iPad LOVE & App LUST

a long graphic for a long post. fitting.

I had a great time over break having a lovely Tweetup Lunch with some of my favourite Maryland iPad experts! As I'm still an iPad newbie I thought it only fitting to put it to them:
What are Coolest iPad techniques,
tips & tricks and most loved and must have APPS!??

Guest bloggers Donna Anderson the Digital Librarian21 @digilibrarian21 Joquetta Johnson, the Digital Diva @accordin2jo and Selena Ward the Tech Tiger @thetechtiger
3 educators who are amazing, forward thinking, and yes..DARING! (& fun, too! YAY!)

So as not to pay favourites I'm going alphabetically! And if you were expecting a SHORT blog post on this...heh heh Not so much... This one is lusciously lovely & long....Enjoy!

iPad Tweetup with Appalicious Apps
by Donna Anderson aka Digital Librarian 21

"The iPad Tweetup went very well and we had nine awesome folks show up. I’m even in the process of planning another iPad tweetup. Stay tuned for that date. I always learn new things when talking iPad lingo with other geeks like myself and I love sharing what I’ve learned about the device. The one important thing I learned was I need to drain the battery completely at least once a month to preserve the battery life. I guess I was so excited when I got my iPad I didn’t even bother to read that part. I wonder if that’s the same for all Apple products because the Apple Princess has not been doing that at all. I shared how to lock the screen and Gwyneth, The Daring Librarian, was amazed. (Gwyneth notes: I was I was! My iPad was all of a week old & hadn't had time to play with it much yet! YAY Donna!)

·Double click your home button (located bottom center of your iPad)
·Swipe the bar one stroke to the right
·You will see your iPod controls
·Slide the toolbar to the far left of the screen and you’ll see a square with an arrow that is pointing clockwise
·Tap that square and your screen is locked in the current orientation
·Ta Daaa!!!

Also when double tapping the home button you will see all the apps on the bar at the bottom of the screen. These are the apps that are currently running in the background. Are they using up my battery? Yes, even though you aren’t using them. To close them until the next time you want to use them just click one of them in the bar until the begin to shake and click on the red minus “-” to close them. Who knew right?

I have a total of 195 apps on my iPad and wish list that is gigantic. I use my iPad a work a lot. So much that I wish I had two of them. My favorite apps to use as a library media specialist are many but I’ll list a few.

Corkulous ($4.99) I use to have sticky notes everywhere on my desk of to do’s, ideas to share, etc. The app has helped me to stay organized and keep my desk free of the expensive sticky notes. All to dos, notes, and ideas are in one place with no need to buy any more sticky notes. Check it out you might like it.


iA Writer ($4.99) Simple and clean writing app that syncs with the Dropbox app (free). I love this because I can write things on my iPad and put in Dropbox. I copy and paste into Word later if I need too. Great for just focusing on getting my ideas or blog articles like this one typed. I loved using it to type this blog entry. My 11 year old uses it a lot as well for school.

Keynote ($9.99) Great for creating presentations on the iPad which sometimes I often do on the go when I don’t have the laptop with me. It also allows me to share presentations with friends as well.


Last but not least we all shared our favorite Appalicious apps. We all know that the iPad can be used for so much fun and entertainment. During my time away from work I can say I use mine 100% for FUN. I love the following apps for just having fun and relaxing.

·Boxcar (free) Boxcar helps me to keep up with my PLN on twitter and my FB all in one place. Gives me alerts from people I really want to keep up with.

·Pandora (free) I love music and with being able to play while doing other things on my iPad is great. (Bouncing my head and wanting to snap my fingers but I’m typing as I listen to my music)

·Flipboard (free) FB, Twitter, GoogleReader, and more in one place. Beautiful layout and fun to use. So many things to read on Flipboard. You won’t be disappointed with this app.

Stay tuned for the next iPad tweetup. We share all our iPad favorites and we have lots of fun chatting too. Until next time tweeps!"

WOW! That was great! Now...let's hear from my sistah from another mistah! (yeah, i went there, whaaat?)

Joquetta Johnson - The Digital Diva

"I have owned my iPad (32g 3G & Wi-Fi) since May 2010. I still feel like a newbie. Why? Because, I am still learning sooooo many cool things. Every time I open my iPad, I continue to experience the thrill, excitement, and shear magic of this tantalizing thought-provoking technological tool, as if it were my first encounter. So, here are a few recommendations to ensure you get the most pleasure from your iPad.

Wrap It Up: Be sure to protect your digital baby and purchase a cover. I actually bought my cover prior to buying my iPad. You will probably buy several covers until you find your favorite or if you are like me, you will want to change your cover to match your mood or outfit. My first cover was orange (my favorite color). Great cover and great price, I purchased it from www.handhelditems.com. Currently, my iPad is covered in a YooBao Black leather case. Here is a great video review about YooBao. Be sure to visit the iPad cover and case blog for some of the latest updates on iPad covers, cases, skins, and more.
To maximize the potential of your iPad, there is one must have app... AppStart. I have downloaded several iPad manuals and get “started guides” but AppStart is the champion of them all. AppStart’s layout is visually appealing and fun to use. In addition to helping you learn the basics, AppStart also provides you with a list of “20 AppEssentials.” All of this for just $.99
Apps That Supplement My Professional Growth

You must have a Twitter App. Choose your weapon. I prefer the TweetDeck App. Other Twitter apps include HootSuite, TwitBird, TwitBird Pro, and Twittelator. Prices range from free to $4.99.
Slideshare.net is one of my essential web.20 tools. Therefore, the Slide By Slide app was a no brainer for me. Slide By Slide allows you browse and search presentations from Slideshare.net. Cost…FREE!!!
Too Good Not to Mention and Own Apps

MotionX GPS HD – an awesome talking navigation and GPS App. $4.99
Skyfire Browser – A video and social browser $4.99
TuneIn Radio – Listen and record thousands of radio stations $.99

That’s it for now. App with ya later!"

iPad Love - Selena Ward – tech tiger
iPad Tips- Geared around backgrounds.

Keep Calm & Carry On!

• Make your iPad reflect you with custom backgrounds!
• 1024 x 1024 images make the perfect lock and home screen.
• In your browser, just hold your finger down on the image a couple of seconds to get the option to save it.
• Any image in your Photos App can become a background by clicking on the icon that looks like a square with an outward arrow.
• Why not have functional backgrounds? Smashing Magazine’s calendars each month make great iPad calendars.

Favorite School Apps

• Noteshelf: $2.99. This app allows you to build a notebook library. Not only can you take notes, but create lists, graph math problems, write music, and more. For school using Cornell Notes there is a notebook template in that format.

• Paperdesk: $1.99. This app is similar to Noteshelf, but it does have the typing text feature and can also audio record any session.
• Sorted: $0.99. A nice, simple checklist app. I use this for school to-do lists, packing lists, or to capture a “grand” idea.
• World Book This Day: Free. Each day is filled with interesting historical facts.
• Rulla: $1.99. This app allows you to create different, large, rolling banners. Great for reminding students to slow down in the hallway.
• GeoBee: $1.99. This is a real challenging app created by National Geographic. Perfect for any school participating in the National GeoBee.

The Must Haves

• Netflix: Free, but an $8/month subscription to Netflix. Perfect app for catching up on all the movies you missed. Letting the user resume the movie where they left off makes this nice take-a-break app.
• Kindle: Free, the cost comes purchasing the books from Amazon. While I have iBooks and the Nook App, I still like the Kindle App the best. I love their Archive feature and reading user-reviews on Amazon.
• Flickstackr: $1.99. This app is going to appeal to Flickr users because you can have your photo collections on your iPad without taking up space. Each update has made this app even better.
• Magic Piano: $0.99. I think any iPad user should buy a couple of apps that are fun and something you don’t normally do. Magic Piano can relax you after a rough day.
• Friendly Plus for Facebook: $0.99. In the beginning of iPad usage there was no easy way to check Facebook, but Friendly changed that. While the free version is good, Plus allows the users to customize their look and add security features like a PIN number."

Well, that was a whole lot of AWEsome, right? Thank you ladies for giving of your time and experience to help us all love our iPads just a little bit more!

What's your favourite app? What did we miss? I'd love to hear from you!