Sunday, November 13, 2011

Android News: It's the end of Google App Inventor

The App Inventor Beta did not make the cut.  Although it was a good idea for creators, Google is dropping this project.  You will have up until December 31, 2011 to download all your projects.  After that, everything will be deleted from Google's server.  

By the end of the year Google will make publicly available the complete App inventor source code.  For now, no other open source instance is available to take up the relay for your App Inventor projects.  Instead, Google will be funding the center for Mobile Learning at the MIT Media Lab.

Hopefully there will be someone who's going to follow up on that idea.

Health Psychologist / Neuropsychologist
View Jocelyn Morettini's [LinkedIn] page

Monday, November 7, 2011

iOS app review: It's Done! A new task manager for clients with mild memory difficulties.

It's Done! is available for $2.99 at the App Store
Have you ever wondered whether a "to do" app for clients with mild memory impairments exists? It's done is a task manager that lets people manage daily activities. It has the power to send immediate "completed" notifications to caregivers (or clinicians), making behaviour tracking easy.

On the upside, the app is well designed and simple to use. It displays the current time, date and day of the week, and tasks can be added, organized and edited easily. They can be made recurrent, and reminders can be set easily. Other useful features include having easy access to past or future events, and the ability to check off completed items.

On the downside, the app only provides one reminder. It can also get cluttered as there is no task auto-hide feature. Finally, the app has the potential to "leak" sensitive information and cause patients distress if the wrong contact information is entered for notifications. Caregivers and clinicians should pay special attention to this and discuss how to take steps to reduce risks.

I highly recommend this application as it is unique and can be used by anyone who is distractible or who have memory difficulties.  I would love to see case studies which examine whether the app leads to measurable changes in patients’ life satisfaction, functioning, and memory and caregiver stress. I suspect that the app could be used in more severe cases if proper training and tools are provided (e.g.: Svoboda, E., Richards, B., Polsinelli, A., & Guger, S. (2010). Neuropsychological Rehabilitation).

To download the app or obtain more information visit the developers website [here]
The it's done app can be downloaded [here]