OneNote, One Device

I was very excited to check out what OneNote had to offer after looking at Dr. Bazan's review of this program. His use of this software was great and certainly seems like an excellent way to connect with students, parents, teachers, and the community. Unfortunately, since this software is part of the Microsoft suite, it caters mainly to Microsoft devices and other PCs, not MAC. The school district I teach in gives every teacher a Macbook Pro when we begin teaching, and I also own and Iphone, so I mainly us Apple products. I was unable to download OneNote onto my computer because it stated that the version of ios I had was not up to date, even though there are no updates available from the App store. I noticed even in the video that most of the devices being used were Microsoft or Android devices, and I think I only saw one Apple product. The screenshot I took of the video below shows the tablet is a Windows tablet. Obviously a Microsoft product would wish to promote their own devices rather than those of competitors. 

After I tried several attempts to get this software to download on my Macbook Pro, I gave up and tried the Iphone App out instead. I was able to download the app, but there are barely any features available on this app. I can write a note, and I'm sure I could insert a web address for a clickable link, but these seem to be about the only features of the iphone app. The three images below show every feature the app has to offer 

   

I wrote a question about this in the general discussion board on Blackboard, and Kathy and Stephanie mentioned they were experiencing the same difficulties. Kathy suggested I try and use an ipad stating that the app worked much better on this device, but I unfortunately do not own an ipad. Stephanie suggested I download the Yosemite upgrade for Macs, but then stated she got a virus on her computer, so I decided to hold off on that upgrade. 

Aside from the frustrations I'm feeling with using this for Apple products, the features I learned about in the introduction video look very appealing. Having all my class materials in one place and the ability to share with all the families of the students I teach would be fantastic. Instead of constantly having to print out sheet after sheet of paper to give out to the students at each of my schools, I could put all the hand outs on this program and parents could view them on their own time. It would also be much easier to assign homework since the students could see it every day and remind themselves to complete it. When I only see the students 2 times a week, I understand how easy it is to forget the assignments, especially for elementary school students. I could also leave instructional videos for the students and parents to watch that will help parents help students with their home practice. 

All in all this seems like a phenomenal program for PC and Microsoft device users. I am traditionally a PC person, but since starting my current job have transitioned to Mac. It would be great if all programs worked on all types of devices, but for now I will have to wait for this program to be upgraded to be usable on ios.