23 Mobile Things: Thing 9

I was unable to find LINE in the App Store, so downloaded Photo Editor.  I didn't read the tips first and was rather lost.  I wasn't sure about the "shop" it kept sending me to; is there a cost or is that just their terminology?  It was very slow in loading.  I then deleted the app, and downloaded LINE through the 23 Things link.  I spent a lot of time playing with the options (even had it "snowing" on my library display--fitting for today!).  I liked that I could see how my text would look in different fonts before selecting one.  It appeared that some of the stickers had to be purchased, but I'm not sure.  I think with time and practice, I could use this for some cool library display posters and for personal photos.  I use PicCollage with my 4th Grade class now.  They have done some great things with it for their author biography projects.  It is much more basic than LINE, Photo Editor, etc., but I think it's simplicity makes it a good choice for elementary.

23 Mobile Things: Thing 7

I downloaded Pinterest and spent a considerable amount of time browsing around.  Not sure I'm getting the full concept of it, but very little interested me and I do not have the time to "follow" information that isn't crucial.  I did "pin" some quotes as I use these to make display signs on the high school side of the library (motivational, attitude, etc.).  I really don't anticipate using this much although I think this site is promoted by one of the teaching organizations, maybe Education Minnesota?  I had originally thought I could bookmark or pin websites here such as in favorites (like a direct link to Arrowhead Library System), but I'm guessing that's not what it does?  

23 Mobile Things: Thing 6

I was excited to try CloudOn as I use Word and Excel a lot.  I did a short worksheet in Excel.  I tried Word by creating a display poster.  I was disappointed not to find clip art which I use frequently.  The art functions had to be purchased.  I then experimented with Pages which is on our iPads (I believe our tech dept. buys licenses in bulk for a cost savings or it's free; not sure.)  It is similar to Word so fairly easy to use.  It also includes numerous art selections, although not to the extent of clip art, and I couldn't resize images as desired.  The documents may be e-mailed to your PC in Word format for printing.  I have not gone on the PC yet to see if I can modify text or images there, but will hopefully be able to easily print in color or black and white.  This gave me the incentive to try out functions I already had access to, but never used.  Even if I decide to use Word on the PC, it will be helpful to draft out ideas on the iPad, and later tweak them.  

23 Mobile Things: Thing 5

I tried Bamboo Paper and liked that I could write with my finger, use different colors of ink, clear 1 message or all with an eraser or one-click button, and e-mail message to myself or someone else.  I then tried Springpad, but didn't like the sign-up/login (cumbersome if in hurry).  Dragon dictation was great with the voice app.  I commute an hour each way and this would be a great way to record reminders for myself.  The commands such as caps only appear to work with the keyboard.  For example, I recorded "go to Bemidji" and it typed "Caps go to Spinach he"!  Interesting!  😀. We have Notes on our iPads and it's nice for basic notes.  It uses a keyboard, has easy, basic note functions, and messages can be e-mailed, copied, printed, etc.  I'll probably use that for basic notes and Dragon while commuting (if iPad doesn't time out constantly).

23 Mobile Things: Thing 4

I tried Flipboard.  I found it very confusing as I'm not really interested in RSS feeds (don't have time to read constant updates or news, and don't Facebook or Twitter).  The music, travel, and style articles didn't cover much I cared to read more about.  I then downloaded Zinio to see if I liked that better or found it easier to navigate.  It appeared that the magazines required subscriptions.  I went back to Flipboard and discovered "Books".  This looks like a great way to get some ideas for teen books now while I'm compiling next year's order!  I added a bunch of titles to my "magazine" that I can research later through our book vendors to read professional reviews on and decide if they're O.K. to purchase (our policy requires 2 positive professional reviews for each book ordered).  Maybe during the summer I would have more time to browse through more of the offerings for additional "reads".  There may be a lot of potential with this.

Is there a way to get an RSS feed for our blog for this program??

Thing 3: Utilities

I downloaded the iHome Sleep app to explore.  I liked the "Wheel of Fortune" method of setting the alarm time.  In order to wake to music, you had to first have music downloaded (apparently wasn't part of app itself); same with the "calm sounds for sleep" (didn't see any preloaded).  I didn't like the idea of a company collecting data on me; suggest reading the privacy policies.  Also, I experimented with setting an alarm, then closed app, shut down iPad, and plugged it in to charge.  The alarm went off anyway, waking the whole house up at 5:30a.m.!!  Decided to delete that app and use the clock app I already had.  :)

I then downloaded Google Search.  The voice search is awesome!  I also tried the calendar and Google Goggles (the camera search recognized a book by subject/title and author!).  I wasn't sure how to access the weather...?  Is there a direct weather link or just go through search?  I checked out the book link and downloaded Google Play app and a free book.  The book covers of those downloaded show up when you later tap on the "Books" icon--easy way to remember what you have!  I also looked at the "finance" app and noticed it was a bad day for the stock market.  The filters at our school limit access to several of the functions and questionable privacy or data use policies prevented me from trying some.  Overall, I love the voice search (which would be great to use with the lower grades who may have limited spelling/typing abilities as well as with students who have visual impairments).  The books app will increase our eBook selections and/or access.  This is an incredibly useful "utility" to discover.  Thank you for leading us to it!