I encourage the use of rubrics because of all the benefits research on their use as teaching strategies indicates. That said, I also encourage the use of quick, one minute, assessments (exit tickets, etc.) on a daily basis.
Much of what we are about involves finding ways to reach ALL kids and involve students in the learning experience. If students are involved and engaged in learning, they won’t be as likely to become distracted and create issues in your classroom. The following classroom management ideas will help you eliminate monkey business in the classroom and include all your students in the learning process.
Is "collecting" information a worthwhile endeavor during valuable classroom time? It seems the answer to that question lies in a teacher's ability to discern exactly what type of curation meets the educational objectives of the lesson. We have to look at the process of implementing technology in education as a value added activity that goes beyond collecting and classifying information under certain themes or topics.
When we look at Evernote from a "technology in education" standpoint, there are many ways this tool can be useful. One can browse the web and find an interesting website that relates to research being done for an article or paper then click on the plug-in icon in the browser that will send that webpage directly to the file folder of choice in Evernote.
Something amazing happens when a teacher introduces a timer into the classroom process. Students take notice and are often motivated at the idea of racing the clock.