Thing 17: Hobbies

As you know, most of my hobbies are Korean-related. Sometimes I'll use a Korean-English dictionary app to look up words I've heard in songs or in TV shows. The app I'm trying out now, English-Korean Dictionary seems to work pretty well. It has pronunciations you can listen to, definitions, images, etc. I know anyone can just go to Google Translate, but specific language dictionaries tend to have more information regarding words and translations.

Learning new Korean words is more exciting than you think!

Thing 16: Games

Although I'm quite a fan of Temple Run 2, I decided to download Bubble Mania. The description had me at saving kittens! I've played a game just like this, but this one is infinitely better because kittens are involved. I feel like I've done a world of good today, what with helping so many kittens.

Just doin' my civic duty and saving the kittens

The game is easy enough to learn. I'm sure the levels increase in difficulty as you go, but when the lives of kittens are at stake, I will go the distance to help them!

Kpop idols like kittens, too!

Thing 15: Education

I downloaded Khan Academy for my education app. I had heard of Khan Academy, particularly in connection with SAT preparation, but hadn't checked it out. After I downloaded the app, I specifically focused on the test prep portion. Each test has instructional videos covering the different subjects, as well as tips and planning information. The topics are broken up into smaller, more specific points, and users can add individual videos to a favorites list, which they can then download and access offline. The videos also have transcripts so users (especially hearing-impaired) can read the instructions, too.

The app is very user-friendly and it's free! My one comment is that, while it covers quite a breadth of subjects and classes, I'm surprised by some that have been omitted. For example, the test preparation section has information on the SAT, MCAT, NCLEX-RN, GMAT, CAHSEE, IIT JEE, and AP Art History. I would have expected the ACT to be included as well and am curious as to why the only AP test covered is Art History. Maybe they have plans to add others as well. However, as a free resource, what they do offer is great.

 

Even Kpop idols get confused while studying and need help

Thing 14: Books

I decided to check out the YALSA Book Finder app. I downloaded it over a year ago and often forget it's there!

It's a simple app that can be of great use to a teen (or a librarian trying to help a teen!). Its main purpose is to help teens find titles to read. One of its features is Hot Picks, which makes three title recommendations every day. Users can also browse and search by title, author, genre, year, award, and book list. They can add any of these titles to their favorites.

Oh, look! One of my favorite books!

This is a great way for teens to find book recommendations. However, I have a few concerns. First, not all of the book covers show up. Many of them have the YALSA logo as the book cover. I'm sure this is a fluke (there were some books that did have their covers), but covers can be very good at grabbing the attention of readers (and sometimes deter readers, too...).

Additionally, when a book is selected, there's a button that says, "Find It," which implies it'll show where the book is, whether at a library or bookstore. However, when I click on it, the screen says "Libraries for book not found," but I don't see any options in the app to add a library (and I'm sure the app isn't built to work with just any library catalog). It pulls up Google Maps and shows my location, but doesn't have any information on the book.

Users also have the option of sharing the book on Facebook or Twitter. This is neat, but one comment I have is that many teens don't use Facebook. And while they may use Twitter, Instagram is much more popular. It would be great if they could share a photo of the book on Instagram.

How I feel after a successful RA interaction