App. of the Week: Madefire

Image: Madefire Logo

Do you have little suspenders to keep your socks on? You might need them after you try this app. I truly love this app. and its capabilities. It's called Madefire. It's an amazing comic book reader, but it also allows you to read Motion Books allowing the user to delve into the comic book with motion, sound, and interactive pictures.

The app. itself is free, some of the comic books are free, but most do cost about the same amount as a regular comic book. Every Friday free comic books are released!

When you first open the app. it will present you with a preview of what the app.'s motion books pertain. Afterward it opens to the main page displaying the most popular comics at the time. In the top right corner you can filter your selection by different categories such as Store, which is the main page, Motion Books, Print Books, Free, All Ages, which is for the most part appropriate for all ages, My Books, and Settings.

When you select a comic you would like to know more about, the app. will provide you with a brief overview of the book/series. It will list the different books in the series and the prices. Be careful of the 'play' button in the large picture of the book on this list. Instead of playing a preview it continues to purchase the entire series.

Image: Madefire Comic Series List

There is a website for the motion books as well as a motion book developer if you would like to publish your book to Madefire.

Video: Madefire Commercial

App. of the Week: Google Translate

Photo: Google Translate Logo

Google Translate has always been a pretty amazing service offered by Google. The app hit phones in 2011. It was fairly nice and with time has gotten better. Google Translate will translate text, speech, drawing, and now signs and billboards after Google bought the app. World Lens in Spring of 2014 and interfaced it into Google Translate.

Although not perfect, Google Translate currently will translate 90 languages. It will define words for you as well. There are limitations to the translations the app. can accomplish using the camera function. Arabic and a few other languages will need to have individual words highlighted with your finger to translate.

Check out the Wall Street Journal video below highlighting a few of the app.'s features.

Video: Wall Street Journal Highlights Google Translate Features

Next week, I will be posting a really cool app. to go along with Free Comic Book Day on May 1st.

App. of the Week: ChatterKid

Photo: ChatterPix Kids Logo

ChatterPix Kids and ChatterPix, are fun and educational apps. They give you the ability to make an image talk. It's very user friendly. ChatterPix Kids is geared toward children while ChatterPix is geared toward adults. The major difference is linking to Facebook, YouTube, and email with ChatterPix and only having the ability to share to Camera Roll with ChatterPix Kids.

Opening the app for the first time it will ask for access to your photos, camera, and microphone. The app needs permission for all three of these to function properly. You can take a picture from within the app or use pictures from your Photos or Camera Roll. You can move the picture to crop and scale within ChatterPix. Next step is to give your photo a mouth simply by dragging a line across the photo where you would like the mouth placed. Afterward you can make a 30 second recording. Preview your recording and then place fun additions on your picture such as clip art, filters, and text. After you are satisfied with your creation share it to the Camera Roll, Facebook, YouTube, or Email.

Check out the short creation from YouTube below.

 

Video: Abe Lincoln ChatterPix Example

Here's a video from Duck Duck Moose showing you how to create a ChatterPic. This video will also appear the first time you use the app.

 Video: ChatterPix Kids Instruction

We use ChatterPix Kids at the school so children can self check their own fluency. They have also taken pictures of book characters and told who they were. As the example showed above riddle biographies would be fun too! Students also enjoy making silly creations.

Duck Duck Moose created these apps and many more which are geared toward children. Most of their apps are available on both Apple and Droid/Google Play products. Check out their page to see other fun apps and information about their company.

This is my first weekly app posting. I will try to post a new one each Wednesday.

resource spotlight: rasterbator

The Rasterbator

The scourge of university IT paper consumption worldwide, The Rasterbator, has existed in one form or another since 2004. It started at the now defunct artsy site of general weirdness homokaasu.org and there is also the standalone version.  The Rasterbator is provided for your pleasure and convinience by Matias Ärje, an Internet enthusiast and connoisseur.

This would be a great resource for art in the afternoon, bulletin boards, or patrons with art projects.  Check it out at http://rasterbator.net/.  Thanks to Jennifer for sharing this awesome free resource!

literacy connections "hot spots"

Literacy Connections is the new group/committee that has formed in Rowan County.  The primary purpose of this committee is to develop “Hot Spots” – free Wi-Fi locations run by volunteers where school kids can go to work on homework.  The goal of the school system is to have 100 hot spots set up throughout the county.  Jennifer, Jane, and Melissa are on this committee.

Please periodically visit www.rowanhotspot.com .  Although no “hot spots” are listed to date, there are at least 34 in development.  This is the website you would refer parents & students to when they ask about where the hot spots are.  The website itself is in development as are many of the procedures and policies about setting up a hot spot.

If a student has trouble logging into their school account, they will need to contact their school media coordinator or teacher.  “PowerSchool #” is the unique number assigned to each student that they use to log in to their school account and school library.  There might be some confusion among students as some of the documentation says they can login to “the library” – not making the distinction between the school system libraries and the public library.

We do not have any way to assist students who have forgotten their PowerSchool # or password as this is run through the school system.

resource of the week: data resources

Check out the following FREE resources to help you make the most of available data on a budget:

CTCC - http://ow.ly/xmHCT
FactFinder.gov - http://ow.ly/xpzzW
Melissa Data Lookups - http://ow.ly/xpxoY
Website-Watcher - http://aignes.com

As featured in "More Data for your Dollar" in the June 15, 2014 edition of Library Journal.

resource of the week: NC211.org

Help when you need it most!  Dial 2-1-1 or visit NC211.org to connect with a network of over 18,000 resources in North Carolina including:

- Food Pantries
- Smoking/Tobacco Cessation Resources
- Holiday Assistance

The first step in finding help is knowing who to call. 9-1-1 is for emergencies, 4-1-1 is for directory assistance and 2-1-1 is for finding community health and human service resources.  Thanks so much to Pam Bloom for sharing this excellent resource!