Thing 18 is all about education. Which could be a very boring subject, but being a librarian and married to a science teacher, I have discovered that not all things labeled "educational" are boring. And there are a few apps under this heading that are quite entertaining as well as educational.
I'll start with my least favorite of the ones I tried and that is Duolingo. This app is designed to help you learn a different language. I didn't find it especially helpful. I tried German language. I took German in college and thought this would be a good refresher for me. Instead I found myself grateful I already knew the vocabulary the program was going through. It goes quickly between listening exercises, spelling exercises and fill in the blank. If you already know some of the language you choose, this could be a good way to get up to speed with some of the basics, but if it's a totally new language, I'm not sure how helpful this app would be.
The next app I tried was TED. If you're at all familiar with TED Talks this is the app for you. If you have no idea what TED Talks are, try it out. TED Talks feature presenters on any subject you can think of. They're highly entertaining and, yes, educational. Using the app I watched a video of Susan Cain do a presentation on introverts and their contributions to society. I chose this talk because I read her book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Being rather introverted I found the book fascinating and her talk was as well.
A third app to try out if you love maps and/or traveling is Google Earth. You can easily lose yourself on a virtual trip around the world. You can check out satellite images of anywhere on earth. Or pictures of certain locations that people have uploaded. Try looking down the Grand Canyon, see images of Chernobyl, or maybe your own home. Super cool.
I'll start with my least favorite of the ones I tried and that is Duolingo. This app is designed to help you learn a different language. I didn't find it especially helpful. I tried German language. I took German in college and thought this would be a good refresher for me. Instead I found myself grateful I already knew the vocabulary the program was going through. It goes quickly between listening exercises, spelling exercises and fill in the blank. If you already know some of the language you choose, this could be a good way to get up to speed with some of the basics, but if it's a totally new language, I'm not sure how helpful this app would be.
The next app I tried was TED. If you're at all familiar with TED Talks this is the app for you. If you have no idea what TED Talks are, try it out. TED Talks feature presenters on any subject you can think of. They're highly entertaining and, yes, educational. Using the app I watched a video of Susan Cain do a presentation on introverts and their contributions to society. I chose this talk because I read her book Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Being rather introverted I found the book fascinating and her talk was as well.
A third app to try out if you love maps and/or traveling is Google Earth. You can easily lose yourself on a virtual trip around the world. You can check out satellite images of anywhere on earth. Or pictures of certain locations that people have uploaded. Try looking down the Grand Canyon, see images of Chernobyl, or maybe your own home. Super cool.
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