Thing #23: Evaluation

Well, I've made it to the end. This has been a good learning experience. Sometimes a little frustrating, and sometimes not very fruitful, but I suppose that is part of the learning process as well. I now have 7 new apps on my iPad and 1 new app on my Android phone that I can see using again in the future (whether regularly or sporadically) as a result of participating in 23 mobile things. These apps (and thus the ones I've found the most useful) are:
-Road Ninja
-Apps Gone Free
-Temple Run
-Instagram
-Color Splurge
-Pinterest
-Quick Office
-Google
If another similar program were offered again in the future, I would definitely participate. I sometimes struggle to find Continuing Education opportunities as a) unfortunately, CE often drops to the bottom of my to-do list and b) It can be difficult for me to leave the building to take advantage of CE opportunities. So this kind of self paced, online opportunity is ideal. Thanks to all who helped put this together!

Thing #20: Games (Temple Run)

Mobile App games are wonderful for killing time.... And I'd just recently been thinking that I'd like to find some new ones to try, as the ones I typically play are getting a bit boring for me. Enter Temple Run. Easy enough concept, but in practice something that keeps you coming back because you're frustrated that you'd like to make it a little longer than the time you did before. A perfect recipe for addiction.... :) So yes, I think I'll be playing this one for the foreseeable future.

Thing # 22: Discovering Apps (Apps Gone Free)

Apps Gone Free is a very easy way to discover new apps. The interface is very user friendly, and its very simple to go from this app to the App Store to actually download and install the app. My only suggestions would be:
a) It would be nice if there was a way to search or browse by category or something similar. Browsing by each date is a little tedious when you're looking for a specific kind of app
b) I found several cases (mostly in the apps featured further back) where the Apps Gone Free information stated that the app was indeed still free (wasn't marked as Expired as some of the others) but then when I went over to the App store, the app was not free. I'm sure this information is ever changing, so its hard to keep it up to date, but.....
Overall though, Apps Gone Free is useful and something that I see myself taking advantage of in the future.

Thing 21: Free for All (Out of Milk)

I think in an earlier post there was an opportunity to explore list making apps, but I was disappointed with the ones featured. The grocery list making app that I've used for quite some time now - and really enjoy is called Out of Milk. I particularly like it as a girl-on-a-librarian-salary budget, as it has a feature that allows you to enter the cost of items as you go and it will keep a running total of the cost of all items. Very helpful for avoiding sticker shock in the check out lane. I know it is available for Android, and by searching the app store, I see it's available for Apple as well. I'd highly recommend it.

Thing # 19: Hobbies (Vivino Wine Scanner)

This app was easy enough to use. It actually gave me the option to try it without creating an account which I like (see previous gripe). I didn't have a bottle of wine in front of me to scan the UPC, but the search function was easy enough. I liked the reviews and the information it had about each type of wine. I do wish it had an Amazon type "if you liked this wine, try these" feature - as I often struggle to pick out wines (and often choose the same 2-3).

Thing #18: Education (Bill Nye the Science Guy)

I LOVED Bill Nye as a young person. I'm sad that it's not on TV anymore (though I know there are DVDs around) so I was excited when I saw this app. Unfortunately, I wasn't super impressed. Maybe it takes an 8 year old mentality to enjoy it.... I guess I was looking at this app through the lens of "would my three year old nephew enjoy it and be able to do it independently." Heck, some of the things I wasn't able to do independently! :)  I think my nephew would enjoy it - particularly the game with the planets. The mechanics of the game just weren't quite age appropriate for a 3 year old. So, while I can see the value of this app, I think its one I'll be deleting from my iPad.

Thing #17: Connecting to Community (Go Southeast MN)

Going into looking at this app, I was very excited about it. I'm not originally from this area (I am from South Central MN) and so I often get into a rut as to things to do (particularly low cost - or no cost - options) with my friends. However, I was very disappointed. I couldn't figure out this app. I couldn't get it to do anything, get any results, etc. Perhaps it would help if I used it on a tablet (as opposed to my small screened smart phone) - but this app is only for Android, and I only have an iPad.... I don't know. I'm at a loss.