Tag Archives: iPhone

August 15, 2013 · 8:59 am

The 1 in 5 Initiative: Learning Ally Creates a Site for Dyslexics by Dyslexics

As I have shared with you in the past, I have very severe dyslexia, but luckily, I also have Learning Ally. For years now, I have used Learning Ally’s audiobooks, which has made it so much easier for me to keep up with my textbooks for school, as well as being able to listen to all sorts of books just for fun.

Learning Ally has a great website with lots of audiobooks and resources, so if you haven’t checked it out, be sure to soon. (The have a great iPhone and iPad app that I use to listen to my textbooks.) But now Learning Ally has even more to offer. They’ve started a new site called The 1 in 5 Initiative.

Their site is all about dyslexia. But it’s even more than that. It’s an interactive site where you can do all sorts of things like create blog posts as well as videos about yourself and your experiences with dyslexia. My “Commander Ben’s Dyslexia Story” video is also featured on their Being the one stories page.

Oh! I almost forgot…you may be wondering…Why do they call the site “1 in 5”? That’s because it is believed that 1 out every 5 people has some form of dyslexia.

So be sure to check out the 1 in 5 site soon. I think you’ll really like it.

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under Dyslexia, Dyslexic, iPad, iPhone, Learning Ally, Learning Ally app, The 1 in 5 Initiative

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March 20, 2013 · 8:24 pm

Invasive Species vs Texas Invaders iPhone App

For too long, invasive species have crowded out native plants and chased away citizen scientists seeking to report them with pen and paper. Now, the Texas Invaders mobile app brings new technologies to help invasive hunters protect their ecosystems in the Lone Star state and beyond.

Download the Texas Invaders app featured in the video, attend an Invaders of Texas Workshop, and get started reporting invasive species:

Other invasive species app blog posts:

Become a citizen scientist at an Invaders of Texas Workshop

If you’re in Central Texas, learn more about the City of Austin’s volunteer training for invasive species monitoring and the City of Austin Invaders satellite group, and sign up for an upcoming Invaders of Texas Workshop at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center:

  • March 23, 2013
  • May 11, 2013
  • May 18, 2013

Hope to see you at one of the workshops soon! 🙂

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under Android, Apple, Austin Invasive Species Corps, Battles with Invasive Species, Citizen Scientist, City of Austin, City of Austin Invaders, Invasive Plants, Invasive Species, iPhone, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Mobile app, Texas Invaders, Wildflower Center

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March 18, 2013 · 2:37 pm

iPhone and Android Apps to Learn About and Report Invasive Species

Invasive species apps on the iPhone

Invasive species apps on the iPhone

There are a lot of great mobile apps to learn about and report invasive species. Mr. Chuck Bargeron, technology directory for the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (also known on the web as Bugwood), has created many apps about invasive species.

I had a chance to talk with Mr. Bargeron at the 2011 Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference:

In my How to Succeed in Hunting Invasive Species Without Really Trying blog post, I created a video about a fictional mobile app, but there are lots of great real invasive species apps for your mobile phone.

Here are some of the apps that Mr. Bargeron and the University of Georgia helped to create for citizen scientists on the hunt for invasive species. In the following listing, I’ve include links for you to download the iPhone (iPhone and iPad) and Android app versions and a brief description of the apps from their web pages:

  • EDDMapS West
    iPhone | Android
    EDDMapS is a national web-based mapping system for documenting invasive species distribution.
  • Forest Insect Pests
    iPhone | Android
    The photos present in this app are intended to help foresters, urban landscaping employees, or others working with trees recognize some of the common pest insects affecting trees in North America and understand their life cycles and how they damage trees.
  • IveGot1
    iPhone | Android
    Submit invasive species observations directly with your mobile device from the field. These reports are uploaded to EDDMapS and emailed directly to local and state verifiers for review.
  • Outsmart Invasive Species
    iPhone | Android
    The Outsmart Invasive Species project is a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (MA DCR), and the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia.
  • What’s Invasive
    iPhone | Android
    One of the greatest dangers to natural areas is the spread of invasive species. This app accesses local lists created by National Park Service rangers and other professionals to show you top invasives species in your area.

These are some of the apps that I’ve tried out on my iPhone, but there are more out there too, including:

  • Texas Invaders (TX Invaders)
    iPhone | Android
    The Invaders of Texas Citizen Science program collects species observations from volunteer citizen scientists trained to use a specially developed Invasive Species Early Detection and Reporting Kit.

I’ll have a special blog post on this app for citizen scientists to report Texas Invasives soon. 🙂

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under 2011 Texas Invasive Plant Conference, Android, Apple, Bugwood, Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, Chuck Bargeron, Citizen Scientist, EDDMapS West, Forest Insect Pests, Invasive Species, iPad, iPhone, IveGot1, Mobile app, Outsmart Invasive Species, Texas Invaders, University of Georgia, What's Invasive

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March 16, 2013 · 7:13 pm

How to Succeed in Hunting Invasive Species Without Really Trying

The video concerns a young, ambitious native plant defender who, with the help of the smartphone app, “How to succeed in hunting invasive species without really trying”, rises from a budding environmentalist to a fighting naturalist.

Commander Ben goes to high school

I have great news to share with you! I’ve been accepted into St. Michael’s Catholic Academy for high school in the fall. I’m very excited, since I’ve been studying hard and took the ISEE exam to get in.

Last year, the drama team at St. Michael’s put on a play, “How to succeed in business without really trying“. It was a musical comedy with lots of great student actors, and this got me thinking about making a fun video with invasive species that’s similar to the opening of the play.

I hope you enjoy this latest addition to my Battles with Invasive Species video series!

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under Android, Apple, Battles with Invasive Species, High School, How to succeed in business without even trying, How to succeed in hunting invasive species without really trying, iPad, iPhone, ISEE, St. Michael's Academy, St. Michael's Catholic Academy

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March 3, 2013 · 8:20 pm

Vine and Twitter in Action at UT Austin

Using Vine and Twitter at UT Austin during Explore UT

Using Vine and Twitter at UT Austin during Explore UT

I didn’t think I’d get a chance to attend Explore UT this year, but I was able to visit UT Austin yesterday to listen to a few talks, enjoy a few exhibits, and be part of the event that they call the “biggest open house in Texas!”

I wanted to try out the new Vine iPhone app for creating short six-second videos for posting on my Twitter account, @InvasiveHunter.

Here’s how I used Vine to make short, looping videos with my tweets:

  1. Opened the Vine app on my iPhone.
  2. Aimed my iPhone camera at what I wanted to film.
  3. Held my finger on the touchscreen to create the video.
  4. When done, created a tweet with the video.
  5. Uploaded the video to both Vine and Twitter. (There’s also an option to upload it to Facebook.)

Tips on using Vine

  • Unless someone is filming talking about something, try to film different video segments on the same topic instead of just one continuous video. The different shots are more interesting and will keep people entertained.
  • Make sure to remember to take your finger off your phone when you’re done shooting the video, both off the touchscreen and definitely off your camera lens. (Not that it happened to me. 🙂 )
  • Remember that you can’t edit your video. Make sure that you get what you want when you film. If not, you can always start over.
  • One downside is that if you get a really great shot and a not so good one, and you need to start over, you lose your entire video, but that’s a minor thing.

This app is definitely very easy to use. With all the complicated mobile apps these days, it’s wonderful to have something so simple to use with Twitter.

I liked adding video to my tweets. You can use videos to convey more information than just a tweet or picture. It’s fun to create videos and watch videos from others too!

Here are a few of my tweets and Vine videos from yesterday:

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Texas Memorial Museum

Using Vine and Twitter at the UT Austin Texas Memorial Museum

Thanks @UTAustin for replying to one of my tweets during the Explore UT event:

UTAustin replies to InvasiveHunter tweet during Explore UT

UTAustin replies to InvasiveHunter Tweet during Explore UT

Videos from last year’s Explore UT event

Here are the blog posts and YouTube videos that I created from the 2012 Explore UT event:

Special Edition: Hot Science – Cool Talk this week

Don’t miss another fun event at UT Austin on Wednesday, March 6, at the next Hot Science – Cool Talks with Astrophysicist Dr. Jason Kalirai: Telescopes as Time Machines: The Legacy of Hubble & the Future through the James Webb Space Telescope.

It’s a special edition of the fun and educational presentations from the UT Austin Environmental Science Institute. Hope to see you there!

Tweet me your Vine videos

I also hope you have fun using Vine on your iPhone or iPod touch. Tweet me with your Vine videos @InvasiveHunter!

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under Brackenridge Field Lab, Environmental Science Institute, Explore UT, Hot Science - Cool Talks, Hubble Space Telescope, Insecta Fiesta, iPhone, iPhone, Jackson School of Geosciences, James Webb Space Telescope, Jason Kalirai, Texas Memorial Museum, Tweet, Twitter, University of Texas, UT Austin, Vine

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