Title: Status Board
Platform: iOS 8.4 or later
Cost: Free with in-app purchases available
Status Board is an app that’s been around for a few years but I just learned about it recently. I think it has some interesting possible uses for teens putting together infographic like presentations and for library staff and educators who work with adolescents.
The idea behind Status Board is to create Boards that aggregate information with a particular focus. It’s possible to create Boards that show personal information such as email, weather, calendar, RSS feeds, etc. However, that’s not really so unique as it’s possible to create similar kinds of screens of aggregated information with other tools.
What does make Status Board potentially useful for those working for and with teens, is the ability to create Boards that show data on a particular topic. The data can be integrated with text and web-based content to provide opportunities to display from where information was gathered, as well as the data/information itself. The images below show the two-types of boards that I created as examples.
The app interface isn’t as intuitive or as responsive as I would have liked, however once you’ve figured out the basics it is pretty easy to use. To start a new Status Board you tap on the top left settings icon and then tap on edit boards. On the right of the next screen is a + sign that is what you next tap on to create a new Board.
Once you’ve started a Board you can add widgets by dragging from the bottom into the Board area. The widgets can be moved around and sized to fit the Board as you would like. The basic widgets (for things like RSS feeds, Twitter, email, weather, and so on) are free and widgets that allow users to add their own data and content cost $9.99 (as an in-app purchase package).
It’s probably worth purchasing the 6 add-on widgets, especially if you think this app is something you might use either to create data-based presentations for your own work, or for teens to use as a part of their own informal and formal learning data gathering and presentations. There’s a lot you can do with the data widgets – for example tables and graphs – and these could be an opportunity for teens to develop 21st century visual and media literacy skills as well as presentation and critical thinking skills.
To change a widget’s content from its default all you or the teens you work with need to do is to tap on it and enter in the requested information. If adding your own data, you can either link to a CSV file that is available in Dropbox or link to raw data available on the web.
Status Board is definitely something to look into as tool for collecting, analyzing and presenting data and information of a variety of types.
Have a suggestion for App of the Week? Let us know. And find more great Apps in the YALSA Blog’s App of the Week Archive.
