Woo-hoo! I made it to 23. I participated in this program as class assignment for my MLIS Curriculum & School Libraries class, and I'm glad I had to do so. The main take away from this experience is just the multitude of apps there are out there! I guess if I had to describe my experience in one word, it would be: overwhelming!
As a future school librarian, I went into this particularly interested in the educational apps, but I also enjoyed the apps that I can use in personal life as well. I am now in the process of deleting many of the apps I tried from my iPhone, but there are quite a few that will be staying. I have to say my favorites were the iPhone tips and tricks as well as the community sites.
I am very impressed with the apps you chose, and the format of this program. If you offered another one, I would definitely participate. The one thing I would do differently next time, is not procrastinate in order to connect better with the other participants. I wish I would have had time to read more blog posts from others and comment on them along the way. Thank you so much for setting this up!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Thing 21: Free-For-All
One of the things I struggle with about having my English students go paperless is the loss of creativity in mapping ideas. How does one draw a web on an iPad? This is what interested me about the app Inspiration Maps (https://www.graphite.org/app/inspiration-maps). It got good ratings on Graphite from both the users and teachers. Here is what one teacher had to say about the app:
"Inspiration is a great tool for students! This free app is a nice way for students to create their own diagram to show their thinking and learning that's taken place. The only limitation that I can see is the sharing feature. Diagrams can be printed or emailed with the free version. It would be nice to have the Save to Photos feature included with the free version instead of only the full version. You can always take a screen shot of whatever has been created.
Students who have had experience using the program, Inspiration, should be able to use this app with no trouble. They can choose to create their own diagram or they can choose from a variety of templates. Ideas can be added with text boxes and pictures. Ideas can be linked together using arrows. Students can select options to change the shape, style, text and diagram as it appears on the screen. They move from the picture view to the writing view in order to expand on the ideas created in their visual diagram"
When I opened the app, I discovered 36 sample maps, plus an option to upgrade. I tried out one template for a KWHL activity that I actually used with students this week as we are studying the historical background of Iran in preparation for our study of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis. It was easy enough to use, I could fill in the bubbles with text, add more bubbles, and move them around easily. I don't think it is a groundbreaking app that will change the way I teach, but I can see using it with a 1:1 iPad class.
"Inspiration is a great tool for students! This free app is a nice way for students to create their own diagram to show their thinking and learning that's taken place. The only limitation that I can see is the sharing feature. Diagrams can be printed or emailed with the free version. It would be nice to have the Save to Photos feature included with the free version instead of only the full version. You can always take a screen shot of whatever has been created.
Students who have had experience using the program, Inspiration, should be able to use this app with no trouble. They can choose to create their own diagram or they can choose from a variety of templates. Ideas can be added with text boxes and pictures. Ideas can be linked together using arrows. Students can select options to change the shape, style, text and diagram as it appears on the screen. They move from the picture view to the writing view in order to expand on the ideas created in their visual diagram"
When I opened the app, I discovered 36 sample maps, plus an option to upgrade. I tried out one template for a KWHL activity that I actually used with students this week as we are studying the historical background of Iran in preparation for our study of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis. It was easy enough to use, I could fill in the bubbles with text, add more bubbles, and move them around easily. I don't think it is a groundbreaking app that will change the way I teach, but I can see using it with a 1:1 iPad class.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Thing 22: Discovering Apps
In order to pick a good app to share, I am skipping Thing 21 and looking on some "Best Apps" lists for middle school students. I talked about Common Sense Media's Graphite in the last post, so I went there to find what they recommend for this age group. Here is the link: https://www.graphite.org/reviews
Once on the site, I clicked on Apps, Language and Reading, Grades 6-8, and Free to Try. Graphite will then narrow the apps they have reviewed and present them visually. Each app has both a Learning Rating and a Teacher Rating. I do like that in addition to their own reviews, Graphite crowd-sources teachers to provide a rating and includes some of their comments. Certainly, Common Sense media is not without its critics. Some librarians feel their explicit reviews of books, games, and apps only provide fuel for would-be banners. Others, however, appreciate the site for their level of detail in the reviews and the transparency of the reviewers' names and qualifications.
The app I decided to try is called Inspiration Maps. The brief description says it is a "versatile mind-mapping tool offers many options for organizing ideas." The learning rating is a 3 (good) and the teacher rating is a 4 (very good). I will try it out and let you know what I think back in Thing 21. But as for this Thing, I side with those who appreciate Graphite, and I am sure that I will use this site frequently to find education apps for teachers and students.
Once on the site, I clicked on Apps, Language and Reading, Grades 6-8, and Free to Try. Graphite will then narrow the apps they have reviewed and present them visually. Each app has both a Learning Rating and a Teacher Rating. I do like that in addition to their own reviews, Graphite crowd-sources teachers to provide a rating and includes some of their comments. Certainly, Common Sense media is not without its critics. Some librarians feel their explicit reviews of books, games, and apps only provide fuel for would-be banners. Others, however, appreciate the site for their level of detail in the reviews and the transparency of the reviewers' names and qualifications.
The app I decided to try is called Inspiration Maps. The brief description says it is a "versatile mind-mapping tool offers many options for organizing ideas." The learning rating is a 3 (good) and the teacher rating is a 4 (very good). I will try it out and let you know what I think back in Thing 21. But as for this Thing, I side with those who appreciate Graphite, and I am sure that I will use this site frequently to find education apps for teachers and students.
Thing 20: Games
All right, fine! I will play you, Candy Crush. Isn't it bad enough that I am addicted to Scrabble, Words with Friends, and Ruzzle? I've heard all about you, and been warned not to go there, but I'm almost at 23 Things, so here goes the download...
Okay, so I made it past level one and am moving on, but honestly, I'm still not sure what I am doing. I understand that I have to swipe the candies to get 3 or more in a row before the board shifts, right? But I definitely need more practice than I have time right now.
I also spent time looking at the Game Ratings for Age and Content App. As a teacher, school librarian and parent of 4 teenage boys, this is a helpful site to know about! I like that you can search by game name, platform, and content. There are over 30,000+ ratings for games and besides the rating, I like that the reviews will point out specific content categories that may be concerning. Last fall, I did some research on Common Sense Media's Graphite which reviews apps and games as well. I'm glad these sites exist, but I also believe that conversation with kids about what is appropriate and why is much more beneficial than simply banning a game because of a rating.
Okay, now back to Candy Crush...
Okay, so I made it past level one and am moving on, but honestly, I'm still not sure what I am doing. I understand that I have to swipe the candies to get 3 or more in a row before the board shifts, right? But I definitely need more practice than I have time right now.
I also spent time looking at the Game Ratings for Age and Content App. As a teacher, school librarian and parent of 4 teenage boys, this is a helpful site to know about! I like that you can search by game name, platform, and content. There are over 30,000+ ratings for games and besides the rating, I like that the reviews will point out specific content categories that may be concerning. Last fall, I did some research on Common Sense Media's Graphite which reviews apps and games as well. I'm glad these sites exist, but I also believe that conversation with kids about what is appropriate and why is much more beneficial than simply banning a game because of a rating.
Okay, now back to Candy Crush...
Thing 19: Hobbies
I am not a sports' fan, but I live with a couple of them, so I will be sure to share those apps with my loved ones. Instead, I am more interested in the two wine apps! We are heading to Napa this summer and taking a ride on the "wine train," and I always tend to forget the names of wines I like, so perhaps I will find good use for those apps during that trip.
For now, though, I explored Spotify. My husband has this on his phone; I have never gotten around to installing on mine, so I was glad to have a reason to. It is a great app, and I don't know why it took me so long. You can listen to Spotify radio stations according to music genre, discover new music, and share playlists. I spent some time tonight listening to my husband's Bossa Nova playlist. I can see using this app to find background music to pump into the library. I think students really respond to calming music while studying.
I would like to listen to Spotify offline while I'm in the car, and get rid of those CDs for good, but that would mean upgrading to the Premium account. I went ahead and signed up for the "Free Trial" which I am sure will lead to yet another subscription in my life.
For now, though, I explored Spotify. My husband has this on his phone; I have never gotten around to installing on mine, so I was glad to have a reason to. It is a great app, and I don't know why it took me so long. You can listen to Spotify radio stations according to music genre, discover new music, and share playlists. I spent some time tonight listening to my husband's Bossa Nova playlist. I can see using this app to find background music to pump into the library. I think students really respond to calming music while studying.
I would like to listen to Spotify offline while I'm in the car, and get rid of those CDs for good, but that would mean upgrading to the Premium account. I went ahead and signed up for the "Free Trial" which I am sure will lead to yet another subscription in my life.
Thing 18: Education
So many Education apps! Where to even begin? I am familiar with lots of these, and they are all worthwhile. I have used Google Earth, TED Talks, Khan Academy, and even Duo Lingo. Last week in our MLIS class, Doug Johnson introduced me to Socrative, an interactive site where you can easily create quizzes.
Because the Common Core standards and 21st century learning skills are emphasizing using primary documents in research, I decided to explore Today's Document for this Thing. With this app, you can "explore American history with 365 of the most fascinating documents and photos from the collections of the US National Archives." It shows an interactive gallery that displays a significant historical document or photo for each day of the year. Students could type in their birthday or search for a document that would aid in a research project.
The document of the day today was "The Return of Goods Shipped for Exploration on the Ship Mount Vernon" from May 19, 1803. The only document connected to my birthday, November 8, was an election ballot for Kennedy and Johnson vs. Nixon and Lodge (as well as the Prohibition and Socialist Labor Parties' candidates). It was great to be able to have such easy access to these historical documents, and when I clicked on the information button, I was provided with an explanation of what the document was as well as links for more information.
This is definitely a worthwhile app for anyone doing historical research as well as just anyone who is curious about history in general. I can see spending many hours just clicking around in here.
Because the Common Core standards and 21st century learning skills are emphasizing using primary documents in research, I decided to explore Today's Document for this Thing. With this app, you can "explore American history with 365 of the most fascinating documents and photos from the collections of the US National Archives." It shows an interactive gallery that displays a significant historical document or photo for each day of the year. Students could type in their birthday or search for a document that would aid in a research project.
The document of the day today was "The Return of Goods Shipped for Exploration on the Ship Mount Vernon" from May 19, 1803. The only document connected to my birthday, November 8, was an election ballot for Kennedy and Johnson vs. Nixon and Lodge (as well as the Prohibition and Socialist Labor Parties' candidates). It was great to be able to have such easy access to these historical documents, and when I clicked on the information button, I was provided with an explanation of what the document was as well as links for more information.
This is definitely a worthwhile app for anyone doing historical research as well as just anyone who is curious about history in general. I can see spending many hours just clicking around in here.
Thing 17: Connecting to Community
I really had no idea there were so many community apps out there! Personally, I am interested in so many of these. The first app I downloaded was the MPR Radio. I subscribe to podcasts of some of the radio shows on MPR, but I didn't realize how easy it is to just stream it on my phone. As I tested it out, I launched right in to Terri Gross interviewing Louis C.K. Normally, I don't get to hear Terri unless I am driving late while her show is on, but it is great that I can just sit on my couch and listen to her!
Next, I explored Minnesota 511. I thought it was funny that as I installed it, a dialog box came up urging me to Be Safe and asking, "Do you agree to not use this application while driving." I did agree, and a map with lots of red and yellow warnings came up. So many so, that I could not even see the map. It must be spring in Minnesota!
I was tempted to install the Minnesota State Fair app, but I will wait until that is more topical. Instead, the last app I explored was the Going Out from Star Tribune App. This is a great resource for events in the Twin Cities. The menu includes categories like movies, restaurants, music, events at the Guthrie, and Best Bets. I can see myself using this frequently.
All in all, this category is great for me personally, and though I may not keep many of the apps I am trying on my phone long term, these definitely will stay. I also see potential for using these community apps with students. I think it would be interesting to give them this list and see which of the apps appeals to them the most.
Next, I explored Minnesota 511. I thought it was funny that as I installed it, a dialog box came up urging me to Be Safe and asking, "Do you agree to not use this application while driving." I did agree, and a map with lots of red and yellow warnings came up. So many so, that I could not even see the map. It must be spring in Minnesota!
I was tempted to install the Minnesota State Fair app, but I will wait until that is more topical. Instead, the last app I explored was the Going Out from Star Tribune App. This is a great resource for events in the Twin Cities. The menu includes categories like movies, restaurants, music, events at the Guthrie, and Best Bets. I can see myself using this frequently.
All in all, this category is great for me personally, and though I may not keep many of the apps I am trying on my phone long term, these definitely will stay. I also see potential for using these community apps with students. I think it would be interesting to give them this list and see which of the apps appeals to them the most.
Thing 16: Audio
I have used audio recorders in my own classroom. As an IB teacher, one of the internal assessments I needed to prepare students for was called an "Individual Oral Commentary." For this assignment, students had to give an 15 minute oral commentary about a passage from a text we had studied. To practice for this nerve-wreaking assignment, I had students use an audio tool that they could use with their cell phones. They could paste the link to their recordings, listen to their classmates' commentaries, and critique each other. Alas, that tool was only free for a short while, so I had to abandon that method of practicing for awhile.
That is why I am so happy to see different free voice recording apps pop up. Teachers in my school have been really happy with Audio Boo, so for this Thing, I gave that a try. Audio Boo will let you record for free up to 10 minutes for free, though if you had a longer speech, you could break it into two parts. I also like that you can post your clips easily to the web, Twitter, Facebook, etc. so that students can listen to their own speeches, and that of their classmates quite easily.
As a school librarian, I see many potential uses for Audio Boo and apps like it. Our students are preparing to give presentations to classes, on the speech team, and as part of history day. This is an easy way to build self assessment and reflection skills. In my personal life, it's also a great way to record audio of things you may want to remember (directions, an address?) later. I was surprised, once I got into the app, that there were so many channels you could listen to, including news stations like the BBC, podcasts from around the world, and even new music.
That is why I am so happy to see different free voice recording apps pop up. Teachers in my school have been really happy with Audio Boo, so for this Thing, I gave that a try. Audio Boo will let you record for free up to 10 minutes for free, though if you had a longer speech, you could break it into two parts. I also like that you can post your clips easily to the web, Twitter, Facebook, etc. so that students can listen to their own speeches, and that of their classmates quite easily.
As a school librarian, I see many potential uses for Audio Boo and apps like it. Our students are preparing to give presentations to classes, on the speech team, and as part of history day. This is an easy way to build self assessment and reflection skills. In my personal life, it's also a great way to record audio of things you may want to remember (directions, an address?) later. I was surprised, once I got into the app, that there were so many channels you could listen to, including news stations like the BBC, podcasts from around the world, and even new music.
Thing 15: Infographics
At first I was really frustrated by, but then came to appreciate an assignment last semester in my MLIS class to create an infographic. Though many of the students had seen them, very few of us had actually created one. There are several free programs out there, and I think I tried each of them to see which was easiest. The verdict was that they all had their strengths and I wished that I could have combined the best features from all of them.
For this Thing, I explored info.Graphics. This app, though, is not about creating infographics, but just having access to many of them. It is intended simply for content interest, I think, but I can see using this site as inspiration/models for students creating their own infographics. I looked at a couple: The Mobile Lives of College Students and Breakdown of a Person's Google Results. Both were well done. Most of the infographics appear to be directed towards the business world and marketing trends. They were a bit hard to see on my iPhone. Probably, this app would be more effective on an iPad. I would definitely consider having my own students create an infographic in place of a traditional research paper, poster, or presentation. They are on trend at the moment, and as we are becoming more and more visual learners and thinkers, I believe they are here to stay as an effective way to present information.
For this Thing, I explored info.Graphics. This app, though, is not about creating infographics, but just having access to many of them. It is intended simply for content interest, I think, but I can see using this site as inspiration/models for students creating their own infographics. I looked at a couple: The Mobile Lives of College Students and Breakdown of a Person's Google Results. Both were well done. Most of the infographics appear to be directed towards the business world and marketing trends. They were a bit hard to see on my iPhone. Probably, this app would be more effective on an iPad. I would definitely consider having my own students create an infographic in place of a traditional research paper, poster, or presentation. They are on trend at the moment, and as we are becoming more and more visual learners and thinkers, I believe they are here to stay as an effective way to present information.
Thing 14: Videos
I am pretty shocked to read that over 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute onto You Tube! I have a couple of book trailers posted out there, and I certainly use You Tube videos in my own teaching. As a school librarian, I can think of a lot of uses for publishing video to promote library programs and showcase student work. For this Thing, I downloaded the popular Vine. With Vine, you can create short, looping videos to share. I have seen some videos that used Vine and they are fun to watch.
When I downloaded Vine to my iPhone, I spent some time watching the featured videos. Some people are really talented and some people are just plain weird! It's kind of funny that there are different channels. I tried to make my own video, but got stuck when the program wanted access to my microphone. I don't know if it is a bug in the program, or if my phone is (already) outdated, but the screen froze at this point, and I couldn't get it unstuck. I guess I could have explored it further, but this was a big frustration for me. Honestly, I know students are using Vine quite a bit, and I can think of ways I might incorporate it into a lesson, but I think there are more sophisticated programs that might be more beneficial.
When I downloaded Vine to my iPhone, I spent some time watching the featured videos. Some people are really talented and some people are just plain weird! It's kind of funny that there are different channels. I tried to make my own video, but got stuck when the program wanted access to my microphone. I don't know if it is a bug in the program, or if my phone is (already) outdated, but the screen froze at this point, and I couldn't get it unstuck. I guess I could have explored it further, but this was a big frustration for me. Honestly, I know students are using Vine quite a bit, and I can think of ways I might incorporate it into a lesson, but I think there are more sophisticated programs that might be more beneficial.
Thing 13: Presentations
Typically in the past, I have made my presentations using Microsoft's powerpoint. I like the program because of its ease of use and the number of themes it has. Lately, though, I have been using Google Presentation because of its ease of sharing and access. I am less savvy with Prezi, though I have created a couple. Though I have seen Haiku Deck presentations--and been impressed with them--I have never created one. So, for this Thing, I explored creating a Haiku Deck presentation on the iPad.
I watched and really liked the YALSA App of the Week video about Haiku Deck. It's great that you can easily incorporate Creative Commons images without going outside of the presentation to CC Search. I love the search feature within the program. There are 5 free themes, which seem to work fine for most, and the user interface seems pretty intuitive. Though I will most likely stick to Powerpoint or Google Presentation in my own work, simply because I like working on my laptop better, I would definitely consider using Haiku deck with a class of iPad users.
I watched and really liked the YALSA App of the Week video about Haiku Deck. It's great that you can easily incorporate Creative Commons images without going outside of the presentation to CC Search. I love the search feature within the program. There are 5 free themes, which seem to work fine for most, and the user interface seems pretty intuitive. Though I will most likely stick to Powerpoint or Google Presentation in my own work, simply because I like working on my laptop better, I would definitely consider using Haiku deck with a class of iPad users.
(Oops--this one is out of order) Thing 10: Sharing Photos
As I said, I often only share photos on my Facebook page, or send them in an email. I do also have Flickr account that is set to a private mode for friends and family only. For this Thing, I logged back into my Instagram account (where I have only one photo posted) and grudgingly added the infamous SnapChat to my phone. Though I did "snapchat" once with a friend, I honestly don't think I will use either again any time soon. Still, I am glad to know about them and how they work.
As a side note, last week, I took my 12th grade English class to the computer lab and had them Google their name, then click on images. Some students found only a couple photos of themselves, but the majority of the class was shocked at the number of images that appeared. A couple of the female students were downright distraught to find photos of themselves that they found unflattering and/or inappropriate. One girl had tears in her eyes as she asked how to erase these, and I had to tell her that she couldn't.
I have to say I was sort of shocked that so many students had never thought to do this, and it was a great lesson for them. Not only should they be wary of who is taking and posting pictures of them, but they should be careful to get permission from others. By the way, there is only one picture of me out there on a Google search, and an unflattering one at that, taken at an awards ceremony by the MLIS department and subsequently posted on their blog. I know I am going off on a tangent here, but I think we just have to be careful as school librarians as we potentially post pictures of students on our library website's and such that we do have permission and that we think about the consequences.
As a side note, last week, I took my 12th grade English class to the computer lab and had them Google their name, then click on images. Some students found only a couple photos of themselves, but the majority of the class was shocked at the number of images that appeared. A couple of the female students were downright distraught to find photos of themselves that they found unflattering and/or inappropriate. One girl had tears in her eyes as she asked how to erase these, and I had to tell her that she couldn't.
I have to say I was sort of shocked that so many students had never thought to do this, and it was a great lesson for them. Not only should they be wary of who is taking and posting pictures of them, but they should be careful to get permission from others. By the way, there is only one picture of me out there on a Google search, and an unflattering one at that, taken at an awards ceremony by the MLIS department and subsequently posted on their blog. I know I am going off on a tangent here, but I think we just have to be careful as school librarians as we potentially post pictures of students on our library website's and such that we do have permission and that we think about the consequences.
Thing 12: Books, Books, and More Books
Speaking of audio books waiting list frustration, I am excited to learn about the free Audiobooks app! I downloaded this app onto my phone and in the genre section, found Teen and Young Adult. It looks like most of the selections are classic/public domain texts like Anne of Green Gables and Heidi. I listened to a bit of the free versions of Anne of Green Gables and Gulliver's Travels. There were fine recordings with good readers. I wonder how much of a difference the "upgrade" would make, but I wasn't willing to spend any money to find out. Certainly this app will not help me stay current with the latest teen fiction, but I can see it being useful in the classroom as a free aid for students studying classic literature, or for car rides with my own kids.
I also installed YALSA's Teen Book Finder. It is helpful app, especially on a mobile device. It provides you with today's hot picks, and search menu by title, author, genre, year, award, and booklist. You can add books to your favorites page as well. I can see this being a very helpful tool when helping students with what to read next. I especially like the search by genre feature. Of course, it won't be linked to the Destiny catalog, but it is just another tool to help me provide titles and authors to students, and for them to search it by themselves.
I also installed YALSA's Teen Book Finder. It is helpful app, especially on a mobile device. It provides you with today's hot picks, and search menu by title, author, genre, year, award, and booklist. You can add books to your favorites page as well. I can see this being a very helpful tool when helping students with what to read next. I especially like the search by genre feature. Of course, it won't be linked to the Destiny catalog, but it is just another tool to help me provide titles and authors to students, and for them to search it by themselves.
Thing 11: Library and Reference
I think it is really smart for ELM and the county libraries to develop phone apps, and I'm sure this is a Thing that I can definitely use with students. I downloaded the Hennepin County Library mobile app onto my phone and I find it very user friendly. It is easy to check my account and search the library catalog. I also downloaded Overdrive for audio books. One of my definite "growth areas" is catching up on popular YA books. There are so many good ones to recommend to students, and so little time for me to read them! In order to maximize my reading time, I bought an iPod just for audio books in the car. It is easy to find audio books on the Hennepin County Library page, download them via Overdrive, and listen during my commute time. So far, I have listened to Caprice Crane's Confession of a Hater and Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races. The only problem, of course, is that these books are often "checked out" and so I am relegated to the waiting lists for new and hot releases.
Unfortunately, though our school library does have CDs of books to check out, we do not subscribe to Overdrive. I'm not sure how much it is, but I do think that more students would be interested in checking out audio books if they were available in a digital format. I'm not sure how many know about the county library's selection, but it is something worth promoting.
Unfortunately, though our school library does have CDs of books to check out, we do not subscribe to Overdrive. I'm not sure how much it is, but I do think that more students would be interested in checking out audio books if they were available in a digital format. I'm not sure how many know about the county library's selection, but it is something worth promoting.
Thing 9: Taking and Editing Photos
Like most people, I have ditched my camera (where is that thing, anyway?) because my phone is always with me and the picture quality seems just fine for my needs. I think this is a real generational gap. My parents constantly lament that I don't have any pictures to give them. I tend to take photos on my camera, download them to my iPhoto folders on my computer, maybe post a few to Facebook, and forget about the rest. My digital photo management is truly terrible. I have no rhyme or reason to how I store them, and I just need to sit down for a month or two and sort them all out.
Anyway, for this Thing, I downloaded LINE camera onto my iPhone. It is a cheerful little app with the bear and bunny announcing that we are going to "start the fun!" There are a lot of filters to choose from, too many to really see much of a difference, but I loved that you can add text easily and draw on the pictures. Of course, they want to make money, so fancy frames and such cost money, but I can see myself using this app quite a bit. It is much more intuitive (and much less expensive) than Photoshop!
Anyway, for this Thing, I downloaded LINE camera onto my iPhone. It is a cheerful little app with the bear and bunny announcing that we are going to "start the fun!" There are a lot of filters to choose from, too many to really see much of a difference, but I loved that you can add text easily and draw on the pictures. Of course, they want to make money, so fancy frames and such cost money, but I can see myself using this app quite a bit. It is much more intuitive (and much less expensive) than Photoshop!
Thing 8: Social Media Management Tools
I am not super active on social media, so I really don't have a need for an app to manage what little activity I have. I am on Facebook, but mostly it's a personal endeavor, just to keep up with old friends, and I haven't been posting much lately. I did decide, however, to download the Twitter app to my phone, and though I previously had an account, I had never actually Tweeted something before this semester. Now I am up to a whopping 8 Tweets, and have 9 followers (though I actually do not know a couple of them).
Twitter is just a weird thing that I am trying to get a handle on. I know that most of my students are much more active on Twitter than they are on Facebook, and certainly the library community is alive and well there. I added lots of school and other librarians to follow and I have been enjoying their updates and snippets of their conversations with each other. For instance, last Saturday, I noticed that lots of librarians were tweeting from the GAFE conference that was here in the cities. I had not known about it, but it was interesting to read their tweets and follow their links to some of the presentations. I also get a kick out of following some YA authors on Twitter as well. John Green and Rainbow Rowell are especially active and funny. I'm not sure if they mean it this way, but it is a great marketing strategy. As for my own tweets, I struggle a bit with what to say, since so few people follow me. But, I am approaching it as a professional tool alone, and not tweeting about my personal life.
Twitter is just a weird thing that I am trying to get a handle on. I know that most of my students are much more active on Twitter than they are on Facebook, and certainly the library community is alive and well there. I added lots of school and other librarians to follow and I have been enjoying their updates and snippets of their conversations with each other. For instance, last Saturday, I noticed that lots of librarians were tweeting from the GAFE conference that was here in the cities. I had not known about it, but it was interesting to read their tweets and follow their links to some of the presentations. I also get a kick out of following some YA authors on Twitter as well. John Green and Rainbow Rowell are especially active and funny. I'm not sure if they mean it this way, but it is a great marketing strategy. As for my own tweets, I struggle a bit with what to say, since so few people follow me. But, I am approaching it as a professional tool alone, and not tweeting about my personal life.
Thing 7: Content Saving and Sharing
I am already an avid Pinterest user, so it feels like cheating to write about this one, but I will comment on how I use it professionally. I found that there is a wealth of information for school librarians on Pinterest. Everything from pictures of library displays, to book lists, to tech hits. I am "following" quite a few school librarians and have pinned some of my own findings as well. I also use Pinterest as a quick visual reminder of the YA books I have read. Right now, I have them grouped by year, though I'm not sure that is the best way to do it. When choosing titles for my book talks during student teaching, I found it useful to look at my Pinterest boards to jog my memory. Definitely a great tool. I haven't used it with students yet, though I can think of a lot of ways that it could be fun.
Thing 6: Creating and Editing Docs
For this thing, I explored SignNow. This is the "world premiere business app" purportedly used by 40% of the Fortune 1000 companies, and, interestingly, by Deron Williams to sign his $98M NBA contract. It is a cool app. I watched the video and read some of the user comments, but, honestly, I do not think I would find a use for this. We did just purchase a house, and did a lot of electronic signing over email, but I'm not sure if we used an app. I'm not sure how I would use this in the school setting.
The other two apps on this thing are Cloud On and Quick Office for editing documents and powerpoint on your iPad and iPhone. These seem much more useful to me. I do all of my work right now on my laptop, but I could see that if I were working
The other two apps on this thing are Cloud On and Quick Office for editing documents and powerpoint on your iPad and iPhone. These seem much more useful to me. I do all of my work right now on my laptop, but I could see that if I were working
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