Smartphones, apps and young people - Learning 2.0 update

Smart phones are becoming more and more common, including Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Palm and Windows.  A recent Pew Internet research project considered "Smartphone Adoption and Usage in the USA".  They found that 35% of adults owned a smart phone.  The rate of adoption in Australia is even higher with Telstra reporting recently that almost "one in two Australian mobile phone customers has a smartphone".

It's more difficult to find figures to indicate how many young people have smart phones, although in the UK "almost half of young people aged between 12 and 15 (47 percent) now own a smartphone" so it doesn't seem unreasonable to think the proportion in Australia would be similar.

One of the great features of smartphones is the range of apps that are available.  Perhaps your library may even consider designing an app specifically for young people?  In their presentation at UX Australia 2011, "Children of the revolution", Gerry Gaffney and James Hunter provided some tips on designing apps for children.

There are many apps available for children and teenagers, but here are some  interesting library related links:

Children

• The International Children Digital Library has an iPhone app and César Aguilar's  presentation Design Considerations For Children’s E-Books takes a closer look at the ICDL app and its design features.
• iKid Apps reviews apps for children and Apps for children with special needs lists a range of offerings from different developers.
• Geek Dad also consider the World of Children's Apps.

Teenagers

• YALSA now review the app of the week on their blog  eg. Linda Braun reviews the glmps app and considers how it might be used by teens in the library.
• Teenagers are not just using apps, in some cases they're designing them.  Some programs like Appsbar might prove useful.
• danah boyd is a recognised authority on how teenagers use social networking, often on their smart phones.  She has co-authored Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.

Sincerely,
The NSW Public Libraries Learning 2.0 Pit Crew
Ellen, Victoria and Mylee

nswpln@gmail.com
pls@sl.nsw.gov.au
State Library of NSW