For Thing 16 I checked out SoundCloud. SoundCloud has an interesting mix of content created by well-known artists like Justin Timberlake and U2 and by comedians like Jim Gaffigan, as well as by lesser known artists and podcasters. It's very easy to record and cut an audio clip and to share it. You can follow different users that you find interesting and share your content on other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The app is easy to use and runs smoothly.
This would be a great app to use in a flipped classroom model. You could have students create podcasts or record themselves answering interview questions or record a lecture. If you send students on a site visit they could also listen to recorded information about that site. It's also a great way for students to take verbal notes.
Librarians could record short blurbs with details about upcoming programs and share these on Facebook or Twitter. I loved the idea of having readers record book reviews - you could also create book talks and post them on social media and the library website. There are a lot of Twitter and Tumblr accounts about the impact libraries and librarians have made on their customers' lives. We could encourage patrons to record their stories and share them as a collection. This would have been so fun during National Library Week - idea for next year!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Thing 15: Infographics
Infographics are GREAT! They are a great way to share synthesized information and statistics, as well as catch your audience's attention. We had a dinner event earlier this year to share information about our campus with members of the community and were asked to create flyers about our departments. I created an infographic about the library instead of a standard handout using the online Piktochart tool. I would much rather read an infographic than a pamphlet because it makes information more memorable.
The Infographics Hub app has a lot of great infographics but is kind of a bummer because it's so glitchy. It was constantly freezing and I had to kill the app several times to exit out of different infographics. If the app itself worked better it would be an awesome tool. I search for library and librarian infographics but none were available. Quite a few of the infographics I viewed were created by companies so that's something to consider when looking at the information presented.
The Info.graphics app is very similar to Infographics Hub, although it has a nicer look. It was also kind of glitchy. I'm not sure if it's because of the amount of data the apps are accessing or what, but it was frustrating to use these apps. I found more infographics that would be useful for an academic library using Info.graphics. I'd stick with this app for searching and browsing categories.
The Infographics Hub app has a lot of great infographics but is kind of a bummer because it's so glitchy. It was constantly freezing and I had to kill the app several times to exit out of different infographics. If the app itself worked better it would be an awesome tool. I search for library and librarian infographics but none were available. Quite a few of the infographics I viewed were created by companies so that's something to consider when looking at the information presented.
The Info.graphics app is very similar to Infographics Hub, although it has a nicer look. It was also kind of glitchy. I'm not sure if it's because of the amount of data the apps are accessing or what, but it was frustrating to use these apps. I found more infographics that would be useful for an academic library using Info.graphics. I'd stick with this app for searching and browsing categories.
Thing 14: Videos
I have some experience creating videos with my iPad using the iMovie app. iMovie has a lot of great features and editing options. I really love the trailer creator - I've used this a few times on my campus and our students are using it various ways in class.
I decided to check out Vine because I keep seeing examples of libraries using it to advertise services and materials. Vine is very simple to use and I like being able to explore different categories of Vines that other users have created. The format looks a little like Instagram, which I'm not a huge fan of. I do like that you can post right to Facebook. I use our library's Facebook to send updates to students and it would be a great way to let people know what new items the library has received.
Magisto takes a lot of the work out of creating a movie. You choose the images or video that you want to use, choose one of their pre-selected songs, and let Magisto put the movie together. Magisto puts together pretty cool videos and the videos center on people fairly well. I also like all of the options that Magisto gives you to share your videos.
Magisto and Vine are both good options for sharing information about the library. I think it would be cool to use Magisto to create ads for events that are coming up on campus as well as to highlight what's going on in the library.
I decided to check out Vine because I keep seeing examples of libraries using it to advertise services and materials. Vine is very simple to use and I like being able to explore different categories of Vines that other users have created. The format looks a little like Instagram, which I'm not a huge fan of. I do like that you can post right to Facebook. I use our library's Facebook to send updates to students and it would be a great way to let people know what new items the library has received.
Magisto takes a lot of the work out of creating a movie. You choose the images or video that you want to use, choose one of their pre-selected songs, and let Magisto put the movie together. Magisto puts together pretty cool videos and the videos center on people fairly well. I also like all of the options that Magisto gives you to share your videos.
Magisto and Vine are both good options for sharing information about the library. I think it would be cool to use Magisto to create ads for events that are coming up on campus as well as to highlight what's going on in the library.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Thing 13: Presentations
Working with college students who use tablets daily has introduced me to a lot of presentation apps, including Keynote, Slideshark, Prezi, PowerPoint, HaikuDeck, Nearpod, Flowboard, SlideIdea, and Educreations. Out of all of the options I have explored I use Slideshark the most, simply because it is easy to use and loads my PC-created PowerPoints easily and doesn't mess with the formatting.
HaikuDeck is great if you have the flexibility to use their images. Some of them don't really fit with the academic presentations that our students are expected to give. They might work if you have a more general topic, but otherwise they are ill-fitting. I ended up deleting this app because I just didn't like the layout.
I really like how professional slides can look using Flowboard. There's a lot of great ways to layout content and link to videos and other media. Flowboard would be my choice for presenting on business topics because it has an extra polish that some of the other presentation apps don't offer.
HaikuDeck is great if you have the flexibility to use their images. Some of them don't really fit with the academic presentations that our students are expected to give. They might work if you have a more general topic, but otherwise they are ill-fitting. I ended up deleting this app because I just didn't like the layout.
I really like how professional slides can look using Flowboard. There's a lot of great ways to layout content and link to videos and other media. Flowboard would be my choice for presenting on business topics because it has an extra polish that some of the other presentation apps don't offer.
Thing 12: Books, Books, and More Books
I love to read (librarian, duh) and have a reading list that stretches from here to Texas, so this Thing was dangerous.
I explored Wattpad first and immediately recommended it to my sister, who is a writer. This is a great way to bring together writers and readers and let writers get some feedback on what they're writing. It also seemed like a great way to connect readers with more of what they crave. The app was fairly easy to use, although I felt kind of stuck inside books sometimes until I tapped just right and the menu would appear. I thought it was great how writers could create from inside the apps as well, although I couldn't see a way to import a Word document or anything like that. As a reader the downside is that you might have to sort through a lot of less than great writing before you find something that you like. I see this app as more of a support and connection system between writers than necessarily an app for people who are solely readers.
At first I was very excited about YALSA's Teen Book Finder. However, it's pretty limited as to what it can do. There are only a few hot picks listed and no way to connect to similar titles. There's not a lot offered as far as genres go and those that are offered are far too broad. I can't determine exactly what the point is of this app. At first it seems like it's supposed to be a reader's advisory discovery app, but the options are so limited it doesn't seem like it would be helpful for that.
As far as reader's advisory goes, the most helpful app I've used so far is Goodreads. The rating and recommendation systems are very sleek and helpful in finding new books for users to read.
I explored Wattpad first and immediately recommended it to my sister, who is a writer. This is a great way to bring together writers and readers and let writers get some feedback on what they're writing. It also seemed like a great way to connect readers with more of what they crave. The app was fairly easy to use, although I felt kind of stuck inside books sometimes until I tapped just right and the menu would appear. I thought it was great how writers could create from inside the apps as well, although I couldn't see a way to import a Word document or anything like that. As a reader the downside is that you might have to sort through a lot of less than great writing before you find something that you like. I see this app as more of a support and connection system between writers than necessarily an app for people who are solely readers.
At first I was very excited about YALSA's Teen Book Finder. However, it's pretty limited as to what it can do. There are only a few hot picks listed and no way to connect to similar titles. There's not a lot offered as far as genres go and those that are offered are far too broad. I can't determine exactly what the point is of this app. At first it seems like it's supposed to be a reader's advisory discovery app, but the options are so limited it doesn't seem like it would be helpful for that.
As far as reader's advisory goes, the most helpful app I've used so far is Goodreads. The rating and recommendation systems are very sleek and helpful in finding new books for users to read.
Thing 11: Library and Reference
My academic library subscribes to a collection of Zinio eJournals/eMagazines. I'm also able to access additional eMagazines through Zinio with my Hennepin County Library card.
My academic library's access to Zinio requires a two-part log in process, which sometimes causes confusion to the students when they first try to access Zinio. First they must access the Zinio database through our library's website and create an account there. Once they've created an account they can check out magazines. Once they checkout the magazine they then have to reenter that information into the Zinio app to be able to access their reading materials. It can be a bit of a process for our less tech savvy students.
What's great about Zinio is that once you've checked out a magazine you can download it to your Zinio app and be able to read it offline. This does take space on your iPad, so you'll want to delete issues that you're no longer reading.
Zinio also offers the option to explore and read selected articles from various magazines for free. The options available are updated regularly.
I think as more and more journals become available as eJournals that academic usership of apps like Zinio will increase and students will have access to an increasingly wide variety of journals.
My academic library's access to Zinio requires a two-part log in process, which sometimes causes confusion to the students when they first try to access Zinio. First they must access the Zinio database through our library's website and create an account there. Once they've created an account they can check out magazines. Once they checkout the magazine they then have to reenter that information into the Zinio app to be able to access their reading materials. It can be a bit of a process for our less tech savvy students.
What's great about Zinio is that once you've checked out a magazine you can download it to your Zinio app and be able to read it offline. This does take space on your iPad, so you'll want to delete issues that you're no longer reading.
Zinio also offers the option to explore and read selected articles from various magazines for free. The options available are updated regularly.
I think as more and more journals become available as eJournals that academic usership of apps like Zinio will increase and students will have access to an increasingly wide variety of journals.
Thing 10: Sharing Photos
The apps listed for Thing 10 are Instagram and Snapchat. I already use both of these apps, although not as frequently as others. I don't take a lot of pictures, although I do enjoy seeing what other people are sharing. Does that make me a lurker?
In my experience, Instagram is great for following photos by celebs. I think that I just might be more of the Facebook generation, because all of the people I know personally see tend to post photos there more than on Instagram. Instagram for the iPad has a sloppy interface; the app is built for smart phones, which becomes obvious when you use it on your iPad. I'm also not a big fan of the how hashtags appear in Instagram. If Instagram built a smoother iPad app I think I'd use it more than I use their current app.
I also use Snapchat on occasion. Again, I think this just might be a generational gap thing. I only have one friend who uses Snapchat on a regular basis. I kind of find Snaps more intruding than text messages. There's more steps to viewing them than to viewing a message that comes through by text. The feature that might be the most useful is the ability to limit the amount of time viewers can see your Snaps. Unless they're savvy enough to get a screen shot, you don't have to worry much about photos getting saved without your permission. And Snapchat lets you know if someone does take a screenshot.
After revisiting each of these apps I don't think that I will increase my use of either of them, unless Instagram comes up with a better iPad app.
In my experience, Instagram is great for following photos by celebs. I think that I just might be more of the Facebook generation, because all of the people I know personally see tend to post photos there more than on Instagram. Instagram for the iPad has a sloppy interface; the app is built for smart phones, which becomes obvious when you use it on your iPad. I'm also not a big fan of the how hashtags appear in Instagram. If Instagram built a smoother iPad app I think I'd use it more than I use their current app.
I also use Snapchat on occasion. Again, I think this just might be a generational gap thing. I only have one friend who uses Snapchat on a regular basis. I kind of find Snaps more intruding than text messages. There's more steps to viewing them than to viewing a message that comes through by text. The feature that might be the most useful is the ability to limit the amount of time viewers can see your Snaps. Unless they're savvy enough to get a screen shot, you don't have to worry much about photos getting saved without your permission. And Snapchat lets you know if someone does take a screenshot.
After revisiting each of these apps I don't think that I will increase my use of either of them, unless Instagram comes up with a better iPad app.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Thing 9: Taking and Editing Photos
I don't usually do a lot of photo editing, except maybe to fix red eye or crop to fit. For this Thing I checked out LINE Camera and Color Splurge.
I found it frustrating that both of these apps only worked in portrait mode and would not switch to landscape on my iPad. Landscape mode is easier for me to navigate.
LINECamera had great options for photo collages, which I use a lot in library marketing. It included a lot of different formats - something that is hard to find in other photo collage apps. Some of the Beauty editing features were a bit comical, as they seemed to give the photo subjects an anime look. I also don't know what I would do with the stamps feature - I think that stuff is kind of cheesy. Younger kids would probably think this app is fun. If I use this app it would be for the collage features only.
Color Splurge was a fun app, but includes a lot of adds that caused the app to crash over and over. I think that adding a pop of color to black and white photos is a fun concept. However, this app's tendency to crash made it hard to get anything accomplished - I probably won't use this one again.
I found it frustrating that both of these apps only worked in portrait mode and would not switch to landscape on my iPad. Landscape mode is easier for me to navigate.
LINECamera had great options for photo collages, which I use a lot in library marketing. It included a lot of different formats - something that is hard to find in other photo collage apps. Some of the Beauty editing features were a bit comical, as they seemed to give the photo subjects an anime look. I also don't know what I would do with the stamps feature - I think that stuff is kind of cheesy. Younger kids would probably think this app is fun. If I use this app it would be for the collage features only.
Color Splurge was a fun app, but includes a lot of adds that caused the app to crash over and over. I think that adding a pop of color to black and white photos is a fun concept. However, this app's tendency to crash made it hard to get anything accomplished - I probably won't use this one again.
Thing 8: Social Media Management Tools
I run a Facebook page for our library and usually use Facebook's Pages app to schedule and manage posts. This app works well for the things I'm posting. I typically schedule most of my posts for the week ahead of time and then let Pages post for me as the week progresses. I can add photos, locations, and choose the exact time that I want future posts to be made.
I explored HootSuite for this Thing as well. I connected my library's Facebook page with HootSuite and it works very similarly to Pages, with the addition of translation and shrinking links. The translation option is awesome, but I don't have any reason to translate most of my posts. Shrinking links is also a great idea, although Pages basically does the same thing automatically with a thumbnail that you can click on instead of the link. You can also direct message contacts, although when I post I'm normally posting for my entire following audience.
Because I'm already comfortable and don't need another social media management system I'll stick with Facebook Pages for now.
I explored HootSuite for this Thing as well. I connected my library's Facebook page with HootSuite and it works very similarly to Pages, with the addition of translation and shrinking links. The translation option is awesome, but I don't have any reason to translate most of my posts. Shrinking links is also a great idea, although Pages basically does the same thing automatically with a thumbnail that you can click on instead of the link. You can also direct message contacts, although when I post I'm normally posting for my entire following audience.
Because I'm already comfortable and don't need another social media management system I'll stick with Facebook Pages for now.
Thing 7: Content Sharing and Saving
I am a Pinterest addict. It's useful and entertaining. I find ideas for library programming, recipes, home decor, gifts, and more using Pinterest. If I'm looking for a recipe I'll start with a Pinterest search, rather than a Google search. I love that I can add my own content to Pinterest as well as view content added by others.
One pin described Pinterest as a form of digital hoarding, which is a pretty accurate description. If you like a pin, you'd better pin it or you might not find it again. With over 3.5K pins, my boards have become a little unwieldy and need to be reorganized. I wish that you could create sub-boards for your existing boards. But hey, that's a librarian for you.
One thing I love is the ability to follow only certain content from your Pinterest friends. I can follow my sister's recipe board, but I don't have to follow her knitting board (Pinterest is a gold mine for crafters, which I am not).
It's easy to share content with your friends and followers. You can even view related pins to the one you're looking at, which I've found helpful on numerous occasions. Pinterest has quickly become my favorite social media site.
One pin described Pinterest as a form of digital hoarding, which is a pretty accurate description. If you like a pin, you'd better pin it or you might not find it again. With over 3.5K pins, my boards have become a little unwieldy and need to be reorganized. I wish that you could create sub-boards for your existing boards. But hey, that's a librarian for you.
One thing I love is the ability to follow only certain content from your Pinterest friends. I can follow my sister's recipe board, but I don't have to follow her knitting board (Pinterest is a gold mine for crafters, which I am not).
It's easy to share content with your friends and followers. You can even view related pins to the one you're looking at, which I've found helpful on numerous occasions. Pinterest has quickly become my favorite social media site.
Thing 6: Creating and Editing Docs
Oh man, this has been an ongoing debate on our campus. When students received their tablets they immediately wanted to use it like a laptop and use it to type their research papers. However, their tablets were not meant to replace computers, only to supplement.
We explored several apps for creating and editing docs, including CloudOn, QuickOffice, Pages, GoogleDrive, and more. These apps were great options for quick documents, but not for the editing features that students needed to polish assignments. CloudOn didn't have all the editing tools students wanted, QuickOffice wasn't free, Pages looked different than Word, GoogleDrive required a Google Account.
But now, students are happily plugging along using Office365 and Microsoft Word for their tablet. They have free accounts connected to their student email, which has made creating and editing documents on their tablets a much easier process and one that is much closer to the one with which they were familiar.
We explored several apps for creating and editing docs, including CloudOn, QuickOffice, Pages, GoogleDrive, and more. These apps were great options for quick documents, but not for the editing features that students needed to polish assignments. CloudOn didn't have all the editing tools students wanted, QuickOffice wasn't free, Pages looked different than Word, GoogleDrive required a Google Account.
But now, students are happily plugging along using Office365 and Microsoft Word for their tablet. They have free accounts connected to their student email, which has made creating and editing documents on their tablets a much easier process and one that is much closer to the one with which they were familiar.
Thing 5: Notetaking
Previous to this post the only note taking app I used was the Apple Notes app. It's easy to use and syncs between my iPhone and iPad, which is really helpful when I'm adding to my grocery list from my nearest device.
I have played around with Evernote, but haven't found a great use for it. I don't find it very easy to jump between Evernote and whatever other app I'm using. I don't do a lot of recording or voice commands, unless I'm using Siri to text, so taking notes with audio feels uncomfortable to me. I do see that it could be useful for students, though.
I have played around with Evernote, but haven't found a great use for it. I don't find it very easy to jump between Evernote and whatever other app I'm using. I don't do a lot of recording or voice commands, unless I'm using Siri to text, so taking notes with audio feels uncomfortable to me. I do see that it could be useful for students, though.
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