3.;See;scholar.google.com.
4.;See;www.gutenberg.org.
5.;See;books.google.com.
6.;See;www.evernote.com.
7.;See,;e.g.,;www.dropbox.com,;which;allows;you;to
save;files;via;Cloud;storage;and;send;invitations
to;others;who;can;access;your;files.;This;is;more
of;a;file;saving/sharing;option;and;not;note-;or;re-search-specific.;There;are;several;other;Cloud;stor-age services that offer the same service, including
Google Drive.
8. Available through iOS and Android apps on
Google;Play.
This devotional will challenge you…
And that will lead to one thing … a stronger family!
By writing this devotional, Tom Frye encourages us to
love God and our families … and to do it with scripture
as our guide. Tom is a friend of my parents, and they
love what he and his family are all about … I encourage
all to ponder the thoughts that Tom has to offer.
—Mary Beth Chapman,
Author of Choosing to See
Now available wherever books are sold and
online at FamilyFirstMinistries.net
I discovered the most
amazing;research
assistant ever invented
by man: Evernote.
