There is an app for that (Smart phones)

I just recently purchased my first "smart phone" (an iPhone).  I was very familiar with what the iPhone could do and how it worked because of my experience with iPod Touches and iPads.  However, I was not sure how much use I would get from its "smart" capabilities- would I end up with just an expensive cell phone?  I am on my computer quite a bit during the work day and have always felt about as "connected" as one could be.  To my surprise I have found myself opting for the smart phone in many cases before my computer, especially when I am on the move or want to accomplish something simple and quick (i.e. email).

The advantage the smartphone has over the computer is that it is very mobile while always being connected.  I am writing this post on my phone, for instance, at the Chicago O'Hare Airport using an app called Blog Press.  It cost $2.99 on iTunes.  It makes blogging more spontaneous.  Rather than making mental notes of what I want to blog about when I get to my computer, I can actually write a few lines and post it or save a draft for later (Blog Press allows me to save the drafts online so I can finish on my computer if I want).  I also really like blogging on the smart phone because I can access pictures I have taken with the phone's camera quickly and easily (no having to connect to a computer, download the images, etc.).    

I have also been following all of my favorite blogs, including those of the Technology Challenge participants, using an app called Feeddler.  It is synced with my Google Reader account.  Feeddler is free on iTunes.    

Another of my favorite apps of late is iMapMyRun (there is also an iMapMyRide for bicyclists).  I downloaded this app for my trip to Chicago so I could log the distance and time of my daily runs (also to rescue me if I got lost!).  I have used the Map My Run web site a lot for the last few years.  The web site allows you to click the points of your run on a Google map.  It calculates the distance for you.  The app uses the GPS capapbilities of the phone to automatically record the points of your run on a map, calculating your distance, speed, etc.  You can also choose to see the elevation of your run, calories burned, and other statistics.  In terms of education, I think the app and web site can be integrated in physical education, mathematics, geography, and other courses.  




Smartphone users, what are your favorite apps?

Following Blogs

I grew up in a time before the Internet.  Growing up in the 1980's I loved reading newspapers and magazines.  I loved getting up in the morning and stepping out to our newspaper box, grabbing the paper, and reading while I ate my Wheaties.  Once I was in high school (still in the time before the Internet) and was able to earn some money working part-time jobs, I was able to buy subscriptions to a few magazines (Rolling Stone, Running Times) that spoke to my interests and passions.  They arrived conveniently in our mailbox every few weeks.  On those special days, I would swing open the tiny mailbox door and, voila,  there would be the latest edition in glossy, pristine condition ready to poured over and absorbed until the next edition arrived.

Twenty years later we live in an era increasingly dominated by the Internet.  I still get my magazines the old fashioned way in the mail- each edition as glossy and pristine as I remember twenty years ago.  But I also love reading a number of web sites and blogs.  And like my beloved magazines, they arrive in a mailbox, so to speak.  The mailbox in this case is called an "aggregator".  Instead of walking down the driveway to get to this mailbox, however, I just need to get on my computer and open a web site.

When I subscribe to a magazine, I do not go to the bookstore everyday to see if the newest edition has arrived.  I know it will be sent to me.  The same is true for the blogs I subscribe to.  Using a little feature that all blogs have called a "feed", I can quickly subscribe to any blog I like.  Again, blog mailboxes are called "aggregators".  This is how you subscribe to blogs using my favorite aggregator, Google Reader: