Visual Note Taking- 5 Good Apps for Teachers and Students

 Looking for some good apps to help you with your visual note taking? The list below has you covered. It features what we believe are some of the best options out there. These are apps you can use to record  visual notes in different formats including: mind maps, diagrams, flowcharts, handwritten notes, sketches on virtual papers, and many more. 

1- Inkflow

Inkflow provides you with a note taking and brainstorming experience similar to the pen-and-paper one. Whether you use a stylus or not, you will be able to easily sketch, draw or write your thoughts and re-arrange them the way you want. You can choose from a wide variety of paper backgrounds to use for your notes. You can also insert text and images anywhere on the page and customize their look and size. Your final notes can be exported as PDFs or JPEGs and can be shared to different social media websites.

2- Trello

Another great app to help you visually organize your projects and to-do lists. You can use lists, boards, and cards to capture your thoughts and enhance your planning. You can also draw on or insert due dates, labels, and checklists to track the progress of your projects. Also, "add Power-Ups like a Calendar view of your due dates or add locations to cards to get a Map view—your project will take on a whole new perspective."

3- MindMeister

MindMeister lets you leverage the cognitive power of mind mapping in enhancing your overall productivity. It offers a number of interesting features that include: the ability to create and edit numerous mind maps, add different file types to your maps, use nodes to draw connections, supports real-time collaboration, syncs across different devices and platforms, and export your mind maps in PDF or PNG format. 

4- Lucidchart

Another great app for visual note taking. You can use it to easily create flowcharts, diagrams, wireframes, process flows and many more. Lucidchart supports collaborative team work enabling you to work on the same diagram with your colleagues. The app offers various pre-made templates and shapes to choose from. Everything you create on Lucidchart mobile app is saved and synced with your account. You can also export your diagrams in different formats including PDF, PNG, or Visio.

5- Zoomnotes

"ZoomNotes Lite is an iPad/iPhone visual note-taking app. It lets you quickly make handwritten notes and sketches on virtual paper, on PDF files, on MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint docs (via GoogleDrive), and over images. Uniquely, it also lets you zoom in and out without arbitrary limits, an invaluable feature for this type of app. It has a free fully functioning pen (although you will be able to try the pens too), and more available as in-app purchases."