Sunday, March 9, 2014

Thing 20

Thing 20 - Games.  Games, games, games.

Of all the Things, this is the Thing I have had covered since my first Touch purchase in 2010.  I have a plethora of games between my three iDevices (some on all three, some on one or two).  A lot of my game app "purchases" (free or paid) have been driven by the children in my life.  My stepdaughter is 17, niece is almost 9, my nephew 7, and my daughter 3.  Racing apps, Dora apps, Disney apps, a water slide app...

Getting back to the apps featured on the Thing 20 page on the 23 Mobile Things website, I am heavily invested time-wise in Candy Crush.  I am stuck on Level 140 on my Touch.  I'm also stuck on Level 40 in the "Owl World" or night world.  I was introduced to Candy Crush by my stepdaughter.  I believe the text I received from her was "Don't even try Candy Crush.  You will be addicted."

I've been stuck at these levels for a while. My modus operandi with most games, is to be heavily invested, playing hours and hours and then one day I move on to something else and eventually come back and revisit the game.  Card games, puzzle games - doesn't matter.

I have never used an in-app purchase (a matter of some pride for me) and until about a month ago, I did not use the Facebook arm of Candy Crush.  I have never "done" Facebook games, but I also play Disney Hidden Quest occasionally and that game is heavily dependent on user interaction with others - boo.  I like to play alone.  I find that the Facebook arm "kills the joy" a bit.  I feel pressure to respond to others help requests even though I am not currently in a Candy Crush playing phase.  I also have another King app - Pet Rescue Saga.  Also addicting.

One thing you might not know about Candy Crush is that when you download the app on another device, you start over.  This is both a pain and a blessing.  You get to play all those easy levels again, but you can't pick up and work on that hard level if you don't have a particular device with you.  I've only used the "cheat sites" once so far.  It was a level where you needed a particular combination to win the board that I was not getting.

Something I DO like, although I just said I don't like to play with others, is to watch other people play Candy Crush.  I know this sounds weird.  This past summer I watched my 20 year old nephew play Candy Crush for the first time on an iPad at the cabin.  He didn't start at the beginning - he started on a level where someone else was stuck.  His thought process and decision making about what colors to match, how to strategize was fascinating.  He took minutes to decide on some of his moves.  Candy Crush does have some "right ways" to do things but it gives each user the flexibility to chose their own path and still succeed - most of the time.

I wanted to mention a couple other games that are loved in this group of kids/adults beyond Angry Birds, Minecraft, Temple Run, and the usual.  Disney Hidden Quests - a "search" game but does not lend itself to small children.  You have to be able to read to play properly.  Free Fall - a Frozen version of Candy Crush really.  Lots of in-app purchases but if you are patient, you don't need them (just like Candy Crush).  I really like Jewel Quest and Jewel Quest Heritage, but quite frankly the apps suck.  Their PC games are great but the apps are just a "mobile version" of the PC game and they don't work that great on a Touch.

And Sunday Lawn (Donut Games) - a lawn mowing maze app.  I KNOW it sounds dumb, but it is ridiculously addicting and fun.  The goal is to mow all the lawn without killing your lawn mower.  It's not exactly a maze, but it has maze elements.  I found this app through Free App a Day many years ago (three iTouches ago).  There is a "new" Sunday Lawn Seasons (in the spirit of Angry Birds Seasons) that has a snow blower and a grass seeder as the lawn mower.  I play it for the challenge of making three stars, my daughter (age 3) plays it because she likes it and doesn't care if the dogs, or cats, or hedgehogs eat her lawnmower.

Someday I will get past Level 140 on my Touch.  It might take until I "catch up" on my iPhone and my husband's Nook HD+, but someday...

Thing 19

OOH.  Thing 19 may turn out to be my favorite "new" app for all of 23 Mobile Things!!

For Thing 19, I chose RoadNinja.  In some features, I am still a "relatively novice" user on my iPhone.  I've had the phone since November and I STILL haven't used a GPS feature.  OK, I used it once but I didn't think I was very successful with it.

I live WAY north of the Metro, like I'm sure other bloggers out there do.  I have my normal ways I go places (specifically) in the Metro, and normal exits I take (and those I never take).  THIS is why I love RoadNinja.  It TELLS me what is at each exit before I get off the freeway.

I will say that I have not actually had a chance to fully explore this app WHILE ON THE ROAD.  Everywhere I have driven since I started exploring the app, I have been the driver and it is not safe or recommended to be playing with apps as you drive down the freeway.  As I sit at home blogging, I can view the I35 exits near my home.  This is ALSO interesting because I KNOW those exits and I wonder how the app chose the exit choices - there are more businesses at my "home" exit than what is listed.

Features I love:  I love the DISTANCE to the gas station.  In my younger years (OK, until my daughter was born which was only three years ago), I lived more on the edge in regards to my car's gas tank.  As in "What does empty really mean?  How many miles can I go on the low fuel light?".  I also had a few cars with less than reliable fuel gauges, so I would clock miles - which varies depending on how you drive.  I like to KNOW how close to the freeway the gas station is if I can't see it.  This also helps with bathroom stops - once again in my youth.

I LOVE the map feature.  I LOVE the gas price feature - well, my husband will love the gas price feature when we use the app together.  I like the restaurant listings.  It's like an interactive road sign that tells me exactly WHERE the businesses are at the exit.  I also like that the app gives you options in advance.  For example, if we are trying to decide to stop for a quick bite to eat, I can scroll through at look at the next four or five exits and decide instead of either picking an exit not knowing what is ahead or stopping at the same old place every time.

I think this will be a fun app to play with on any type of "road trip" - I don't count my drives to St. Kate's as road trips.  This is something I will be recommending to my sister on her family road trip to Tennessee this summer (from Wisconsin).

One thing I DO wonder about is the process of what businesses get chosen for the app.  As I said earlier, I KNOW there are more businesses at my "home" freeway exit.  Why were some chosen but not others?  I also wish this app covered more roads than just the main exits off the freeway - in my case, I35, 35W or 35E.  This would probably make the app unwieldy, but I would LOVE an app like this for Minneapolis or St. Paul or other inner-ring cities that I frequent less.

RoadNinja is definitely a keeper.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Thing 10

I am "skipping ahead" on my Things as I am struggling with Thing 8 at the moment.

For Thing 10, I chose Instagram.  This is an app that I "get" but I never remember to use.  I normally use the camera on my phone, not an app.  I have a friend who dropped his Facebook but kept Instagram and I am "trying" to get into the hang of checking Instagram and remembering to take pictures with Instagram so he has access and can view photos of my 3 yr old (he lives across country).

I will admit I had trouble getting back into using the app in January (before I even knew I would be blogging about it).  It is NOT intuitive to me and I really had trouble getting my phone to take pictures; perhaps that day the app was glitchy?  The editing tools are cool.  But to be honest, I do my editing on a computer in Picassa.  I even download my iDevice photos and edit in Picassa when it comes time to print "real pictures" or make a photo book (and then I sometimes share them on Facebook after editing).  Perhaps I am a Luddite and I have hit my capacity for "new"...!!

I know Instagram is big, and it does cool things with pictures but I am just not that into it.  I want to use it as a way to share pictures (like Facebook) and move on.  The people I follow on Instagram are mostly the same people I am friends with on Facebook and I tend to see their photos there.  I will say I am STILL trying to figure out a way to manage Instagram with a "Thing 8" product...

In terms of library/work use, there is a place for Instagram.  This is not strictly a "younger generation" app, but I think it would be a fabulous tool for teen programming and teen New Books or other teen "things".  I also think it is a good photo editor for any photos that you are submitting to your library Facebook page; the sharing is seamless as Facebook owns Instagram.

Add this to the list of "I won't give up on this app" but I just CANNOT REMEMBER TO USE IT!!!

Thing 7

Thing 7.  PINTEREST!!!

I LOVE Pinterest.  That might be an overstatement, but I like the concept of Pinterest and I like using Pinterest.  I chose to focus on an app that I know instead of something else because I have been considering using it during my practicum.

I am not a "super pinner" by any stretch of the imagination but to give you an idea of my Pinterest stats:


This screenshot is actually FROM my iPhone, while I am blogging from my desktop computer.  I wish I could write an entire blog about how I figured out how to do that :).  To be a bit more specific about my stats; of those 1000+ pins, 161 of them are "library pins" and are either book lists, future library ideas or pins directly relating to my practicum this semester.

I believe I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I am a "collector"; I like to find first and come back and read later.  I have found that this has been the most effective method for me during graduate school and having a small child.  Pinterest allows me to do EXACTLY THIS.  I would say that I have become more "pin savvy" the longer I have used Pinterest.  I have been using the app/program since pretty early in it's inception; back when you needed an invitation to join the site.  When I joined Pinterest, I would find something and repin.  I still do this as my main method of discovery.  However, I TEST the links before I pin.  I want something to refer back to when I go back to my Pinterest boards.  Dead links, potentially hazardous or blocked links, copyright infringement - these all put a damper on finding an actual recipe or more information on a pin.

As to uses in the library, the youth librarian and I have been discussing creating a Pinterest account for the library.  The library does not have a Pinterest account and I felt that having boards for all the STEAM items would be an easy way to capture a wealth of online information without using a handout or hyperlinks on a page on the library website.  The youth librarian is really excited about the prospect but I have not pushed or explored the idea further because of sustainability.  This librarian is getting married and moving in the fall.  If we create a Pinterest account, will someone else (or her successor) maintain the Pinterest account?  Is the work of creating the account valuable to the library and its patrons or is it a good tool for this librarian and myself?  I have not worked this opportunity through yet, but will be revisiting the idea before the end of May when my practicum ends.

One newer feature of Pinterest that I feel lends itself to collaboration is the ability to share boards without sharing the entire Pinterest account.  I share two boards with the same librarian and we have used them to pin any and every idea we have seen regarding STEAM kits, ideas and resources.  That way we can look at what each other is thinking about or trending towards without rehashing each idea in-depth every time we see each other.  I think board sharing would be great for book clubs, curriculum development, programming brainstorming (like we are using it) or for anything personal project or idea with which you might want collaboration.

Thing 6

Thing 6 is about creating and editing documents.  It is a bit ironic I am writing this blog today because my practicum site had no internet for the afternoon and all my work is in Google Drive (no work for me this afternoon)!

For Thing 6, I chose Quickoffice to explore.  Since I have been using Google Drive more steadily as it is easy to share with others (no worry of virus transfer - it's happened to me before) and I also have one computer with a faulty Office Suite I have not fixed as of now (crashing and losing work within items).  I was interested to see how this integrates with Google on an Apple Device.

The things I like:  I like that I can access and view all my Drive items in one place.  The titles are easy to read and navigate.  I like that I can create Office documents, should I chose to for any number of reasons.  I like that the app will navigate you directly to your documents in the Google Drive app.  I like the concept of Microsoft Office ON mobile Apple devices.  I like the "Track Changes" feature in Word documents as well as the "Comments" option.  I ALSO like the amount of editing choices, text size, spell check, that sort of thing.

The thing I DIDN'T like:  I needed the Google Drive app installed ALSO in order to access my "stuff".  I could have just used Google Drive when I started my app exploration if I had know this.  I don't really know "what" to do with my Office Documents.  From what digging I could find within the app, it looks like you COULD use other cloud storage than Google Drive but that will be going away in the end of March and was not free.  It looks like Microsoft has it's own app, OneDrive for access to SkyDrive.  I guess you could e-mail documents to someone from your device, but I don't have e-mail linked on my phone right now so I did not try that feature.  Again, you could print the document but I do not have an Airprint compatible printer.

I mentioned that I might use Quickoffice for note taking in Thing 5.  I think I would use this for longer more detailed notes that would be easily accessible in Google Drive - like some idea I was fleshing out or a detailed note I wanted that could be available to me anywhere with Internet service.

Unless you are creating, editing and delivering the document from the device, I don't think Quickoffice has great value unless you are a die-hard Office user (and in that case you might have a product like a Surface Tablet). Then again, Apple products are not always "apples to apples" so perhaps this app has more/better features on the iPad than the iPhone.

Thing 5!!

Yay!  Thing 5!  Time for a badge!!

Ok.  Back to Notetaking.

For this Thing, I started with Remember the Milk.  A) I kept forgetting to use it.  B) It felt like I was seeing a layer of code every time I looked at the notes I created while testing out the app.  I felt it was too difficult to use effectively right away and was not intuitive, so I moved on to Springpad.

To be honest, I really like using the Notes native app for iDevices.  I know it is not fancy and there are no folders, but I normally use a note feature for a shopping list or something I think of on the fly, a book I hear about on the radio, funny things the kids in my life say, etc.  I have even used it to "write down" ideas for my practicum as I think of them.  I might even be more apt to use Quickoffice for longer notes (another "Thing").

Back to Springpad:  I have not yet fully committed to this app.  It feels a lot like Pinterest to me and I have already invested in that.  It also seems to have some of the same features as Flipboard (presentation) and I pretty much abandoned that app.  This app was not "different enough" for me to get really excited about learning it and either moving notes or creating all my new notes within the app.  Where I think this app has real potential is with group projects, ideally work projects.  I currently doing a practicum where the youth librarian and I are creating STEAM kits and programming.  If I had known about this app BEFORE we started in January, I would have suggested we use this instead of Google Docs and Pinterset for collaboration.  It is hard to know when your counterpart has read everything you add to a document beyond looking at a revision/view date on the document.  I think Springpad provides a visual format to easily find things and probably is a great app.  I will not give up on this app; but I am just not ready to invest myself in it until I have a purpose to dig in and really use it.