PowerNotes is a tool that allows students and teachers to take and compile information from online sources with ease.
The idea behind this tool is to allow many sources of information to be collected and stored in one place. This can then be modified and sorted to help organize those notes. All this makes it a useful tool for developing information projects.
Since it works as a simple Google Chrome extension, it is very easy to access and can be used on all devices for perfect use in school and outside the classroom on personal devices.
So, is PowerNotes a tool that could help your classroom? This guide aims to lay out everything you need to know.
What is PowerNotes?
Powerful notes is a Chrome browser extension that allows you to highlight and collect notes from Internet sources.
PowerNotes uses these snippets, as it calls them, to give you easy-to-organize sources of information. Helpfully, it also cites where each one comes from so you can create a wide range of sources and easily refer to them at the end.
This is a powerful research tool for students, but thanks to some very in-depth analysis for teachers, it can also be ideal for guiding students on how to best research when working on projects and more. There is also a lot of guidance available for students to help them get the most out of this system.
It’s all very easy to use and self-explanatory so teachers can add it to their toolkit, without having to invest a lot of time learning how to use it, or teaching students how to do it.
How does PowerNotes work?
PowerNotes is a free (initially) Chrome extension to download and install that can be accessed from the web or Google Chrome Store, so it will work on all devices with the Chrome browser installed.
Once a text area is highlighted, when it is on a website, it can be saved into standard or custom theme sections. Think of it as having folders that certain types of information can be placed into, organizing your data collection from the beginning, so that there is less to sort through later.
All of these snippets go into the Outline section of the project where students can easily rearrange this information by simply dragging and dropping it as needed. Filters are also available here, allowing you to organize them by topic or annotation, for example to quickly search and organize notes.
It’s helpful that this has citations right there, so it’s easy to quickly see how much information comes from one source, for example, to ensure that a wider range of sources can be included as needed. A collaboration option is available, allowing for group work where research is shared between groups.
What are the best features of PowerNotes?
PowerNotes is very easy to use and can be expanded as needed, so it may work for younger students, but it is also a viable tool to use throughout the college years and beyond.
Teachers get great feedback, like the pie chart above, which shows how students use the software. This can help to provide feedback and guidance, or to detect areas of difficulty, so that teaching can continue with direct guidance.
Helpfully, there is an option to offer real-time feedback to students, giving teachers the opportunity to provide support, across the class, while students work on research. A useful project timer feature gives an idea of the actual amount of time students have spent researching.
There is a powerful plagiarism prevention system here, as well as the ability to create citations that build a bibliography. However, this may need some refinement and guidance to fit the exact format required by the testing body.
ai tools are available in the paid version, which allows you to summarize articles, offer related topics in real time, Q&A requests, and more.
Helpfully, this allows it to integrate into current LMS setups, as well as work with both Google search results and library database data. All of this can work without the need to leave PowerNotes, with librarians accessing it from within the system.
How much does PowerNotes cost?
PowerNotes can be downloaded and used in its basic form during a free trial period, but there is also a premium version with additional features available.
He Free Trial The version lasts for 14 days and gives you an individual account with unlimited usage. This then increases to $10 per month or $99 per year. For that, you get unlimited themes, projects, OCR PDF pages, plus project collaboration and basic user support.
Go for him Classroom plan, in $79 for six months, or $99 For the year, you’ll get up to 35 users, enhanced user support, group projects, engagement insights, proxy support, deployment support, and classroom training.
He Habit The option for institutions is charged at a price made to size rate, giving you information on academic integrity, access to Brainstorm ai, access to Discovery ai, LMS integration, Springshare integration, webinars and events, custom SSO options, and personalized training.
Top PowerNotes Tips and Tricks
Start simple
Spend a class teaching students how the tool works, perhaps giving them a small research example to get them to go away and work with.
Establish a project
Once students have an idea, set up a project in which they can produce a final essay using PowerNotes research and citations.
Defeat plagiarism
Show students how this tool can help stop plagiarism so they know what it is, how to avoid it, and why they won’t get away with it.
