Thing 18

Thing 18, education. As the post on the 23 things site says, there are many apps for education and educational purposes; it's hard to start and pick. I do like the list they provided and I think I'll do a quick blog about Google Earth (something I'm familiar with and use personally) and I'll take a look at iTranslate.

I suppose that library staff could find a professional use for Google Earth, especially the crafty ones, but I don't know that I can come up with one. Beyond giving directions or using it as a reference to find a place (which I'd use something a little simpler for anyhow), I'm stumped.

I do use Google Earth for fun and sometimes as a reference to find a place, but I don't necessarily recommend or use it for directions; I prefer Apple's native app for that(go ahead and joke) and since my iPad doesn't have cellular capability, I don't exactly bring it along and look for directions "on the fly". Google Earth does have the same street view option as Google Maps and it uses gesture (pinching, swiping, etc) for zooming, looking around, moving around, etc. and it's pretty intuitive to use. I guess to shortly sum up Google Earth, it's a fun tool to learn some geography and monkey with, but it's not something I'd use beyond that.

The reason I want to look at iTranslate is that I see it as a useful tool for both my professional life and personal life. Hennepin County (my system) with little doubt, is Minnesota's most diverse place. As such, we encounter a lot of diversity in our libraries, even in the "far flung" exurban ones. Not all of our patrons speak English and only some staff speak second languages. I would LOVE to have a tool that can translate so we can better serve our patrons and let them hear what we have to say in their native tongue and vice versa. It might be a little akward at first, but a mobile device and app could help us with that.

On a personal level, I could use iTranslate to brush up and re-learn a second language I'm familiar with, but not fluent in...Between high school and college, I took 4 years of Spanish, so I do have a decent vocabulary but my grammar is horrible and I find that I make myself nervous when trying to converse with a native speaker, I want to rectify that.

Unfortunately, iTranslate is a bit of a let down and initially feels like a run around of an app. The app has been changed completely since the 23 Things page was first published, so when you download it, the first thing it asks you is if you want to download the new universal (phone and tablet, iOS 7 optimized) version, which isn't fully necessary...unless you want to use the voice recognition feature which is a premium (paid) option and it's $2.99. While that's not an outrageous price, it is annoying since that was one of the features I was really looking for and I believed was part of the app, guess I didn't look at the fine print, huh?

I do want to give credit where it's due and will because iTranslate is a good translator. One can enter text and/or copy and paste in many (81 total) languages and there's a detect feature in case you have no clue what language you're looking at, but would like to see. For example 

I picked a simple sentence in Spanish that I know the translation for and was slightly impressed, considering I didn't use proper Spanish accent and grammar.

I won't include a photo example, but it's easy to copy and paste, just swipe the first box and you'll have a little icon to access your clipboard and the copied text will paste and translate. You can also revisit your translation history by tapping the upper right icon, kind of nifty.

In the end, I'll admit I'm a little disappointed with iTranslate, not because it's a bad app, but my ideas for its use have been unfounded. I suppose you could hand the device to someone, if they're trust worthy and have them enter text and vice verse, but I really liked the idea of voice recognition. For personal use, iTranslate can still meet my expectations to an extent, though Bing and Google both have the same simple translation capabilities and you can access them via your preferred web browser, not sure I really want or need an app. Personal preference, I suppose. 

Thing 17

Hey, I can get my groove back, apps I know, use and probably can use.

Connecting to our communities is important, I'm glad we're exploring that. Stick with me while I think of a way to use one of these apps professionally. In the meantime, I'll cover a few personal use ones.

Minnesota 511 hats of to thee (think of the tune to the U of Mn rouser, bonus points if you know the words...then you'll get it). I love this app, I check it every morning on the way out the door and if I had a smartphone, I'd probably use it there most. You get road conditions throughout the state in an easy to understand color coded interface, same goes for traffic. You can also view incident details and the metro traffic cams. Take a look:

 

 Zoomed in

Forgot to mention that you can search by location, roadway, etc

If you're familiar with MnDot's traffic info website...you can get the hang of this app in a snap, it's more or less the scaled down, mobile friendly version.

Oh one thing...you have to agree not to use the app while driving...that message pops up the first time you open the app. I'm sure everyone follows that agreement, right? Seriously, it's a good idea, but ya know what I mean...

An app I just had to try once I saw it was the Minnesota State Fair app. 

It's last year's version (understandably...it is April and while some concert dates for 2014 are set, there is still a lot of time and planning to do) and probably makes more sense on a phone than a tablet (who brings a tablet to the fair? I'd be afraid to get grease or sugar or something all over it, that and I need both of my arms and hands to carry my bags and things on a stick. At least I could put a phone in my pocket). Obsolescence aside, I still want to check out this app and blog about it...from the home page, you can access a food finder, a merch finder, a fun finder and a map. All three "finders" are sorted alphabetically with the options to search for a specific vendor or event and/or break it down categorically and you have the option to bookmark them, you know, in case you finish your bucket of cookies and want to get more. The map is little more than an electronic version of the paper map you can get at the info booth. I decided to forego more photo examples and refer readers to the images at the app store since they're basically the same as what I'd post. It's pretty cool and I recommend it!

I thought I'd take a look a look at something local to Minneapolis that I know I could use both personally and professionally and while Minneapolis Open Spaces did appeal to me I said to myself "hmm, public transit". My main library is located along one of North Minneapolis' busier lines and is within walking distance of the busiest line in North Minneapolis and one of its first ring suburbs  so we do occasionally do get questions about the buses, schedules, etc. Strangely enough, Metro Transit of Minneapolis-St. Paul does not have their own official app, though they do list apps on their website with an explicate disclaimer that they don't promote or guarantee any app over another...user, beware. I browsed the list, saw that several of them were pay (which would be fine if it were just for me) and after some crash course research via Google and the App Store, I found Transit App.

Transit App, to overview it quickly, is an international app that works in cities that use open transit data. Unfortunately, I don't know how to properly explain what that means...but I believe it has to do with systems that use GPS to track their buses and don't encrypt the data. Maybe it's best to put a link here to see the site and FAQ  thetransitapp.com

Another reason I picked Transit App? Read the following from their site "Why use a trip planner when you already know the way? With Transit, all nearby departures are just a tap away. Not sure which route to take? Don't worry, our easy-to-use trip planner can still show you the way!" As I said, my library is located on or near busy routes, people likely know the way but just need to know the times or how long they'll be waiting; if not, we still have options.

The first thing to do is let the app locate you...that might seem obvious, but in case you are helping out a new mobile user, that's something you might need to explain.

The app picked my location up almost exactly, we are actually at 4203 Lyndale...but whatever.

Tapping the "Nearby" icon leads you to, you guessed it, nearby lines and real time estimates

The route listed first is the nearest and they go in descending order. When you tap on a route, you can swipe to switch directions and you get access to the schedule, a favorites icon and my favorite feature of the app, the actual nearly real-time tracker. Since we have a southbound stop right in front of us and the northbound stop across the street, that's pretty easy to point out...what's cool is showing people where the bus is in relation to that stop.

Besides that, the to and from here icons access the trip planner 

and the icons on the bottom re-orient the map and gives access to the list of routes.

I do realize Metro Transit has a mobile friendly site, but an app is just easier; on top of that, depending on the mobile platform, an app is probably more visually pleasing and easier to use.

I think I'll call it a wrap for Thing 17; I explored two personal apps and one that can be used by any of us, both personally and professionally.