Asparion table app logo Science App Review Asparion table app logo By: Zayd

Technology in Everyday Life Marketingland.com Nowadays, we all have devices with access to millions of different apps, every app we have is a tool that we use in our everyday life. In a world where technology is being used for everything, it could be a very useful tool for education too. In a world with so many devices, apps are powerful tools that we use in our everyday life.

Problems With the Periodic Table In science class, we are learning about atoms and formulas, in order to write formulas we need to know the elements' abbreviation. For this we use a paper copy of the well-known periodic table, it provides the abbreviations and basic details for each element. Problems with this are that we have to borrow a periodic table, search through all the elements to find the one were looking for, and if we need more details, we have to individually search about the element. Using the devices we already have, we can speed up the time-consuming process of searching for elements.  sciencenotes.org An example of the periodic table we use. 

Possible Solutions A possible solution to this problem is: For each student to have a booklet containing the periodic table, and an alphabetically sorted version, that also contains a list of the elements and their properties.  Another solution would be for all of our worksheets to contain a glossary-like section with a list of the elements that are used in it, or the teacher could write an ordered list of the elements used on the board. All of these solutions are a hassle or are just wasteful of paper, if we could use the same method to find elements for different worksheets, it would be more efficient to use the same method for all our worksheets. www.birminghammail.co.uk Nowadays we all have devices capable of searching almost infinite amounts of information at the touch of a finger.

Screenshot of app from Windows store. The App Screenshot of app from Windows store. With all of us owning devices nowadays, a downloadable application seems like the best way to create an interactive tool for students to use. The application that I chose is called Asparion periodic table, it is available on the Windows store.

Asparion Periodic Table Asparion Periodic Table is an interactive periodic table that contains a search bar, detailed information on each element, hazards of certain elements, resources for even more information, and more. The app is developed by the Asparion company, who creates educational apps and other software tools. It is available for only windows 8/10 and windows mobile devices. The periodic table doesn't come with an instruction page, but for the most part, it is pretty self-explanatory. A screenshot of the app's main page

A larger screenshot of the app's main page

Right: A screenshot of the element details menu App Features As well as having a detailed periodic table, this app has many other features, when clicking on al element, the area at the top gives basic details about the element. If you want even more information, double tapping the selected element will open a chart that contains tons of information about the element including: atomic number & mass, element group, WHIMIS hazard symbols, electrical conductivity, a Bohr diagram, picture of the natural element, boiling & melting points, discovery facts and much more. What makes this app even better is that is has references to multiple other websites for even more info, although the websites require internet, the app itself is functional offline. Right: A screenshot of the element details menu

Other Interesting Features The app contains even more unique features, including two other designs of periodic tables (Benfey and Abubakar) as well as a map of all the atoms nuclides. All the controls for the app are in plain sight and easily toggleable, but there is no description to what most of the buttons do. The app doesn't have a specific section for building skills but it contains lots of information and references other sources for more info such as Wikipedia. The zoomable map of nuclides.

The two other types of tables (Benfey top, Abubakar right.)

Conclusion Asparion Periodic Table is a great app overall and a great and helpful tool for science 9 students. Its search makes it helpful to quickly find elements, detailed menus contain loads of quick facts, different views of the periodic table, and not to mention that its an app that anyone can install on their device and take with them. The app is modern looking and has never crashed however, it is a little hard to navigate.  It has no interactive way of learning other than straight facts and could use some descriptions on what certain things do. The main benefits of using a paper copy of the periodic table is the fact that it is something anyone can use and it doesn't run on batteries. This app has some great features and is very useful however, the minor addition of a description would be great, for this reason, I give Asparion Periodic Table a 4.5/5 this is the same rating on the Windows store and for good reason. Some things I could improve on this project are: a more in-depth review of the pros and cons of the app to a periodic table, I could also have compared the app to other apps or to my own ideas. I could've also included more media, such as a recording or a compilation of screenshots.