Handy Tools

H is for Haiku Deck, Handy tools and Heart Rate

A-Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Haiku deck

Haiku deck is presentation software that takes care of the images and lets you concentrate on your content. Use minimum text on slides for maximum impact. There are a range of styles and themes that will make your work look professional and integrated. Haiku deck locates Creative Commons images for the background based on your word searches and embeds the source citation for these. Alternatively one’s own images can be added.

Need an effective presentation? This is a go to tool available for iOS and on the web in a modern browser. I often prepare a graphic in Haiku Deck then use a screenshot to embed it elsewhere. Learn more here on YouTube.


Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

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Handy Tool Set

This free app for iOS incorporates a ruler, protractor, compass, magnifier, flashlight and mirror. I find the magnifier useful for reading small text on jars and packets and have used the ruler in a dozen different scenarios. Most phones now come with a flashlight but if you have an older model, this app provides a light.
A similar app for Android is Toolbox, or there is a set of 35 tools in Smart Tools for a small price.

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Heart Rate

Instant Heart Rate is free for iPhone and Android. Open the app and place the tip of your index finger on the camera lens. View your heart rate, take notes, keep track of changes over time.

Next up - I for Interest


This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/handy-tools.html

A Gaggle of goodies

G is for Google

A-Z Challenge 2016: Apps in April

Google has a wide range of free apps. If you already have a Gmail account you will be able to make best use of these apps, if not sign up for a free account.

Calendar Tap to add a single event or reminder, choose time and duration. Choose whether to repeat every day, week, month or year. Add notes and attachments, and choose when to be reminded.

Gmail Never lose all your emails or contacts again when you change locations or internet service providers. Organise by labels and colours. Google’s excellent voice enabled keyword search inside Gmail locates information and contacts quickly.

Drive and Docs Earlier post here where I forgot to mention the ability of Google to convert spoken word to text. Simply tap the microphone to speak and see your words typed into a Doc.

Slides Prepare and share presentations on the go.

Sheets View and edit spreadsheets.

Google Earth Travel the world from above. Visit faraway places, zone in on cultural institutions and walk the streets, travel the roads and scale the mountains.

Play Books Search and save to your library, thousands of free books as well as books for purchase. Search within books, have the book read to you. Add notes bookmarks and highlights, save these to Google Drive. Never be stuck again without anything to read. Family historians, search for names and places, I’ve located some interesting works written about early colonial times in Australia.

Hangouts Schedule a private video chat with friends or make an event and record the Hangout live, publish to YouTube for the public to view later.

Google Photos enable automatic upload on your mobile device. Edit and add titles and comments. Google automatically arranges by places and times. Use the assistant to organise your own albums. Albums or individual photos can be shared across a range of apps and sites. his is an excellent service for providing backup of all your photos.

Google Maps find places, directions navigate between two points. Determine estimated time of travel via foot, car or any available public transport. Explore services such as food and cinemas near places, save places to find later. Use street view to investigate a locale. Download maps and use offline. Contribute photos and business names to improve map details.

Google+ Choose who to follow, join communities of interest, explore collections of content. Promote your blog to followers. Some communities to follow to learn more Google Drive, Google Earth, Google Photos and Google Docs

Google Keep – Note taking tool. Add notes by voice or via camera. I find this one useful for shopping lists.

All of these apps are available for both iOS and Android and once signed in your data from any of these apps will be available on any platform you use. Add a new Google app to your collection.

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Next up H - Handy tools

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-gaggle-of-goodies.html

Feeding from the frenzy

F is for Feedly, Flickr and Flipboard

A-Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Feedly

Feedly is a content aggregator so you can get the content you want to see coming automatically to you without having to visit individual websites or without cluttering your email inbox.

All the blogs and website updates I want to read are delivered to my Feedly in a continuous stream. I can scan through them quickly or choose to read the whole article. To add a site to Feedly use the magnifying glass to activate search then simply type or paste in the web address required. Click the plus button to add the feed.
During this A-Z blogging challenge April 2016, I’ve added the following blogs to my free Feedly account. Add what you want to read via apps iOS or Android, or via modern desktop web browsers.

• Exploring family
• Family History fun
• Family Tree Blossoms
• GenWestUK
• Going over the Hill
• History Roundabout
• Little Wandering Wren

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Flickr

Flickr provides 1TB of free storage for your photos. Turn on the auto-uploader and set to private or public. Edit and organise photos into albums, add titles and other data. Share to groups or share albums with others. This is a great place to back up all your photos. Once added to Flickr they can be deleted from your device to free up storage space.

Flickr is used by many prominent libraries and archives to showcase their selections to the public. Visit the millions of photos shared by the British Library or one of my favourites, the State Library of South Australia. Search for photos shared by Creative Commons licences, tap the i to get information about shared photos. Remember to attribute the source if reusing shared photos. Add photos of ancestors so that others may find them. Apps for iOS and Android.

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Flipboard

Flipboard collates stories from a variety of sources into beautiful magazines. Free for iOS and Android.

Explore the cover stories provided then search for an area of interest to follow or choose an information stream such as Twitter. This is my favourite app for following Twitter. Make your own magazines to save articles that interest you. Magazines can be public or private. I have magazines made from twitter hashtags and one from my family history blog.

Download the app to take a look at the A-Z challenge 2016 magazine I've been compiling from favourite posts so that I may revisit them after the rush of April is over.

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Next up G – A Gaggle of goodies

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/feeding-from-frenzy.html