Friday, March 7, 2014

Thing #2 Mobile Device Tips and Tricks

Thing #2- exploring device Tips and Tricks.
I have had my ipad for over a year and still have not updated to ios 7! After researching many tips and tricks I feel more confident in finally installing the update. I am excited about the many new features I have learned about including the following:
  • Notifications- I like the idea of using my ipad as a family calendar, a quick glance in the morning should show us things like daycare field trips, reminders for the day, or plans/appointments we have set up.
  • iTunes radio- how cool that it will intuitively know what type of music to put in my custom radio stations. I love Pandora, and think this might be even better!
  • Editing tips- Finally, I think I can competently copy and paste info I find online into emails/documents with greater success. Very happy to have learned you can select an entire paragraph of text with a simple tap of two finders to copy and then paste. Also, I was not aware of the ability to drag the handles to set the area to copy. Fascinating!
  • Safety net- iCloud backup is something I should really do and yet have procrastinated to do. Such a simple way to ensure that my apps, pictures, everything on my iPad can be protected from the accidental actions of my 2 year old playing with the iPad.
  • Pictures- a way to delete multiple pictures (taken by the 2 year old!) was not clear, and I have spent way too much time deleting things one by one. Finally discovered in the comments of one tips and tricks page that a simple way to do this DOES EXIST!!! delete photos on an iPad tap edit on the top right hand corner in your photo library then tap the pix you want to delete and it will put a tick on the ones you select then press delete on the top right hand side. Drumroll please.....To delete photos on an iPad tap edit on the top right hand corner in your photo library then tap the pix you want to delete and it will put a tick on the ones you select then press delete on the top right hand side

Websites that I found interesting and helpful included:
Extremely useful, basic tips in how to use your iPad. For the beginner, but also useful reminders for those who are relatively comfortable using their iPad. Here I learned how to take a screenshot of my ipad.
"You can take a screenshot on your iPad by pressing Home and then the Sleep/Wake button. The screen will flash and you'll hear a click, indicating that a photo has been taken. Your screen shots are saved automatically in your Photos gallery."
Also, a simple but useful tip to set CAPS LOCK. Double tap on either shift key!
http://www.zdnet.com/30-iphone-and-ipad-tips-and-tricks-to-make-you-faster-and-more-efficient-7000026210/
Concise description of 30 top tips and tricks. Easy to quickly scan through this webpage and learn something new! A must on my to-do list: "Worried about young ones racking up huge in-app purchase bills? Tap Settings > General > Restrictions and scroll down to disable In-App Purchases."

Now it is time to put this new knowledge into practice! Thank you 23 Mobile Things for allowing me to learn some valuable tips for using the iPad!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Thing 1

As a newbie to the land of all things ipad, I hope to learn about apps that may apply more to my work life than the basic apps I currently use to take notes during meetings. Personally, I hope to realize there is more to my ipad than the constant checking of facebook, email, and of course using 3M/Overdrive/Nook apps to read books.
I joined 23 Mobile Things because I do not want to be left in the dust in the world of Library 2.0. I have not learned much about Library 2.0 since completing my MLIS in 2008, (other than my own exploration of e-book platforms) and hope to gain greater insight into the useful, free tools available today. The description of the program says that we will learn about "apps will cover a variety of topics: social media, presentations, photography, reference, news, notes, games, and so much more." Can't wait to get started!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Welcome back

Time to resurrect my library blog! I have joined the '23 Mobile Things' program and will post updates based on this self-paced learning program.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Back to school...

Just finished the first session of fall semester class! WooHoo!
Only 7 more sessions, with lots of homework to go!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Done with summer session!

Yea! I successfully completed 3 classes over the course of 7 weeks! Only one more class is between me and the successful completion of my MLIS degree.
WooHoo!!!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Comments on Mashup articles for June 28

Pietroniro and Fitcher "Map Mashups ..."
Right away, the authors cite wikipedia's definition of a mashup as follows,
"a web ‘mashup’ is “a website, or web application that combines content from one or more sources”.1 The word ‘Mashup’ comes from a term that is used in the music industry. In music, the term refers to a genre of popular music whereby the remixing of vocal and instrumental tracks from different songs to create a new song, is practiced."

I like the fact that a scholarly article is citing wikipedia! More power to wikipedia!

Anyway, the authors explain that what mashups are to music, the map industry is now joining in and using live info in correlation with maps, gps, etc... to create maps on the fly for users looking for very specific content, directions, information.
As someone who is constantly either mapquesting or google-mapping everything when I go to an unfamiliar location this is very exciting! My husband and I are more likely than not to get lost if we stray a block or two off the prescribed google map route. If we could afford an iphone we would automatically sign up for one of the map services (discussed in class a couple weeks ago).

I love the idea of housingmaps.com. How helpful that would have been when I was apartment and house searching. There are so many ideas that could be implemented with maps/info, etc... This should become very popular, and as the authors mention the possibilities are endless!

I also like the points made about traffic updates/conditions, flight info, commuter train update, etc... What a long way technology has come since the AAA TripTik my parents relied on for this information on our summer roadtrips!

Wikipedia entry on Mashups...
Reading through the description and process for creating a mashup I began to think that it seemed a little beyond my skill level. As I continued to read I noticed a variety of sites that serve as "mashup platforms" to help users creat mashups. Hooray! That is what I need to give this a try.
I thought the section on applying mashups to businesses was quite interseting, and certainly applicable. I hate "trawling" through information to dig up the tiny little piece of info that I need. By re-organizing a website with a mashup, info should be more accessible and more importantly user friendly.
We have already used a successful and popular mashup- Flickr... next I want to look into Travature- a travel mashup.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Library School Update...

Well folks, there are only two weeks left of summer session one! Only 8 more class sessions for me to attend (among the three classes I am taking) before I can officially say that I have just one more class before I officially earn my MLIS.
Yea!
Just thought you all should know!