Science App Review-Maya Patel-2016

Define/Problem: Currently in science we are in our unit of chemistry. In this unit we are obligated to have a periodic table always at hand when doing tasks in class that involve one or more elements. With this said it is hard for many people to remember all the information about a certain element such as its charge, so I put myself to the test to find an app that could provide myself and the students in my class a good periodic table that provided all the information that we need.

Dream/Brainstorm: There are many different ways that I could think of to provide a solution to my problem, but with the way we are learning at school (digitally) I found that not all of my ideas (such as asking the teacher, a friend, or using a paper version) were quite practical.

So, I wanted to find an app that I could use under all circumstances and that had all the information for me right there in that one app. To find this app I had to ask myself some questions to make sure that the app that I had found was exactly what I was looking for. Here were some of my questions/brainstorm ideas:

 

1. Is it a great fit for our digital learning?

The app is an digital source so it goes perfectly with our digital learning style.

2. Am I able to access it anywhere and anytime?

All of the information on the app itself is capable of being accessed offline but the only difficulty with the app in this case would be that the access to videos and podcasts about the elements needs an online connection. It is also a free app which was a big plus.

3. Is it easy to use?

Is it very simple to use and I was able to use it very easily on the first try. Also, when you first get the app you get little pointers on how to work it better which helped me quite a bit.

4. Is the app completely reliable?

The app is very reliable as first of all because it is made by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It is also reliable because as my research showed, this app was pretty well known. Lastly it is reliable because I checked to make sur that the information on the app matched exactly with the information on a normal periodic table.

5. Does it help me find the solution to my problem?

It absolutely helps me solve my problem because now I am able to go onto one app and find all I need to know about each element/chemical very easily. It is an accessible app that has good information for everyone from experienced scientists to students who are new to the periodic table.

 

From this brainstorming/dreaming session, I was able to use the information that I collected to narrow down and find the perfect app for my situation. This app was called Periodic Table and it is made by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Discover/Finding the right app: In order to find this app, I had done some research to make sure that I would find one perfect to solve my problem. Not only did I use the questions I constructed in my brainstorm but I also did some online research to make sure that my app was a good fit to solve my problem. The research I did was to find popular and reliable chemistry or periodic table apps and this app that I picked was a recurring one. I also researched information about the creators of the app and from this point I was fully proven that this app was the perfect choice.

 

Using the app/Review: When first opening the app, I was surprised by how easily and effortlessly it was to find all the information and work the app (this was a huge plus for me).  Right away I was able to see all the information and even extra details that I hadn’t expected to be there!! (the app went above and beyond my initial expectations) The app right as I opened it and clicked on a few things had even given me pointers on little tricks inside the app on how to use it better. Not only this but it gave me a chose on how much information I wanted and at what level I wanted the information to be at (introductory, intermediate and advanced). Now, not only had the app surprised me with how much information I was given but the app also surprised me by how eye catching everything was. It was clearly designed with much thought put into it so that the customers would enjoy it to its full potential.

 

While investigating the app: here are some amazing things that I noticed:

 

1. The app was very easy to understand and it was laid out in a way that was very eye catching an interesting. (it was basically an online version of the periodic table which is exactly what I was looking for)

2. There were many interesting settings that I could put on the periodic table that would show me different things that I was looking for. Such as if I were looking for the non-metal elements, I just had to click on that option and all the non-metal elements would be there and coloured but the metal element wouldn’t be coloured so that you could clearly see which elements were non-metals and metals (as well as metalloids). I could also select things such as density, boiling point or supply risk and it would do basically the same thing as it did when I selected the non-metals except for this time it compared all the different things (such as density) together and I got see which had the highest of that thing and the lowest.

3. Also it was very clear and it showed me the different periods and groups each element was in (had to go to setting like in the point above).

4. When you clicked on an element it was enlarged and it would show me all the information the app had about it. Some interesting information it showed (not the normal stuff like atomic number…) was the history and the uses and properties of that certain element. Not only could you see the interesting information said above but I also got to see the pertinent information such as the classification, the atomic number, and melting and boiling points.

5. Another cool part of the app was the fact that you could enlarge the text to adjust to yourself if you were having any difficulty reading anything.

6. One really cool factor about this app was the fact that it had the possibility to watch videos and listen to podcasts throughout the app. I believe that this is not only a cool thing to have accessible in the app but also very useful because people learn about things in different ways and I believe that this add-on would help student understand better the elements of the periodic table.

 

How does the app help users build skills or learn content?

I believe that this app helps users build great skills and learn much content because of the many fantastic qualities that I mentioned above. Not only does this provide the usual information on the periodic table but it goes above and beyond with providing even more information that can also be very important. I believe that this app would be a good choice for many students because it can adjust to how each student learns with the many qualities within the app.

 

How intuitive is the app? Is it self-explanatory or does it take time to figure out?

The app is very self-explanatory and very simple to use, I was able to understand how to work it when just opening it for the first time.  But if in any case someone has any trouble navigating through the app they will find the little pointers given by the app when first opened very useful. Although I would say that this app is very straight forwards and doesn’t require a whole lot of effort to figure it out. It is also very practical and accessible which is amazing because that was one of my main goals to find in the app I was going to pick out.

 

What innovative elements does the app utilize?

A few of the best innovative elements that I found very interesting were that the app adapts to any different style of learning and give many option on how you want to be taught/learn each thing (visually or by ear or even both). Another thing I liked was how visually appealing the app itself was, because I know that that would be one big reason that I would continue to use the app (along with the detail that it contains very good information). I also very much liked how much information was given to me in just one place, since I now use the app I won’t have to go looking everywhere on the internet for different facts about a certain element because it will be all on one place… The app!!

Debrief: The overall quality of this app was great and I do truly believe that this was a fantastic choice to be the app to solve my problem. But although this app was amazing there was a couple things about the app that weren’t that great, such as: the facts that in order for the video’s and podcasts to work you need an online connection (although this wouldn’t be too much of a problem), and the other thing was the fact that it didn’t say the charges of each element in the periodic table. Although for the last one, I found a solution to that problem and that was to watch the videos and listen to the podcasts to find the charges of the elements because it was right there. But huge pluses were the facts that the overall information was great quality and very informative.  I know that this app would/could help anyone trying to learn about chemistry or the periodic table of elements and I would definitely recommend this app to others and I know that I will definitely use this app in the future to help me get a better understanding of the elements in the periodic table.

Sources for pictures taken online (others were screenshots from my device):

http://epi-rsc.rsc-cdn.org/public/img/template/rsc-logo.jpg?version=20161011110939

http://a4.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple5/v4/4c/10/e6/4c10e66f-1fb1-0d5d-371f-2af44ca423a6/screen480x480.jpeg

https://s.downloadatoz.com/3/5/c/75b25043dc9ad277dc6c8eaddb175557.jpg