Thing 23: Evaluation of 23 Mobile Things

Bravo to the designers of the challenge. In nearly every segment, there were new, interesting, useful, and fun apps to try. The background information helped decide which apps to investigate more fully and included screen shots of how to start.

I am pleased with my own process in moving through the "things." At the onset, I decided to be more careful with my time and be more selective and focused in my choices of what and how much to delve into each app. In the last 23 things activity, I spent hours and hours on each area and finally just gave up. This time, I finished and am very satisfied with my experience.

Once again, thank you to those who put this together to benefit all of us.

Thing 21: Free-for-all

My favorite app is not exciting, in fact it is useful so that I don't get excited by being stuck in a snowstorm all night, as I have been. I find Weatherbug to be indispensable.

I live on the prairie near the Red River in northwestern Minnesota. We get big winds that blow in all the way from Montana and big snow storms from Canada. A few days ago, we got 20 inches of snow! This doesn't happen very often.

What does happen often is that there is wind (BIG wind) and some snow. This often turns into a white out where the road and the sky blend into an unnavigable sameness.

So, I look at Weatherbug several times a day.

It helps to know if the temperature will be below zero, how much below, what the wind chill will be, and how many layers I will have to wear when I go outside. Maybe I won't go at all.

So there it is. I also have bookmarked places we have been and where we are going to check their temperatures – Paris, Malaga, Barcelona, Munich recently. We also can check the places where we travel the most, since the weather even 15 miles away can be quite different and we have to go 60 to 120 miles for normal activities like going out to eat, grocery shopping, seeing a movie.

Thank you, Weatherbug.

Thing 20: Games

I don't really have much interest in games, but did get into Sudoku a while ago. This was probably because the math teacher thought they were easy and an English teacher friend who is not supposed to be number-inclined also thought they were easy. This was a challenge and I am still trying to work up the levels of difficulty.

Thing 19: Hobbies

Vivino, an app to keep track of favorite wines and to learn about wines from others, is intriguing. I have already connected with others that share my taste in wines.

I tried MyGarden, but found it a bit more complex than I wanted.

So, I moved on to GoodReads. Wellllll....I spent about an hour rating books I have read and clicking on books I want to read. That was fun and easy. But now I have to figure out how to use all of this information. I would love to move from the binder I use to keep track of the books I have read, summaries of each one, and list upon list of books I want to read. We'll see if that goal is feasible.

Thing 18: Education

There are several apps I use for education and could be useful for schools.

When I was working and helping students preparing for research, I allowed them to use Wikipedia to get a background for their topics and to determine key words to use in their searches. They could not cite Wikipedia, but it was an important lead-in to their project.

A small segment of a TED Talk could be used as an introduction to a class topic or as a follow-up.

Duolingo could be suggested as a supplement to a language class. I am using it now to brush up my German. It includes units introducing individual concepts such as verbs, prepositions, noun genders so certain segments could be targeted for extra practice. Since it almost seems like a game, it might appeal to students.

The 3D brain is fantastic! With all of the new discoveries about the brain, I feel the need to understand more about its structure and characteristics. The app isolates different parts of the brain and then provides information about what it does. Beyond that, it provides links to recent research.

Another app I chose was the Advanced English Dictionary & Thesaurus. I do crossword puzzles and have not found a replacement for the old book my mother used to help her solve puzzles - and the internet is not enough! Plus, I write a bit and am always searching for a synonym to keep the text fresh.

I have long wished that there was an app to teach me algebra, a gap in my own education that has eluded me for most of my life. A while ago, I tried a short video from the Khan Academy which helped me make sense of an entry level algebra concept. The problem in eighth grade was that we just memorized formulas, which was easy. The difficulty was knowing which formula to apply when.

Thing 17: Connecting to Community

I tried MN Museums for two reasons: first, I enjoy museums and don't know much about those outside of the cities and second, Northern Lights Library Network is working on a written directory with pictures and basic information about museums in wesr central and northwest Minnesota. Kathy Enger, the director of NLLN, is working with the MN Historical Society to disseminate this information. How great it would be to incorporate this research with into the MN Museums app.

Since many relatives live in the Twin Cities, I tried the Going Out app. It had many good features. If you look for things to do, you are also offered a list of eating venues nearby. Most of the restaurants have range of information including prices, type of menu, specialties, even food reviews.

This app is particularly helpful for someone who lives out of town (like 380 northwest).

Thing 16: Sounds

I chose to investigate Soundcloud because I was interested in recording sounds and finding interesting music and podcasts.

The program allowed me to classical and folkways music plus science and technology podcasts. I listened to several and enjoyed them. I am following 37 people.

Then I recorded myself singing a nonsense song I learned as a child. It took quite some time to save it, but other than being a better singer, this turned quite well and was very easy.

This could be an audio booktalk that a student could play on an iPad sitting next to a book display. It would be very cool and unexpected.