#23thingsmn

[cmcoats]

23 Things

The day is almost over and my attempt to get them all done in one day did not work. However, I am having a lot of fun with this and will continue doing them anyway. 

#23ThingsMN

[todaysbestbook]

Thing 23! Evaluate 23 Things

Go back to your thoughts/ideas about mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience? I don't think so... I still think mobile devices and apps are fabulous for both professional and personal use. There are so many tasks you can complete faster (and with more flexibility) in an app than on a website. Of course, mobile devices have not yet gotten to the point of replacing PCs. What were your favorite Things and discoveries? I liked the education Thing a lot. I also am really excited to try out more infographic apps! How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things? I followed a lot of the participants who we're blogging on Tumblr. I also followed the 23 Mobile Things MN tumblr. I didn't really look at any bloggers outside of Tumblr, though. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? It was about what I expected. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content? I like that we're evaluating the program, but am more comfortable with private, anonymous evaluations. Not that I have anything to say that I can't say publicly, thank goodness!! If we offered a another 23 Things program like this in the future would you participate? For sure! Thank you so much MN Multitypes!! 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? This was a fun and useful professional growth opportunity for me. I love finding new ways to use my iPad for work!

#23thingsMN

[drlambright]

Thing #23 - Evaluate 23 Mobile Things

Great job to everyone who worked on this program!  I am amazed at the depth of the things and sheer amount of research that went in to documenting each of them for our benefit.  Well done!

I learned about a few new apps, for good or bad, which is exactly what I was looking for.  So mission accomplished.  I was a little surprised not to see an eBook reader Thing.  Seems like that would have been a natural fit.

Or maybe not.  The eBook landscape is complex enough that it probably warrants its own program.  Which I think would be the logical follow-up for this one.  23 eBook Things on a Stick?  Stretching it out for 23 whole things might be a challenge, although that might depend on how broadly you define the topic.  There are a lot of free eBook sites, there's software like calibre to manage your eBooks, there's book rating sites like GoodReads (not limited to eBooks but still sort of applicable), etc.  With a little creativity, I'll bet you could come up with 23 eBook Things.  Especially if you include eAudiobooks.

Of course, many of these Things would involve commercial sites where you'd have to buy an eBook to use the platform and I can see that being a barrier to some people/libraries.  Not sure I have a great answer to that one.

#23thingsmn

[librarianthehorrible]

Thing #23: Evaluate 23 Mobile Things

Go back to your thoughts/ideas about  mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience?

I was a pretty heavy mobile device user already, so I can't say there have been major changes.  But I did learn about a few new apps!

What were your favorite Things and discoveries?

Working on with youth and on the Social Media Team at my library, the things that were most helpful were the #9 Taking and Editing Photos, #14 Videos, and #21 Free-for-all in which I explored kid's programming apps.

How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things?

Followed other people on Tumblr, occasionally tweeted using the hashtag.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Not that I can think of!

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

There were a lot that I couldn't see myself applying at the library. Might be more helpful to promote apps that people have reported using in their work (as well as utilities), even if it ends up being more like 11 Things.

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

Probably wouldn't go whole hog again anytime soon - it was a time commitment. However, I would use it to read through a pick a few new apps.

#23ThingsMN

[itstirvin]

Thing #23 - Evaluate 23 Mobile Things

Thinking back in the Things I’ve complete for this program there are a few things I’ve taken away. The first thing that comes to mind is that my iPad does have some more powerful capabilities for professional looking work than I have been using it for. Whether document editing or slideshow creation, I could have been using some more powerful tools than the ones I had.

The one Thing that surprised me most was the Infographic (still dislike buzzword names) Thing. Going into it, I didn’t expect to be so engrossed by the images presented. Honestly, I deleted the app because I know I would waste many otherwise productive hours looking through it.

I had a hard time evaluating these Things for library use simply because my job is more office job than library job. Document creation and professional presentation are more important to me than engaging patrons simply because I rarely deal with patrons directly and haven’t worked in a public-facing library in several years now.

In one sentence: “I explored the capabilities of mobile technology whether venturing into known depths or testing out new waters.”

#23thingsmn

[ann356]

Thing 7 Pinterest

Thing 7 with Pinterest is so easy that I feel guilty (almost).

My friend, Betty, introduced me to Pinterest when we were planning a wine & cheese fundraiser for church. We wanted to offer a selection of hors d’oeuvres sufficient enough that folks felt our menu matched their donation. “Down In The Valley” was my first board and it was a collection of possible recipes, all with the beauty of food prep photos, ingredients, and directions in one location without guessing.

I’ve gone on to boards for knitting and gardening, as well as Formula 1 racing, although that is a bit tough as the FIA locks down all its pix!

In honor of Thing 7, I made a new board featuring the start of a collection of bread & butter recipes.

Yum!

#23thingsmn

[viggypop]

Thing 4 - Keeping up - RSS

RSS feeds are a wonder and I greatly miss Google Reader.  I still feel lost without it.  I could gripe on and on about the senseless demise of such a wonderful product, but I will refrain.  I have searched high and low for a replacement but nothing quite matched up to Google Reader ( I loved the search feature, and the freeness).  

I tried Google Currents, which worked quite well, but it lacked a desktop/browser component.  It was purely mobile only.  Now Google is pushing out Google Play Newstand which is still mobile only.

I ended up sticking with Feedly.  It is easy to use, I signed up with my Google account, so my previous feeds were all right there.  And it had a desktop function.  Feedly allows you to tag articles (which is a feature that is missing on the mobile app) and save articles for later.   It does offer a search feature, but it is only part of the paid premium version.  If you are looking for a particular article you need to scroll and scroll to find it, if you are using the desktop version it is best to rely on tags to find older articles.

Reading Feedly on the iPad or Android is easy on the eyes and the navigating functions are easy to use.  I just wish search was include in the free version....

Organizing is also super easy.  You can set up your own categories/groups.

Writing this really makes me miss Google Reader.

#googlereader #feedly #23ThingsMN

[lourdeslibrary]

Thing 6 - Creating/Editing Docs

When I first got my iPad a few years back - one of the hardest things to do was to figure out the best way to create/work with documents (particularly in myPC-based work world). I started with CloudOn and also used an old version of Office for iPad. As I have moved more and more into the "Google-sphere", Quickoffice and the related Google apps have become my word processing apps of choice. I really like some of the things that Pages does, but (again) they don't always play nice with my IT department. With that experience already under my belt. I decided to give SignNow a try. I must say that I really like this app - it is incredibly easy to use and ends up looking very nice in the final product. The fact that you can add both handwritten and typed text to an existing document is really nice. I still need to do some playing around with the app to figure out all the ways to get a document into the app (I have only uploaded emailed documents so far) but I really can see this as being a very useful tool in the future.

#23thingsmn #thing6 #signnow #quickoffice

[cmcoats]

Thing 14: Video

When our library's Social Media Committee held a focus group on social media, the students raved about Vine. I downloaded it and did a search for "library" and found lots of videos in libraries, and many of these videos were of college students. 

I'm not sure I would find much use for this in my personal life since it seems more popular with teenagers than people my age. But our library could use Vine to connect to students, perhaps we could have our student workers to create the content that the library shares on Vine. 

#23ThingsMN

[todaysbestbook]

Thing 22! Discovering Apps I've used both the Apps Gone Free and AppsFire to discover new apps. This is something I did a lot when I first got my iPad. They post a lot of games and photo-related apps. There are also a few productivity and every so often, an educational app. Lately, I've had more luck discovering relevant new apps by either word of mouth or by reading a "best of" blog posting. One of the apps that I've been meaning to try out that I got from Apps Gone Free or AppsFire is game press. It looks like a cool app that helps you make your own games! I haven't had time to really get into it yet. I was hoping I could use it to make a library-themed game.

#23thingsmn

[drlambright]

Thing #22 - Discovering Apps

Since iOS is my mobile platform of choice, I have been playing around with Apps Gone Free.  I like the straightforward interface.  It might be nice to have a way to search for certain apps but, to be honest, I don't know how often I'd think to go look.  As it is, I get a notification each day for new apps which I can glance through very quickly.  I don't download apps willy-nilly but, every once in awhile, I see one that grabs my attention.  Very cool.

#23thingsmn

[librarianthehorrible]

Thing #22: Discovering Apps

I've used Apps Gone Free for a while - I don't check it every day, but I have found some really great deals that way (e.g. my Runtastic Bike app, Ticket to Ride, and a pretty Tarot app).  

Quixey was new to me. I'd used www.appexplorer.com last summer to find something to use at one of my bookclubs, but I think I actually prefer Quixey.  

And of course, just googling "best apps of 2013" will always bring up something new to try!  I also get board game app reviews from the Board Game Geek forums.

#23ThingsMN

[jrmeyerhofer]

23 MOBILE THINGS - THING 23

THING 23 - Evaluate 23 Mobile Things - 23 Mobile Things - Thing 23

Its been a push to get all 23 things finished by the June 15th end date, but what a great program! I’ve enjoyed trying out most of the apps and the program gave me an excuse to try apps that I’ve always wanted to try but didn’t have the time. It also forced me to try apps that I never would have tried. So the big question is: Which apps am I still using? Pocket, Instagram, Google, SCTimes app, MPR Radio. I would also note that I used tumblr for blogging because I had heard so much about it and I am still using it for lots of other things. Some apps I’m using a little less then regularly: Vine, Dragon Diction, SoundCloud.

Looking at the questions posed by http://23mobilethingsmn.org/the-23-things/23-evaluate-23-mobile-things/:

Go back to your thoughts/ideas about mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience? Well maybe. I have exposure to lots of different apps now. Ones I might not have tried if it weren’t for the program. But I still believe that document creation needs a full keyboard. :-)

What were your favorite Things and discoveries? Hands down, Pocket (http://getpocket.com/). I use it everyday!

How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things? Being a coach for CMLE I felt like I connected with others via commenting on their blogs, but the program was mostly solitary for me. Maybe an organized group workday would have been fun to meet others and share experiences?

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? The one take-a-way for me would be that if you want to do something on your mobile device, there’s probably an app that let’s you do it.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content? Somehow get people to share and comment more on other’s blogs. I think having one central place where everyone has an account would make sharing easier. It seemed to me that most people setup a fresh blog for this program anyway, so why not setup a 23 Mobile Things server with all the blogs which would make it easier to share and comment on others. Just a thought.

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? Learning Mobile apps with practical applications in your job and in your library.

Thanks MN Multitypes for a great program!

#23ThingsMN

[itstirvin]

Thing #22 - Discovering Apps

Well, since I’m a heavy Apple user, I figured I’d try out Apps Gone Free for this Thing. It’s kind of nice that I can see the deals on the App Store with it and could even opt to get notifications of when they change. Pity I missed a free swiping app by a day as I really miss that from when I had an Android phone.

The thing about the apps offered is most of them seem really kitschy. Looking over the last week, the only one that interested me was the swiping one and maybe a game here or there. It also kind of sucks that there isn’t a play to just look at apps hat currently free. It may require going back a week to find some that are still free and don’t have the hard-to-notice Expired logo. Add into that and the fact that I’m just not much into randomly downloading apps, I didn’t really find much use for this app. I look at app more along the lines of “I want to do this” not “that would be interesting.”

#23thingsmn

[ann356]

Feeling good about completing five things in 23 Mobile Things MN.

#23ThingsMN

[viggypop]

Thing 3 - Utilities: Browsers

How are we suppose to navigate the web without a browser, even when we're mobile?  If you are a Google user on an Apple device, you will want to get Chrome installed.  You can log in and sync your tabs and keep track of your growing list of bookmarks.

Even in an IOs world, Google can still creep in.

#google #23thingsmn