Thing #17

For thing #17 I decided to give the app NNC Now a chance because the news is always good to know and with the weather we have had lately it's not a bad idea to know what is going on there either. I found this app extremely user friendly. It was easy to download and very easy to navigate. I was able to view everything from the top news to sports and everything in-between. I think this app is a great one to have on your phone because it is like having a newscaster at the palm of your hands. I think this app also is a great way to have a conversation starter. Many of the people that go into the library are of the older generation and the news and weather is a great topic to bring up when you don't know what else to say ( besides talking about books that is ). I'm glad that I gave this app a good try and will definitely be keeping it on my phone.

I looked at a wide variety of the other apps and have decided to for-go those apps as most of them have to do with stuff down in the southern part of the state. I am way up in Northern Minnesota and have no use for a lot of the information. I'm sure they are great apps for people that live in that area or who plan on visiting that area frequently.

Thing #14

Thing #14 is all about videos and making videos. I'm not a big fan of the whole "selfie" thing so in order to get this one done I'm going to let my kids experiment with it and see how it goes. 

 Vine: I have to say one of the first things that surprised me about this app was the fact that it made you confirm that you are over the age of 17 due to the material of Vine. I thought this was a little odd but any who... Here was my experience with this app. First off I was really surprised that this was a feed type app. It allows lots of people to view your videos. I don't think I will be posting anything virally due to this. Another thing I noticed is that it only allows you to find friends via Twitter or email and for someone like me that uses Facebook more than the other two options, I'm tough out of luck finding friends. 

Thing #15

InfoGraphics.... Never heard of the term before. Apparently Infographics is a hot new buzz word that allows you to display information visually. This sounds interesting so let's give it a try...

 
info.Graphics: At first glance after downloading the app, it reminded me of a variety of different flyers showing off what was going on or information that they had collected. I must say that they are very neatly done. After multiply tries to get this app to open and run, I have given up. It would let me do anything. So much for learning.....

(Throughout this process, I did have trouble with the app as it kept on closing on me and freezing up :( Not something that you want with an app that you are using. It could just be my device?? I don't know for sure.) 

If the app worked it seems like a great resource that you can use to advertise different programs that are going on at the library. It is creative and very colorful. It provides a great opportunity to get the word out there via virtual network sites. This would be a great tool to use when posting new information on a library Facebook page!

**Note** I was unable to find the apps, Visualize Free and Infographics Hub. They must not have these apps available anymore.

Thing #13

For thing #13, it is all focused on presentations. I have never done anything like this on my phone but think it is an interesting concept. I have done many presentations on my computer at home and I find this extremely fun and easy to do. It is a great way to make a presentation and get your point across. 

Deck Slideshow Presentations:  At first glance, I find this extremely confusing to use. So I decided to watch the introduction video which explains what "deck" is all about.After watching the introduction video, I have to admit that I'm still a little confused. After messing around with it for a little bit, I got the concept of how to make a presentation. I have to say that this is a neat little app but it's not something that I will probably use in the future. I find power point presentations on the computer so much easier to use and more user friendly. 

Here is a good website that I came upon to help explain what deck is all about and how to use it more effectively: http://deck.in/

Educreations: I tried to find this app because it looked like it might be interesting. Unfortunately, I could not find it in the app store on my iPhone. Boo :(

Thing #20

I need to get back on track.... so I'm skipping to Thing #20, The Games.

 Despicable Me: Minion Rush- This game is a family favorite for us. My daughters, which are 6 and 4, love this game. It is easy to play (especially when my 6 year old does better than me). Pretty much you get control of the minion by moving your finger over the minion and leading him on the path. You have to watch out for the obstacles that are in the way though because once you run into something and get hit, game over. There are many games out there like this but this one is our favorite. 

 Candy Crush: I think everyone that has some sort of device has played this game at one time or another. It is very addicting at first but I found that it gets very frustrating at times when you run into the problem of not being able to beat a level. Than you play the game of waiting for more lives or until the time re-energizes. I have to admit that I have given up on this game completely as I don't need this little frustration in my life. Good luck to all that are still going strong. 

Thing #12.... I feel like we are Dr. Suess lol

iStorybooks: On the particular thing, I had never heard of any of the apps so I decided to start with one that sounded interesting to me. This app caught my eye because I have two daughters at home that love to read different stories and we come into problems sometimes when we run out of books to read over the long weekend. I thought this app would be wonderful as it has books on hand for that time of need. When opening this app I was surprised that you only got a few free books to read unless you wanted to purchase more. The books were also more educational than I was looking for but enjoyable non-the-less.

Pros: 1. Great pictures

2. Educational 

3. Great story lines

Cons: 1. Small text to read

2. Few books to choose from

3. All educational books for the most part. 

Thing #11

Library Apps:

Unfortunately our little library does not have a library app available for download so I decided to try out one of the other libraries apps listed on the mobile page. 

Anoka County Library: Upon opening this app I was surprised by the amount of options that you are given. You are able to search the library catalog, look at your accoutn, booklook by ISPN number, download ebooks, look at their event calendar, locate their library and even ask the librarian a question. I decided to search the library catalog to see what kinds of things that I could find. I searched for the author Jodi Picoult and was given a list of various titles that were available in there system. Overall I think this is a great app that serves a wide variety of different purposes.... now if only we could get something like this for our library..... 

Ebooks: We do have ebooks at the library!! I, myself, use the overdrive app to access books that are in the library system. This is an easy and convenient app to use and it gets more and more popular everyday. The only downfall of downloading books on overdrive is sometimes they are not available for quite awhile. The other problem that I have seen patron's have is the inability to get the book to open and stay on the page that they left off on. On my phone I also use the Kindle app alot and find that I can open books from Overdrive in that app and it works better for me. I enjoy reading books on these apps when I'm on the go or in a stop where I'm not going to take a huge book with me. The only downfall is when looking at a little screen to read a book, you end up with headaches or your eyes start to hurt.

 Some ebooks that I recommend: 
- The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen
- Hopeless by Colleen Hoover 
- Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan 
- Slammed by Colleen Hoover 
- Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

And finally my new badge: