Thing 23 - Evaluation

• Go back to your thoughts/ideas about  mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience?  I think I understand my device a lot better. I'm more comfortable with downloading apps (and deleting them if I don't think they're worthwhile).

• What were your favorite Things and discoveries?  I have never really been much for games - but I can see myself playing lots of word games!

• How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things? I actually enjoyed reading other participants  blogs.  Since I'm using a borrowed device, everything is new.  I found a couple blogs that seemed to reflect my own opinions, experiences, and interests, so I could try some of the same apps that they did.

• Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Yes, I want one of my own!  There are several apps that I would used regularly if I had them at my fingertips.

• What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content? 

• If we offered a another 23 Things program like this in the future would you participate? Yes.

• How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities to others? It made me look at the electronic world a bit differently.

Thing 22 - Discovering Apps

With Apps, just like finding good books to read, I count on lists or recommendations of friends and trusted sources.   

There were quite a few apps on Apps on today's apps gone free that I could see spending an inordinate amount of time with!

SLJ and YALSA put out lists as do many other organizations.  

My kids, co-workers and friends also have devices - so that when I actually do break down and get a device of my own, I'm sure there will be no shortage of apps to try and use.

Thing 21 - Free-for-all

Since I don't own my own device, I asked a coworker what apps he liked.  He came up with Akinator.  It is a web game  much like twenty questions where you think of a character, (obscure characters from novels are good). Through questions and answers, the app correctly identified Junie B. Jones, Scarlett O'Hara  and Bess Truman.

I also used the weather underground app.  I think I would use that one a great deal.  

Thing 20 - Games

I didn't think that I was much of a gamer - but I just spent an inordinate amount of time on word collapse!  (I guess I did know that I would like the word games).  I remember watching/helping my kids play the Sims when it first came out in the '80's.  It was fun, and I can see how much time goes by when you're focused on the details.  I get lots of notices about friends finishing many levels of candy crush saga among others on Facebook, and my daughter be oblivious to the time and miles on long drives in the car when she has a "game" going.

Of course I can spend an inordinate amount of time on crossword puzzles and soukous in the newspaper too!  

Again, some of these games leaves me wanting my own device...sigh

Thing 19 - Hobbies

What? No knitting?  Well, I signed up for Gardner.org to get ideas of plants to put in my yard that the deer and rabbits would not demolish in minutes.  Unfortunately, Gardner.org seems to be just a blogging spot - or a place to post photos of plants that you woul like someone to guess identification.  Not useful for me.  (And I couldn't figure out how to un-subscribe either).

I might like the vivino scanner app - but thought it might be inappropriate to download it onto the library's device :). 

Thing 18 - Education

There are so many fun apps out there.  I'm not exactly sure how I would use them professionally, but they sure could keep me entertained for hours.  I checked out the rhyming app - it might be fun to use in a writers/poetry. workshop with kids.  Bill Nye fascinates me though I sped through that sight pretty quickly.  I managed to find luminosity - and spent an inordinate amount of time training my brain!  I forwarded Thing 18 suggestions to my sister, a grade 5 teacher who is new to iPad world.  I hope she finds much to use with her kiddos next year.

Thing 17 - Connecting to the Community

I can see why these connect to the community apps could be pretty handy.  I checked out my alma mater SCSU.  It was fun to "see" the campus, as I have not been there for years!  The app was easy to use, but looks like it was really set up for recruitment rather than alumni.

St. Paul Connect seems like a good idea for residents to connect with street maintenance and public officials - since I'm not in St. Paul I didn't spend much time with it. 

I was lurking on some of the other 23 things blogs and found out about MN 511 app which would be really useful.  I often check the MN Dot cameras to find out about major traffic issues.  If I actually owned a device, you can be sure I would be using that one.

The Minnesota State Fair app looks pretty "sweet" too.  Maybe one of my state fair companions will own a smart phone and I won't be passing the same vendors as I walk in circles to get to my favorites.

Thing 16 - Audio

Professionally, I don't have a great need for audio recording now, but I can see some uses for it in some situations, such as recording an author presentation. However, most of the apps have limited time, so another digital recording device might make more sense for that.

I have fond memories of using a cassette tape recorder to tape myself reading bedtime stories to my young son so that he could  hear my voice when he had a babysitter.  It might be a good tool for that - as I recorded many stories on one tape, and fast forwarding to his favorite was a real pain.  With these audio apps, each oane could have their own file and the favorite would be so much easier to find!

I finished 15 things!

It hasn't been easy, but I did it!  I'm using my branch library's iPad, and really think I would like one of my own - I need to find a way to justify spending the $$$ after I just purchased MacBook.

Thing 15 - Infographics

We love statistics at the library! Check out numbers, number of circs per item, number of items in each collection, number of items per shelf, number of self check uses, ebook uses, computer hours used.  I think that if the library board monthly update used some info-graphics I might actually read the whole thing!

I used I visual info Touch Lite - only because it said "lite" and thought it would be a snap to use!  It was really pretty easy but because of that, the variety of graphics and designs was pretty limited. Of course I was using the free version, so it might be a more useful tool as a paid app.

Thing 14 - videos

I am in awe of blog mrshureads@blogspot.com  Mr. Shu does some amazing things in his k-5 library, and he often posts video using vine.  Sometimes it is kids doing something, sometimes it's the books on his hold shelf, or videos of guests in his school.  I tried out vine and it is quite simple.  I need to work on holding my iPad still, and where to start and stop (I managed to video my feet...sigh) but overall it is quite simple.  I'm not exactly thrilled that videos are automatically posted out there on the net somewhere, but maybe with some searching I can find out how to keep them "private" and post them a only where I want them.

A a major problem in the public library world is getting photo permission for anyone/everyone in a program.  I would like to use video, and Vine seems easy enough - it's just a bit too public for my professional use.

Thing 13 - Presentations

I tried both Haiku Deck and Educreations.  Both seemed pretty straight forward and easy to use.  Tutorials for some of the library research tools or for new book users might be a good use for these apps.  I had a great time looking through the "featured" lessons and could see lots of possibilities for my sister the 5th grade teacher!

Thing 12 - books and more books

I like book lists.  Though I work in a library and could browse for hours, I would rather choose books from a list.  I also like YALSA and the many many lists that it has for teens.  I was a bit disappointed with the small number of lists in the app, but still - a nice little tool for finding books in certain genres for that age demographic.