Customize your phone with the right apps

Did you know that over 40% of us have smartphones and the number keeps growing, and growing fast. But like most things, human nature is to follow the crowd and that seems to be the same with apps. Instead of tailoring our phone to fit us like a glove, many of us seem to take the one-size-fits-all approach. To tailor your phone for your needs, you might want to take a look at some of the apps below. They can be great tools for school use.

Check out Simplenote for notetaking. It is available for the iPhone and iPad and free if you want to tolerate a few ads. A personal favorite of mine is Evernote. If you want something that does more then taking notes, you might want to look at SoundNote, $5 and available for the iPad. It also records audio while you type. One app definitely worth looking at is Easybib. Citing work was never easier. Minimal writing, mimimal typing.

If you give any of the above a try, let me know how you like them or if you have a great apps that you thinking students could use in class, let me know and I will post it.

Lost in Time by Melissa de la Cruz

The 6th installment of the Blue Bloods series is out and Melissa de la Cruz will be at Barnes and Noble Stonebriar tonight, October 13 to read and sign copies of Lost in Time. Check out a book trailer for Lost in Time @ http://www.melissa-delacruz.com/. It is fantastic! Blue Bloods fans won't want to miss Lost in Time.

Meeting author Matt de la Pena

This week, a number of FHS students had the opportunity to be involved in presentations given by visiting author Matt de la Pena. Among Matt's published books are Ball Don't Lie, Mexican White Boy and We Were Here.

During presentations, Matt talked about how his childhood shaped his future as an author and how if one dream doesn't work out, that other dreams and plans can. Even though his desire to play basketball beyond college didn't work as planned, it led him to writing poetry, short stories and eventually writing four books with another to be published in the future. The FHS varsity basket ball team all read and discussed Ball Don't Lie, so meeting him and being able to ask him about this book was especially meaningful. Players even got a picture taken with Matt. They presented him with a signed FHS basketball shirt to remember his visit at FHS.

Matt de la Pena's books are available in the library, so stop down and check one out. Guaranteed you will like it and want to read more.