Thing # 23 - Reflection

At the completion of the 23 mobile things project, I'm taking some time to look back on the journey.  I have noticed that my knowledge and interest in apps has increased with this project.  I've explored apps that I already had, and found completely new ones.  Some of these were duds.  Some, just the presentation apps just aren't realistic to use on my phone.

This project has helped me quite a bit in learning how to best use my phone and tablet.  It has also opened up my eyes to the ways to use mobile devices in a professional setting, and which apps and functions would work best for students.

Overall, this project was time consuming, but I feel I got enough out of it to make up for the time commitment.  I would definitely do something like this again.

Thing # 22 - Finding Apps

For this mobile thing, I tried out an app for finding more apps.  There really is an app for everything!  Since there are so many apps out there and many of them cost anywhere from two to ten dollars, I was glad to explore Apps Gone Free.  Each day, the app lists priced apps that are available for free for a limited time.  There is good variety, but if you were looking for something specific it might not be the best bet.  It seemed more like something you can check and might stumble across something.

For professional purposes, I would keep it and check it periodically, but many publications, both print and web, come out with best app lists on a regular basis.  I think that if I make the effort to stay updated, follow blogs, and read up, I will be able to find the apps I need.

Thing # 21 - Free-for-all!

This mobile thing was one of the hardest, because there are so many apps that I use and love.  I decided to focus on two that I use almost every day.  Mint is a fantastic app that I use to manage my funds.  I love the pie charts and other graphs that allow me to see exactly where I've been spending my money.  My only critique of the app is that because it syncs with your accounts, it doesn't always update quickly - the accounts must update before they show up on Mint.  It is nice to see spending habits over several months however.

The other app that I use on a daily basis is MyFitnessPal.  There are a number of apps like it available, but I still prefer MyFitnessPal.  They have a large database of foods, with the option to fill in a meal or food if the database doesn't have it.  Yet again, the feature that I enjoy the most is the graphs that are created based on caloric intake and weight.  I enter my weight a few times a week.

Thing # 20 - Let's play some games!

When I saw the word "games" as one of the mobile things, I immediately thought of one of my favorite game apps, Quiz Up.  Quiz Up is very similar to trivial pursuit, but on a larger, interactive scale.  Players have the option of choosing from over 500 topics ranging from general (geography) to the more specific (Harry Potter).  Players can challenge friends who play, or pick a topic and allow the app to randomly find a partner.  Players receive points with correct answers, but faster correct answers gain even higher points.  After a certain number of levels, players earn a "title" from that topic.  For example, I am "Sunshine" after playing enough games of U.S. states.

Obviously I use this on a personal level, but with a few tweaks, I think this could work within a classroom setting as well.  This would also be a way to incorporate BYOD in an engaging manner.  If treated as a special treat, or free time option, and students were to only challenge each other, not play random partners, I think it could work.  There would have to be a certain amount of trust between students and instructor, so it might work best at a high school level.

Thing # 19 - Hobbies

This mobile thing was devoted to hobbies.  I have a few, and besides books and reading, I do love music and shopping.  I already had spotify on my laptop, so it was easy to find and use it on my iPhone.  What I'm not such a fan of is that on the mobile app (if you have the free version) you are unable to choose a song to listen to, but must shuffle through album or playlist.

One of my favorite apps to check is the shopping app from Modcloth.  Again, this is a website that I have long been looking at on my laptop, but I find the mobile app is almost exactly the same and easy to use.  I can spend way too much time looking at the modcloth app on my phone.

Exploring hobby apps (safely) might be a great way to share interests and relate to students.  Students could do a similar assignment as 23 mobile things and create a blog to try out and review apps that pertain to their hobbies.

Thing # 18 - Education

This mobile thing was all about education apps.  There are a lot of them out there.  I love Duolingo.  I don't have much time to devote to it, but it's definitely something I use on a semi-regular basis.

I was a French minor as an undergrad, and have lived in France twice.  Unfortunately, without anyone to speak and practice with here, I lose my skills everyday.  Duolingo is a great way to keep up my skills.

Professionally, I would love to learn Spanish.  Duolingo is a great way to get introduced and start practicing some basic skills.  I can see myself using Duolingo for my own lifelong learning.

Thing #17 - Community

For this mobile thing, I explored some community apps.  During winter, I followed St. Paul on twitter to find out about plowing, road conditions etc.  However, I found that I just received too many tweets, so I unfollowed them and returned to just checking their twitter feed when I needed some information.

I tried out the different apps and I was a bit disappointed.  I spent the most time with the app Going Out, but it was lacking, especially aesthetically.  I choose the Art and Museum icon, and was surprised to see that they had nothing on the Matisse exhibit that is closing soon.

I get most of my events from reading City Pages or Vitamn or things I hear on the Current or other radio stations.  I like to make lists of fun things to do, and type or write them out.  I'm not opposed to a community app, but I wasn't thrilled with these ones.

Thing #16 - Audio

In a world where images and video rule, it seems like there isn't much room for just straight audio.  I was able to see an audio app in action, however, and in a school library setting.  Just a couple of weeks ago, I was at my fieldwork site and my mentor teacher was working with her sixth grade students on their poetry project.  Students had found a piece of art during a previous class session and were in the process of creating a poem in their language arts course inspired by the piece.  Using audioboo, one of the audio apps showcased for mobile thing #6, students were to record themselves reading their poems and link it with a QR code.  Since the students had not yet written their poems, a portion of the class time was devoted to learning how to use Audioboo, and experiment with creating audio.  The students got the hang of it quickly, and would be ready to record themselves reading their poems.  It was a great example of collaborative learning, and introducing new skills - linking QR codes, and making audio clips.  There is a place for many different tools and apps in a library setting and I had the chance to see it firsthand.

Thing #15 - Infographics

I am unashamed of my love of infographics.  They have been a staple off Pinterest since the beginning of the site.  I prefer to view infographics on my laptop, or another type of large monitor.  However, for this mobile thing, I checked out infographic apps for iPhone.  The only app that would work on my phone was the info.Graphics app.  I enjoyed the range of subjects, but I had one major problem.  The image quality after selecting an infographic is not good.  The images are blurry, and hurt my eyes trying to focus on it.  I went back and read the reviews for the app, and many others had the same issue.  I think I might stick to viewing infographics on my laptop for now.

Thing #14 - Video

I take record video on my phone almost on a daily basis.  When you nanny a 14 month old, funny things are gonna happen pretty often.  Of course, since it's not my child, I don't share them on any sites, but there are quite a few stored on my phone.

For this thing, I finally played around with an app that's been on my phone since the beginning, Vine.  I was familiar with Vine videos, and am particularly fond of the ones put out by Sesame Street :).  Every now and then I'll look at the front page to see other peoples creative videos, and some of them are very impressive.  I probably should have watched the tutorial, because it took me a little while to figure everything out.  Once I did however, I made a little movie.  I don't have any Vine friends, haha, and didn't want to post it, so I deleted it with a, "well that was fun."  I can't see myself using it much.

I can however, see myself using some sort of video tool with future students.  Unless I'm a high school librarian however, I would stay away from tools like Vine since the students would be too young.  I'd be hesitant at the high school level even.  I know there are some school/kid friendly and safe apps that might be better suited to my future needs.

Thing #13 - Presentations

Power point is so old fashioned.  :)  It does however serve its purpose and is one of the most convenient and available presentation tools out there.  As educators keeping up with technology, we have the knowledge to encourage students to branch out from good ole power point and try out something else.  I am very familiar with power point, and since I began my MLIS journey, the same goes for Prezi as well.  I had never heard of Prezi or any other presentation tools for that matter until I returned to grad school.  Now, I'm amazed by all the options.  I've tried out powtoon and made a movie with animoto.  For one presentation a few semesters ago, my partner and I created a presentation with haiku deck.  Unfortunately, I do not have an iPad, so I didn't get to fiddle around with the app much during our presentation making process.  For this mobile thing, I downloaded 'deck slideshow' to try out.  I don't have any presentations coming up where I would use this, but perhaps in the near future I'll be trying it out with my students.

I played around with deck slideshow and was pleased with what I saw.  There weren't a ton of free templates, only about half a dozen, but they were attractive and unique looking.  It wasn't as intuitive as soon presentation maker tools, but more than many.  I played around adding images and text.  I don't see it working for a very long or text heavy presentation, but for smaller, more image based presentations, I think it would be a good fit.

Thing # 12: Books, I love books!

One of the first apps I put onto my tablet was the Goodreads app.  I signed up for both Library Thing and Goodreads shortly after learning about them during my first classes at St. Kate's in fall 2012.  When I have the time, which seems like never these days, I love to organize books on my virtual shelves and find new books which I'll probably never get to reading.

After I purchased my iPhone in December, I downloaded the YALSA teen book finder app.  I generally use my laptop to find new reading material, but I really like how convenient and specific the app is.  I've used it to find a couple new YA books to read.

I have been doing fieldwork at a K-8 school in their media center for the past couple of months, and there have been a couple of times that I've been asked to do some reader's advisory for late elementary school students on the fly.  I have a lot of work to do getting acquainted with materials for this age range.  I'll be more familiar with the materials in whatever library I eventually work in, but I was disappointed that it was so hard for me to help these students.  I wish there were an app like the teen book finder for younger students that I could have quick access to.  Of course, given more time, I could find something via NoveList or Goodreads, but something quick to supplement my knowledge of the collection would be helpful.  However, if I work in a middle or high school, having the YALSA teen book finder at the ready would be very helpful. Overall though, I love book apps!

Thing # 11 : Library App

How did it take me so long to figure out that the Saint Paul Public Library system had an app!?  I haven't been this excited for an app since...well, I'm not sure.

I'm always checking to see what new books are in, or available as ebook or downloadable audio - but I get tired of always having to enter my library card number.  With this app, I'll be able to search, request, and check my account with one touch on my phone.  Can you tell I'm excited?

The library related app that I'm always a little disappointed in is the app for St. Kate's.  It links to tabs found in Kateway, but not the St. Kate's library.

Thing # 10: Sharing all those photos I just took.

I jumped on the Instagram band wagon rather late and am still figuring it out.  I primarily use Facebook for my social networking and photo sharing needs.  I like being able to message and chat with friends who are online at the same time.  But then, I'm part of the original facebook generation.  I've shared about half a dozen photos and found that the people that liked my photos are the same people that would like my photos on Facebook.  There is quite a bit of overlap.  Generally, I use Facebook to post multiple photos at a time.  Instagram is convenient for one photo at a time.

Thing # 9: Super Time Waster - Photo Editing

Oh no, I've been introduced to another time waster.  I needed another one of those like I need a hole in my head.  

Thing number nine is all about photo taking and editing apps.  I've never been much of a photo taker.  Before the advent of the "better camera on your phone than your point and shoot" I would always forget to  bring my digital camera along on outings or it would stay in my purse.  I allowed other people to be the photographers.  Since I bought my iphone in December, I have taken a few more photos, but my photo library pales in comparison to most other people's.  

I've played around with photo editing with the software including in the iPhone as well as Instagram.  I've changed the setting or cropped, but that's really the extent of my photo tweaking.  I downloaded Photo Editor and played around with a couple photos.  It's a fun little thing, but not something I see myself using very much.  I was able to put a bowtie and pipe sticker on a photo of my cat, which is cute, and I might share with my sisters, but I feel a little old to be playing around with stickers and backgrounds - and I don't take selfies.  Hah!  

I know that my students will be taking selfies and playing around with photo editing.  I suppose I could use it in some capacity in my library, but I think I'll leave the photo editing to the kids.  

Thing # 8: Wait, there's an app to manage your other apps?

I admit, I was rather bemused when LeAnn Suchy mentioned apps specifically made to manage social networking accounts. I thought, wow, you have to have a pretty huge online presence to need anything like that. I chose HootSuite simply because of the cute owl logo, and logged in with a decent amount of incredulity. Although like many of the apps I've tried, I'm not sure if I'll use it very often, or even at all after this semester, I can see how it could be useful.

One of my biggest challenges with using Twitter has been how overwhelming it can be. I resist following more people/organizations because my twitter feed just becomes filled up so quickly. With HootSuite, I was able to create lists, for example, I now have an Authors I follow on Twitter, and a Library-related twitter list. This will make it easier to find exactly what I'm looking for and perhaps even allow me to follow more people.

Thing 7 - oh Pinterest...how I love and hate thee.

For mobile thing # 7, I'm documenting my relationship with content sharing and saving website and app, Pinterest.

 My use of Pinterest started a couple years ago with just a couple of boards: fashion and food. I steadily added a few more boards, some I kept up with, and some I abandoned after just a few pins. I was really into it the first few months after I opened an account, but like most things, my interest in it came in cycles. I got frustrated with how much of a time-suck it was at times. It was like bingeing on all these items or sites that caught my fancy. Then, I would lay low for several weeks.

Whenever I open Pinterest, my front page reads like the woman's magazine I subscribe to, Real Simple. My family and friends mostly post things like recipes, clothing items, beauty tips, house organization and furnishes, and of course, wedding ideas. So. many. wedding. things. My older sister is getting married next spring, and there are a couple of secret boards a select few of us have been posting ideas on. It's fun, but also...a terrible time-suck! Now that I am inching closer to graduation and career, I plan to start using Pinterest has a medium to compile teaching ideas such as lesson plans, books to buy, and projects to create. 

I was told by my mentoring media specialist at my fieldwork placement that I "absolutely need" to have a pinterest account for the job. I am following her and my head is spinning with all the tips and ideas. It will be nice to have a place to put all the best ideas from the various blogs I follow. Overall, I enjoy Pinterest and find it useful, but oh so dangerous!

Thing # 6 - Creating and Editing Docs

I am one of those many people who prefer to write and edit documents on either my laptop or a desktop computer. That has not changed after playing around with mobile thing # 6. I downloaded Quickoffice and tried making a document and editing a spreadsheet with it.

 Not surprisingly, I hated it. It was frustrating not being able to view the full scope of whatever I was working on, typing was a pain, and the little intricacies of modifying a spreadsheet available on a full size computer with a mouse were dearly missed. I most likely will not be using Quickoffice again, but I can see how in certain rare instances, it might be useful to be able to quickly change the spelling or add something to a document.

Thing 5 - The Epic Quest for Organization

I have become significantly more organized (my bedroom and car are exceptions) since my undergraduate career. In high school and college I always tried to keep a planner, but just like so many diaries, journals, and yes, blogs, I abandoned it after a few weeks of use. After I bought my tablet last spring, I immediately downloaded two organization/list apps to try to make life easier. I deleted them within weeks. I found that I just didn't like spending the time entering notes and lists. I use my devices mainly for activities that don't require lots of typing. I use my good old fashioned planner regularly, I like adding things by hand and having my schedule right in front of me on paper.

 For this mobile thing, I downloaded Dragon and Springpad and gave them both a try. I won't be keeping/using one, and I have yet to see with the other. I tried Dragon first, but I found it awkward dictating things to my iPhone. I was also unimpressed with the layout and did not find it very user-friendly. I read the reviews after I deleted it to see if I may have jumped the gun. Other users had similar complaints. Most thought it was, 'OK' but not advanced enough to make use easy and automatic. I liked Springpad better. The biggest plus for Springpad was that it is compatible on all devices. I personally hate typing more than I absolutely need to on my iPhone and tablet. I like that I can type up a grocery list or assignment reminder on my laptop and have access on the devices that I carry around daily. I have yet to see if I'll use Springpad on a regular basis, I still prefer using my tangible, paper planner. I'm open to trying it out, but I'm skeptical.

Thing 4 - Keeping Up

I'm going to admit something really embarrassing. Until just recently, I had no idea what the letters in RRS feed stood for let alone what an RSS feed even did. Of course, I know what it is now, but I also freely admit I don't totally understand it yet. For this "thing", I downloaded the app Zite and picked out five areas of interest. Then, Zite compiled articles, stories, and soundbites relating to those areas.

 I'll have to do more playing with it, but I didn't find it particularly necessary for my personal life. I get most of my information on the internet from specific websites, and I get a lot from twitter and my facebook newsfeed. Once I get the hang of it, I think Zite could be really useful for my professional reading. I chose school libraries, librarianship, books, and education as professional interests. The most interesting article so far was a censorship case out of France. My biggest issue with the app is the time spent creating, updating, and using it. I just don't have a whole lot of extra reading time at the moment, but when my schedule is less jam packed, I look forward to doing more reading on Zite.

Thing 3 - Utilities and Practical stuff.

Even before I bought a smartphone, I was using my cell phone as my alarm clock. I have been for many years, and I prefer it to an old fashioned alarm. For Mobile Thing # 3, however, I explored using my iPhone even more as a handy non-phone tool.

 I used a sleep noise app, Sleep Pillow, for a couple of nights. I chose the soft thunderstorm noise, which was nice. I'll remember it for the rare times I have trouble sleeping. I also switched my browser from Safari to Google Chrome. I don't own a mac, so I have limited experience with Safari. I prefer to use google, but I had trouble figuring out how to replace it on the toolbar. I ended up finding a short how-to video on how to change browsers through a google search and quickly replaced Safari.

 I should probably download firefox as well just to have a back up. I have yet to try using my phone to scan QR codes, and I'm not sure I have a lot of use for google goggles, but I think it would be really cool to use them in a museum or on a fieldtrip. You could learn about a piece of work if you can't get all the way up to the tiny little caption they put next to it. In fact, I'll remember to bring my tablet next time I go to MIA and check to see if I can try it out!

Thing 2 – Siri, I’m sorry, but you’re kind of stupid. Also, OMG emojis!

This time around, I’m checking out mobile thing # 2, mobile device tips. I’m new, although not unfamiliar, to smart phones. I finally purchased an iPhone 5C in December and have been playing with it ever since. I remember watching the commercials when Siri first became available on iPhones and thinking that it was unnecessary and creepy. When I bought my iPhone, I immediately turned Siri off.

Then, I recently watched the film, Her, and witnessed what the future of operating systems might look like. Keeping that in mind I followed some of the tips for iPhone related to Siri to see for myself. Siri didn't quite deliver. I found that it actually took me longer to do some actions via Siri than it would manually. I asked Siri to text a friend, but it took several tries for it to recognize the name. I tried to tell Siri who I was related to and how, but I kept having to go back and change relationship errors that Siri had made. It might take a little while to master the use of Siri, but I don't think I care enough to make the effort. I wonder what the future of Siri might look like. It would be cool, and a little creepy if the OS shown on Her became available in the new future.

I also looked at a few of the tips for my Nexus 7. I already knew most of them, but I am looking forward to exploring more apps. One thing I added to my phone was an emoji keyboard. Now I can embellish every text message with a silly little graphic. I had no idea there were so many to choose from! I expected to find the run of the mill collection of smiley faces, but no! there are graphics representing different holidays, foods, animals, hobbies, you name it. Luckily, what could (and probably is) become a huge time waster is manageable thanks to a feature that stores your most frequently used emojis on one page. I was also excited to add a french keyboard option which will allow me to accurately spell words when texting in french with a few friends who also know the language.

Amendment to my first post

I got so fed up with how my word press blog looked that I came back and created a blogspot blog through my active google account. I am much happier with how it looks and my access to it. All of my blog posts will be on this one from now on.

Thing 1 - My blog!

Here I am, creating yet another blog! This time, however, this blog is attached to a grade, so I must keep it updated. I chose to add another wordpress blog, since I have a few abandoned ones here already. It has been a couple of years since I created a wordpress blog, but I am not pleased by some of the changes. Perhaps my memory is faulty, but it seems like there is less you can do for free on wordpress. I could only choose from a select number of themes, and could not change the font or color scheme. I refused to pay 30.00 dollars to upgrade it. That being said, the basic blog functions are all there so it will serve its purpose. I am eager to jump into 23 mobile things. I have a Nexus 7 tablet, a laptop, and have recently joined the ranks of the smart phone owners. I already know, or have heard of a number of apps and tips etc, but I’m looking forward to learning more about them and seeing how they might fit in a school library setting. I’m also pleased that I will be forced to keep a blog updated. Hopefully, completing these 23 mobile things will train me to continue blogging and staying updated on technology and the field as a whole.