
There are three ways students can add text in Paperport Notes: by downloading a .pdf directly from a URL, by taking pictures of the text, or by importing a .pdf shared in Google Docs or Dropbox.

2. GlowNote Free is for amped up annotating with fancy colors, fonts, stickers, and effects. If you are trying to infuse your close reading with excitement and possibly give yourself a headache while assessing your students’ work, I would use this app. We have used GlowNote to find the heart of a story or the main idea of a passage.
Students search for the main idea, take a picture of a scene in the story, and then write, underline, or circle their evidence. Then, students can use the blinking borders, neon effects, and emojis to make their annotation sing. This app does have ads so only use this if you have prepped your students with an iPad safety lesson. Students can email finished GlowNotes to you.
However, there is no option for saving them to the camera roll. We simply used another iPad to film a clip of the note to upload to YouTube. You can then take the YouTube URL and make a GIF like the one below:


5. Sticky is a free app for adding sticky notes and pictures to a background. Students would take a picture of a passage from a book they are reading. They can upload their image and then add various sticky notes around the text. Students cannot underline or write on the text, and there are no .pdf imports or exports. However, my students like that you can change the font and color of the stickies, too.
I use this app if I want my students to write connections, make inferences, or make predictions on stickies. Students can take a screenshot of their work to save to the iPad camera roll. You can download an activity packet featuring making inferences using the app here. The packet also includes step-by-step visual directions for your students. We recently used the activity packet to create inferences using clues we saw at home or at school.

Learn more creative ways to “Erin-tegrate” iPads into instruction at my blog, Erintegration, or connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. I am a current 3rd grade teacher with a Masters in Education and 10 years of experience in the classroom. I am also my elementary school’s technology integration facilitator. When I’m not teaching or creating iPad activities for my store, I’m reading, playing, and being silly with my twin toddlers.
You are brilliant! What a fabulous idea to use these apps to help engage our kiddos and improve their CLOSE READING. …I love the Sticky app too.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise.
Best wishes!
Jen 🙂
This is ABSOLUTELY magical! What a way to enchant kids 🙂
Thank you! I recently started incorporating close reading in my classroom, but I wanted a way to make it more fun by using technology. You have given me a wonderful jumping off point! I can't wait to get started 🙂
I just purchased the lesson for Sticky Note and I love it! Would you be willing to share a sample of a thinglink annotation? I’d love to see how it is used for this. I could not find an on-line example.