Tag Archives: apps

Welcome

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Welcome to the 23 Mobile Things course website!

The course is self paced, you can work through each lesson at your own speed and share what you’ve learned via Twitter using the #23mobilethings hashtag. Everyone works at their own pace, you may be familiar with some topics already while others may take longer. We suggest that you allocate approximately an hour per week to explore a “Thing”.

The course is freely available to anyone who has access to a mobile device (tablet or smartphone) to participate. The best way to ask for help is to use Twitter and tweet your question with the #23mobilethings hashtag.

The 23 Mobile Things are:

  1. Twitter
  2. Taking a photo with a mobile device:  Instagram / Flickr app / Snapchat
  3. eMail on the move
  4. Maps and checking in
  5. Photos + Maps + Apps: Historypin / What was there / Sepia Town
  6. Video: YouTube and screencasts
  7. Communicate: Skype / Google+ Hangout
  8. Calendar
  9. QR codes
  10. Social reading: RSS / Flipboard / Feedly / Goodreads / Pocket
  11. Augmented reality: Layar / Aurasma / Google Glass / etc.
  12. Recreation and some Angry Birds
  13. Online identity
  14. Curating: Pinterest / Tumblr
  15. Adobe ID
  16. eBooks and eBook apps: Project Gutenberg / Kindle / Overdrive / Bluefire / Kobo, etc.
  17. Evernote and Zotero
  18. Productivity tools: Doodle / Remember the Milk / 30/30
  19. File sharing: Dropbox
  20. Mobile music: last.fm / Spotify / Soundcloud / Rdio
  21. Voice interaction and recording
  22. eResources vendor apps
  23. Digital storytelling

Thing 22: eResources and vendor apps

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Some electronic resources (eg. databases, eBooks, magazines, etc.) are accessible via apps provided by the vendors. This thing is not a recommendation of any particular vendor or product, but is designed to get you to think about your library client’s experience when they use these apps to access your content. Throughout 23 Mobile Things you will have discovered for yourself how variable the experience can be depending on the device you have, the connectivity in your area and the compatibility of apps. All of these factors are important for user experience (UX).

DISCOVER:

EXPLORE:

THINKING POINTS:

  • What information do the vendors collect from your clients via the app?
  • What use statistics do you get from vendor apps?
  • Are clients who use the app easily able to move to other library resources?
  • How do you evaluate vendor apps before offering them to your clients?
  • Which vendor apps could your staff use (e.g. library management system)?
  • In what ways does offering core library services via mobile apps change the way the library reaches people?

Thing 18: Productivity apps

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What are your personal productivity challenges? Productivity is about being efficient and effective and some tools on mobile devices can help organise tasks and schedule activities, provide reminders and help with motivation and time management. In this Thing, we’d like to look at a few of these tools.

DISCOVER:

  • Remember the Milk  is a task and time management app.  – There are apps available for Android, iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry as well as a web app, sync for Microsoft Outlook, and Remember The Milk integrates with Evernote, Gmail, Google Calendar, Siri, and Twitter. You can even email tasks to your Remember the Milk account.
  • Doodle  is a scheduling tool, great for coordinating times for meetings with a number of people.  It has an a mobile friendly interface and an iOS app.
  • The Pomodoro technique is a productivity system that breaks work down into 25 minute chunks to improve concentration.  There are a variety of Pomodoro apps available for both iOS and Android.
  • Lift   is a goal setting app, helping you to set goals, monitor progress and tap into support groups (iOS and web versions available)

EXPLORE:

  • Find a timer app for your mobile device, you might choose a different one depending on the tasks you have in mind (eg. running a holiday activity game, timing intervals in an information literacy session or running a trivia quiz).
  • Mashable recommended  the productivity app CloudOn  for access to Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your tablet or smartphone.
  • 30/30 is a combination of task manager and timer (Android app and iOS app )
  • There are more things to explore on the Pinterest board.

THINKING POINTS:

  • Could you use a tool like Remember the Milk as a mobile project management aid?
  • Could you display a timer on a tablet to count down during games as part of a holiday activity program?
  • Would you be able to coordinate meeting times for your teen advisory group or book club members using Doodle?
  • Are there some repetitive tasks that require focus and regular breaks (like stocktaking and reshelving) – could you Pomodoro them?
  • Could Lift   be used as part of a lifelong learning library program for adults allowing them to set their own learning goals and monitor their progress?

Thing 10 : Social reading

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What does the phrase ‘social reading’ bring to mind for you?  We thought it could be explored in a number of different ways:

  1. tools to read social media and RSS
  2. tools and apps to interact with other readers … ( Allison Mennella explored the question “What is “Social Reading” and why should Libraries care?”  and Goodreads and LibraryThing are popular options)
  3. activities like online book clubs (eg Read Watch Play Twitter reading group) and Twitter chats (eg. #libchat #uklibchat #rwpchat)

For this Thing, in keeping with our focus on mobile technologies, we have chosen to look at the mobile apps that support reading social media and RSS feeds efficiently.  Until recently, Google Reader was one of the most popular rss readers and the announcement that it would be discontinued after July 1, 2013  caused a great disturbance in the library world and further afield.

DISCOVER:

  • So what is RSS and why does it matter? RSS feeds are fixed pre programmed streams of “latest” content used to publish frequently updated works, like blog posts and lists of new items added to a library catalogue.  RSS together with APIs are two of the ways your apps and some other web tools collect new information. This Commoncraft video explains RSS in plain English
  • If you want to follow a number of blogs and other social media feeds you will need an aggregator.  Try out Feedly which will draw together your RSS feeds, Tumblr blogs and Youtube channels (Android and iOS apps available)
  • Do you need to save something to read later? Pocket  is available for Android and iOS and works with quite a few other programs and apps.  You can save directly from your browser or from apps like Twitter, Flipboard, Pulse and Zite.

EXPLORE:

  • Flipboard, an app that aggregates your social media feeds (including RSS) allowing you to view your own ‘magazine’ and to share it with your friends.
  • NewsBlur  is another option with web, iPad, iPhone, and Android options.
  • Pulse aggregates blogs, magazines, social networks and newspapers.
  • Do you set out to gather together items you’ve read around themes to reshare like a newspaper or magazine?  You can use tools like Paper.li and Scoop.it etc.   See the Pinterest board for more options.

THINKING POINTS:

  • Which top 3 blogs do you rely on for keeping up to date with trends in the GLAM industry? Add your favourites to this shared list.
  • Would some client groups at your library be interested in receiving curated collections of links and posts?  Perhaps for ‘hot topics’ that are rapidly changing like social media applications?
  • Do you find it easier to follow blogs etc. in a reader or do you rely more on Twitter for current information?  Do you know which option your library clients prefer?

Thing 5 : Photos + Maps + Apps

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Library clients using a mobile device have their personal access to your library services and collections in their pocket 24/7, they also have GPS and a camera to interact with the environment around them.  Have you considered how that could be used to deliver library services? Combining GPS and photography creates the potential for some interesting local history experiences and other fun ways to interact with the world around you.

DISCOVER:

  • Try out  Historypin   [download the smartphone apps ] Look at photographs in your local area on the map and try exploring further afield. (NB: there are even some photographs pinned in Antarctica!)
  • Compare the different experience when you view the Historypin map on a desktop computer.
  • Using the app, take a photograph of your library building and “pin it” by uploading it to the map.  There are lots of “how to” videos and notes available for Historypin
  • Have you considered creating your own library game using SCVNGR, it was used to gamify the ALIA Online conference

EXPLORE:

  • Using Historypin take a photograph of a local building (eg. town hall, public school) and upload it and pin it using the Street View option. eg. Sydney GPO
  • Using Historypin, find images pinned in your area and try creating a “repeat” of an image, photographing it on location and uploading the image using the app.
  • Try linking together several photographs to make a tour.  (eg. several buildings in your main street or a local square)  The Beatlemania tour gives you an idea of what’s possible.
  • Link together some photographs into a collection (they don’t need to be in the same area, but just have a common theme eg. local post offices or school buildings.  The 1906 Earthquake and Fire collection illustrates a disaster that affected San Francisco.
  • Use the app to photograph an old photograph in your collection to pin to the map
  • There are other historical / map interfaces including: What was there  and Sepia Town
  • There are more links available on our Pinterest Board

THINKING POINTS:

  • Can you create a local history walking tour, using photographs and information from your collection?
  • What community engagement opportunities exist when people share stories inspired by photographs, locations and memories?
  • Are there other ways your community could take photographs to help tell the story of  ‘a day in the life’ at your school, in your community or at your university?
  • Perhaps you could hold a program using the Guardian Citizen Journalism app?
  • Could you hold a fun teen program using the Drift app which guides you on a walk using randomly assembled instructions?

Thing 3 : eMail on the move

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E-mail is an indispensable part of daily life.  For example, if you forget a password the most common fix is to have a new one emailed to you. So why not have it handy on your mobile device?   You can choose to use the email feature built into your device, or you can find an app that you prefer, there are many to choose from.

DISCOVER:

  • Look in your settings to enter the details of your Gmail or other email address. (Note: you may need some extra information to attach your work or home email eg. POP or IMAP Email server settings and ports)
  • View this online tutorial on Gmail for mobile devices
  • Try sending an email to the course authors at 23mobilethings@gmail.com or to a friend.
  • Take a photo and email it to yourself (note take the photo first and from the camera roll you will have an option to send it via email)

 

EXPLORE:

  • Try out an email app (eg. Aqua Mail  or K9-Mail  are popular choices for Android and Mailbox  is a popular iOS app as an alternative to the email feature built into your iPad / iPhone), your device may also have an app preloaded.
  • There are more useful Twitter links on our Pinterest Board 

 

THINKING POINTS:

  • How easy is it for your library clients to email a citation / catalogue entry / journal article to themselves?
  • Does your library system offer the option of email alerts to item due dates, reserved materials becoming available, event reminders?
  • Event booking systems like Eventbrite  use email reminders for people attending events.  You can also schedule extra emails and send out a feedback survey via email after an event.
  • Do you use email to alert staff to roster changes and library activities?

Thing 2 : Taking a photo with a mobile device

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DISCOVER:

All smartphones and tablet devices have a camera fitted.

  • Explore your device to take a photograph and then locate the  camera roll or gallery via the menu.
  • Mobile devices make it very easy to share photographs by email, messaging and twitter.   Take a photograph of a sign with the name of your library or museum, open your Twitter app, attach the photo and tweet it with a short message and the hashtag #23mobilethings
  • You can also take a screen shot on your device [iOS | Android]

EXPLORE:

There are many different types of photography apps you can add to your mobile device.  Some offer filters to enhance the look of your photos, most will interact with other social media tools (eg. sharing via Twitter or Facebook)  while others are part of their own social networks (eg. Instagram, Snapchat)

  • Try out Instagram (you can also have fun with Instaweather, and Instastitch).   Instagram has its own ‘jargon / language’ for example people who use Istagram refer to themselves as #igers and they often share photographs of themselves known as #selfies .  Take a photograph and upload it with the #23mobilethings hashtag. Explore the other photographs that have the same hashtag.
  • Try out an app with filters eg Hipstamatic (or others like Snapseed, SquareReady Pro and ProCamera)
  • If you have a Flickr account you can upload photographs as you take them via the Flickr app (no iPad version is available use the iPhone version)
  • Snapchat is a very popular photography app with many teenagers  they use it as a social network to communicate with friends.  iOS and Android app that allows users to send photos among their contacts, which automatically delete after a short period of time (between 1 – 10 seconds)
  • There are more useful Photography links on our Pinterest Board.

 

THINKING POINTS:

  • How could your library use photographs to promote library services, events and activities?
  • Does your library Twitter account use Instaweather to provide a daily update?
  • Do you have a permission form available so that when you take photographs of clients or events you have their agreement for those images to be used and shared online?
  • How easy is it for clients to contribute digital photographs to your library collection (eg. local history)?
  • Could you use photography in library programming (eg. how-to classes or competitions)?
  • The Getty Museum celebrates the Instagram photographs taken by museum visitors by adding them to their Insta-Getty Pinterest board

    Instaweather image Guldborgsund-bibliotekerne

    Guldborgsund-bibliotekerne

Instaweather image State Library of New South Wales

State Library of NSW

Thing 1 : Twitter

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DISCOVER:

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a real-time information network sharing short messages called “tweets” that are just 140 characters long.  Twitter is a social network which allows people to choose which accounts they will follow and what information they wish to share with the people that follow them. This video from Commoncraft is a great overview of how Twitter works.     A lot of organisations, including libraries, also use Twitter.  Some examples include:  @britishlibrary, @librarycongress, @nlnz  and @PublicLibrarySG .

A lot of individuals also use Twitter, including astronauts, celebrities (eg. @wilw, @algore), authors (@maureenjohnson, @anitaheiss), sports people, royalty  and parody accounts.   There are also verified accounts as it is easy to imitate a person on Twitter (see the many accounts posing as Aung San Suu Kyi for example).  If you’re still not convinced that Twitter is for you, Ned Potter addresses some of the concerns people may have about Twitter in “7 reasons people don’t use twitter, and why ‘It’s a conversation’ is the answer to all of them“

What is a hashtag and how does it work?
One of the features of Twitter is the use of hashtags.  They act as hyperlinks connecting conversations.  The use of hashtags to link conversations together has also carried over into other social networking tools like Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr.  Hashtags are particularly useful for regular conversations #kidlit, natural disasters #eqnz,  sporting events and teams #cricket, events #ifla #tedx and conferences #sxsw.

What is Twitter etiquette?
Just like any community, there are accepted ways of communicating and behaving.  Here is a guide to Twitter etiquette.

How are libraries using Twitter for online engagement?

How can library workers use it for professional development?

  • following conferences and seminars eg. #cyc4lib
  • building a personal learning network (PLN) of colleagues who share your professional interests (a new graduate librarian, Alisa Howlett, explored this idea in more detail)
  • keeping up with trends and industry news #npsig  #mtogo
  • sharing links to research and reports (eg Pew Internet)

 

EXPLORE:

  • Set up your Twitter account   (see the tips from Twitter)
  • You can use Twitter in the web browser, but it will be much easier to use an app
  • Explore the App Store or Google Play to find and install an app
  • Send a tweet: Using the #23mobilethings hashtag tweet the name of your favourite museum or library
  • Register your account for the course – if you would like us to add you to the list of people working on #23mobilethings please tweet a message to @23mobilethings
  • Using Twitter lists (you must be logged in to see lists) eg  Public Libraries in NSW
  • See what is trending on Twitter around the world
  • Storify to collect Tweets and links
  • There are more useful Twitter links on our Pinterest Board.

THINKING POINTS: