Thursday, May 15, 2014

Thing 12

#12 Books, Books, & More Books

It is nice to have free access to audio recordings.  In this app I appreciate the "Popular Books" tab with illustrated book covers.  The quality of recording varies but what a good resource for students and adults who want free access to the classics.  Something like a portable public library!
The new feature for Modern Books in this app is nice; "...featuring all of the books published after most of that in the public domain." (I didn't find a title in that category yet) The bookmarking and highlighting features are handy and helpful.
I like the many search categories, and the map option is helpful. I see this being a good app for connecting books with teen readers.  This is a well-designed tool.  I'll be spending some time here.

Thing 11

#11 Library & Reference

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Our school library does not have a mobile app.  I'm impressed with the apps posted and plan to explore that option with Follett.
We do make use of the ELM site mainly with our JH students when they are researching.
I am curious about the Student Interactives on the site and if many schools are using the tools for online literacy learning.  We find useful tools/curriculum for online literacy with Commonsense Media.
Personally I use Overdrive from our public library on my mobile devices.  It is easy to use and many titles are available in electronic/print and audio formats.  Our school has not yet offered access to electronic books.