Thing 18

Thing 18 is Education.  For this app I tried Project Noah.  I really wanted to try LIFE for iPad, but I don't own an iPad.

I was not "bowled over" by this app.  From what I can gather, this app is a tool to document and share nature and wildlife in a photographic format.  Users can earn badges by finding and taking pictures of different creatures, as well as embarking on "missions" as described by the app.  I just couldn't get into it and found it a bit confusing in terms of "what am I supposed to do with this app?"  And the reason the app is so confusing is that it is designed to be a companion to the Project Noah website; http://www.projectnoah.org/

The concept of the website/app is really cool; students, scientists, others who are interested in nature can document their natural environment through photographs and add to missions or animal groupings.  There is also a feature where you can upload a creature that is unknown to you and others will tell you what the creature might be.

The pluses of the app:  the photographs that have been submitted for missions are fantastic, high quality photos.  If one chooses to allow location features, the app will feature missions close to where you are, such as Great Lakes missions, Critters of the Northwoods, or Birds of Wisconsin.  Each mission links out to the mission website within the app - this might be great for use with an iPad, but not so great on a Touch.

App drawbacks:  It seems that the user (me) needed to use the missions provided by the app or find a mission that was close to what you wanted to explore and tag along with the mission posted.  The app is not explicit that it is designed to be a tool for the website until you are a few "clicks" into a mission.  The app as a stand alone does not provide great instructions as to how to use the app.  One other big drawback - you need to be "authenticated or signed in" to a social media tool to fully use the app (Google, Facebook, Twitter, those kind of tools).

Where I see this app as an asset:  I think this app would be an AWESOME tool for an elementary or even lower middle school science project.  Students could earn badges, participate in different missions and learn about native or local native critters and/or fauna while interacting in a greater "scientific" community.  It would be a great tool for homeschoolers and something a public library could use as programming or a product they could suggest to parents.

The app has some promise, but it did not work for me without a scaffold where I would be using this app as a tool in a real project.  Maybe when my daughter turns four or five, this might be a good enrichment activity for the family!