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!