Showing posts with label Apps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apps. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 November 2015

Sticky Notes, Begone: A Review on Remember the Milk

How do you like to organize your personal or work life? 

Most people, including myself, tend to use sticky notes or some other variation to keep track of important things to do. 


Where would anyone be without this kind of organization? I imagine we wouldn't nearly be as productive as we are now. I swear, if the Chinese didn't invent paper a thousand years ago, I'm sure we'd all be toast. 


When it comes to organization, many of us act like Nemo the clownfish. We rely on father-like notepads to come save us when our lives become disorganized chaos. Just think of how many times sticky note stacks have saved your behind from getting canned at work.



But sticky notes, the glorious things they are, also happen to get lost easily. 

When this unfortunate thing happens, many of us tend to forget what we're supposed to do until it's too late. 

"So how can we prevent this from happening?" one may ask.

Simple. By creating an account with Remember the Milk, or downloading their app onto a mobile device. 

But before I fully get into my review, I just want to mention that Remember the Milk is not the only type of productivity tool libraries can use. 

There are three types of productivity tools out there: word processing/presentation tools, collaborative tools, and time management/organization tools. 

Word processing/presentation tools are just like you'd imagine: they aid in the creation of professional documents, charts, and other word processing shenanigans. For example, some free websites that focus on these activities include OpenOffice, Google Docs, and Prezi. 

Collaborative tools are also self-explanatory, as they ease the process of sharing and collaboration between users. They are especially useful when you must communicate from long distances, or collaborate on a presentation designed by you and your fellow co-workers. Popular websites of this type (Jing, Zoho, and Slideshare) allow users to be more efficient in completing work projects.

What's great about productivity tools is that many don't require the use of the Internet, and are pretty stable things to work on. You certainly won't lose all your info when a dreaded hard-drive crash happens. And if you work offline, all of your information will be updated when you login again. 

Today though, we will be looking in-depth into time management/organizational productivity tools, using Remember the Milk as a guide.  

Remember the Milk grants its users the ability to create their own to-do lists. Think of this website as your own re-writable sticky note.

It's very simple to use: you can set due dates for tasks, and can also tag them under appropriate headings. This way, users don't mix up grocery lists from work tasks. 

What if you have a very important library staff meeting that you must attend, and don't want to forget? Easy- all you need to do is adjust the priority level for each task. 

Another really cool feature is the ability to share tasks with other users, creating an effective way for library staff to keep track of things they have done or have to do. There's even a map feature to see where your tasks are located. With this website, you'll never have to look up different computer stores on Google again, as it will direct you to the nearest relevant building from your location.

With its awesome features, Remember the Milk is a good organizational tool to help library staff keep track of events and work-related projects. 

It is free to sign up, so don't worry about having to pay. And who doesn't like free stuff to try out? You can take a look at what they offer here: http://www.rememberthemilk.com


Of course, I wouldn't end this post by leaving you with only one website. There are plenty of others that function well as time management/organizational tools. Below are the links, and I hope you find a tool you believe you can benefit from. Happy browsing!




Thursday, 15 October 2015

Apps Ain't Crappy: Why Libraries Should Use Apps More Often

Apps have changed so much over the past 20+ years. Remember the good ol' days when you could only install apps on your computer through discs, with said apps taking super long to download? Ahh, sweet memories, I tell ya. It's amazing how far we've come: you can now simply tap on your phone or tablet to download an app. And oh my, how the downloading speed is drastically faster. Woo-hoo!

At this point, you might be wondering, "Erin, how are apps useful in libraries? Do librarians download games like Angry Birds and just sit on their butts playing them?"

While it would be nice if we could do that (I mean, I wouldn't reject to having to beat my Tetris high score now and again), in reality libraries are collecting and using apps in a wide variety of ways.


For example, some apps can act as educational tools, and more and more school and public libraries are introducing them. 


For instance, is little Jimmy or Sally curious about endangered animals and wants to learn about different species? Simple, download the WWF Together app created by the World Wildlife Fund so they can be educated on the topic in a fun, engaging way. There are many educational apps out there, ranging from math games to learning about art history. It might take some digging around on the iPad, but these apps offer great benefits.


In addition, apps can also be useful in a professional setting. They can help boost productivity and organization in the work world.

Think about it, with the rise of cloud storage, apps such as Dropbox allow library staff to share files between your phone and computer wherever the app is installed. Apps can even be used for group presentations, with Keynote giving users animated charts and other features for more professional presenting. There are many other apps out there that can help library staff become more organized and productive.


And of course, libraries can also create their own apps to promote their services to the public, among other things. 


Winnipeg Public Library's WPL to Go allows users to search the catalogue, check their accounts, and allow access to OverDrive for downloadable audio-books and e-books. That's right, all of these features are in one pretty little square. It's pretty nice to use library services in one mere button touch.


Speaking of which, an app that I use quite frequently is Mango Mobile. It's a handy little app that helps you learn languages by providing you with word pronunciations from native speakers. It's a great way to brush up on my French now and again, and works wonderfully for non-English speakers. In fact, Toronto Public Library now allows access to Mango Mobile, so long as you sign in with your library card and create a profile. It's available for both Androids and iPhones/iPads/iPod Touches, which is nice. I also think that this app could also be useful in school libraries for teaching ESL courses, as non-English students would have a way to learn English on-the-go.


Au revoir for now, readers. I'm off to use Mango and the many other apps installed on my phone.