Frequently Asked Questions
- What do you review? We review apps that deal with science, ranging from science apps for children to professional tools for scientists and engineers. Our science does include math and engineering, as well as some aspects of medical science.
- Where can I learn more? We outline our process, what we review (and don't) and our qualifications here.
- What makes this review site different? We never post reviews of apps that we have not tried - you won't see any press releases here. Some sites just post press releases from app developers - we will never do that. Also, we feel that our reviews have more depth than many available on the web.
- What expertise do you have? I have B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees (the graduate degrees in astrophysics), and am a former award winning university teacher. I've done a lot of outreach and have won a science communication award. I have extensive experience in technology enhanced education.
- Do you review Android apps? At this time we only do reviews of iOS apps (for iPad and/or iPhone or iPod touch). This might change in the future, but for the moment this keeps us more than busy enough.
- Can I get you to do a review of my app? While we are always open to suggestions, we can't guarantee to review any particular app. If you have a suggestion feel free to contact us.
- Do you accept compensation for doing a positive review? No.
- Where are you based? Planet Earth! But if you want a more precise location, in Victoria BC.
- Do you lead workshops or speak to groups about apps? I would be willing to do that. Contact me to inquire about a particular event.
- Have you coded apps yourself? Not yet. I am slowly learning enough Swift and hope to code a few apps related to astronomy for children. Earlier in my career I did co-author digital multimedia in astronomy and physics.
- What are your personal interests? Learning in all of its forms has been a big interest throughout my life, and I feel fortunate to have taught at both high school and university level over a career that covered about three and a half decades. I have taught most areas of physics and general astronomy, as well as occasional courses in education and computer science. I am a big proponent of informal learning and student research experiences. I am glad to see the citizen science movement growing so strongly lately. I have particular interests in astronomy, electronics, environmental science, and space science. I like to explore the natural world through hikes and camping.
- Do you do professional writing? I have published about 80 peer reviewed scientific articles, but also have done some writing of a more review and popular mode. I am on the author team for a university level physics textbook. I volunteer monthly to write and do design for a nonprofit community newspaper.
- Why put the work into this website? I think the best apps are powerful tools that can transform our understanding and appreciation of science, and see this as my small contribution to helping good apps get appreciated.
- Do you program the website yourself? What do you use? Yes. I use Rapidweaver software for the Mac.
- Do you have other websites? Yes, in varying degrees of development. For quite some time I have maintained a website at bayfundy.net on the Bay of Fundy - a mix of travel, science and background information. I have a hobby (tiny business) in purchasing mainly science related domain names, and the website where I sell those is at NamesThat.win. I have taken out 5 year domain registrations on a site that will be devoted to Physics Education and one that is about science in everyday life, but I don't have working websites there at this time.
- Why are there advertisements on this site? We hope you will not find our limited lab content intrusive, and perhaps some of them will even be of interest to you! We are now retired, and the small amount of revenue we collect from advertisements help us with expenses related to domain name registration, web hosting services, software and purchase of apps to review. If you do see a link that genuinely interests you, clicking on it will send a tiny amount of revenue our way, but never click a link just to help us!
This page was last updated July 16, 2017.
Some of the images we use here are from Pixabay.com, where they are listed as available for general use without attribution. If you have concern with an image just contact us.