23 Mobile Things: Thing 12

I did not try Wattpad as I don't have time to engage in social media.  Free Books has a fantastic selection ability for teaching genres and for English class book assignments.  I found it difficult to maneuver within books such as trying to get to a specific fable within Aesop's, but perhaps if I read the directions more in-depth, it would be easier.  The audio capacity appeared to require a purchase.

iStory was fun.  It was slow in downloading and the "what is your name?" beginnings were annoying, but there were some fantastic possibilities to use in teaching genres (folk tales, for example).  I attempted to use one with our Kindergarten class today, but the sound was bad (too quiet).  Could have been due to mirroring the iPad to screen and our Red Cat sound system doesn't pick up iPad sound well...not sure.  

Audiobooks would be nice for some, but I found it too difficult to find one story within a group, eg. within "American Fairy Tales" when looking for a specific one.  It was also cumbersome to avoid purchasing something.

YALSA Teen Book Finder will be helpful as I'm in the process of compiling book orders for next year.  Our policy requires 2 positive professional reviews for each title purchased and this app gives this type of info.  The book covers were slow in loading for some titles (some didn't load at all), and when I searched by Title, results said "book not found" even though I could find that title under "search by award."  It appeared that the app could use some upgrading, but offers a nice option to find promising books.

23 Mobile Things: Thing 11

We do not have an app for our library, but we are accessible through the internet so we can still be accessed via mobile devices.  I introduce ELM in my elementary Media Skills classes, especially Britannica School and Kids InfoBits.  We also had an ELM icon "pushed" out to the student iPads by our tech dept. so students have 1-touch access, which we hope will encourage them to use the available databases more.  

Our school library may be accessed via a web-based site that allows me to post notices (such as for parent-teacher conferences, displays, project instructions by grade level, reading information, and more).  We use the web-based Destiny library program through Follett, so searches may be done from anywhere on any device that has internet access.  In addition, we started using the MackinViA eBook app recently and, again, our tech dept. pushed out the icon to student iPads.  One cautionary note about the program:  there is no allowable delete function to "erase" patron info (such as if a student no longer attends our school or we imported an elementary grade into high school by mistake, etc.).  MackinViA says they use the data for "tracking purposes".  Not sure what the need for that would be with individual student info., but I would limit what info I included in hindsight (such as I would not have included email addresses).  We have promoted MackinVIA through posters, student daily announcements, emails, and our school newsletter (which is accessible in print or online).