Kea: New Birding App Needs Testers (1 Viewer)

Hi BirdForum,

I am a PhD Biology student, and I have just released a new, free App that I've been developing for iPhone and iPad.

The App is called Kea: Learn Birds Through Play, and it is designed to make the process of learning to recognize birds faster and more fun by turning it into a game. We currently cover the birds of Europe, North America, and Costa Rica, and are in the process of expanding globally. We're constantly improving Kea, and to that end, we're seeking birders who would be interesting in testing the App and providing feedback.

To provide a bit more background information, Kea uses a series of different games that help users recognize images of birds, rather than rote memorization. As a level is passed, the user earns tokens that can be used to unlock new levels, modes, and habitats. New birders can play in Beginner's Mode, and more advanced users can play with levels organized according to taxonomy or habitat. They can use their learning to unlock all the birds in North America, Europe, and Costa Rica including Pelagic species and Rarities. For more advanced birders, modes can be unlocked to learn the scientific names of all species, or in a Timed Mode that sharpens rapid identification skills.

Since Kea is designed to be free to use, Beta testers would be asked to download and try out the App, then provide feedback through a questionnaire. If they are interested, they can then elect to be part of our Beta Testers group, further helping to direct the future of Kea. Beta testers for the initial release of Kea will be given access to all future updates of Kea before they become generally available, and will have a say in the future directions for the App, such as our upcoming level-building expansion, or our Thailand and Australia versions.

Anyone interested in primary testing Kea on their iPhone or iPad can email me at [email protected]. I will send them a questionnaire, and once they turn it back to me, they can choose to be on the advanced notice list for future expansions if they like. The App itself can be accessed through Apple's App Store, and the Android version should be available this fall.

I'm very excited about bringing this tool to the birding community, and can't wait to hear great feedback that can make it better.

Thanks and happy birding!

Just had a quick play with it I chose the European birds; first things that spring to mind...

Why do I have to login/create an account? Can't progress just be stored locally or do you just want to harvest email addresses?

Do I really have to be that specific when I type in the names, it's a Green Woodpecker but no I have to try and guess is it "European", "Eurasian", "Common". I know you are only using the "proper" names but does it really help to learn the ID if you have to guess a descriptor name you never use or is never used by birders in your country.

The "complete this level to unlock the next" mechanism may be common in computer games but it is annoying if you want what to do something you have difficulties with e.g. warblers but first have to correctly identify various petrels and shearwaters that will never come to your patch or even your country.

What about the millions of Android users?

Are you going the same way as the Collins Bird Guide?

Colin

Hi everyone,

First and foremost, thanks so much for taking the time to check us out! We're definitely improving and moving forward with feedback, so we really appreciate the input.

colincurry, our Android version is actually in the final stages of development, and should be active in the very near future!

Mono, to address your points:
-Yes, you can absolutely skip the login process and have the data store locally, on the Login screen, simply hit the "Skip Login" button, and you can start playing right away. We have the account feature in preparation for one of our future upgrades, in which users will be able to submit and use their own photos, and build custom levels. We like to have a way to contact our users if needed to let them know when a new feature comes online, but we don't give out emails for any reason. If you'd rather not set up an account, no problem at all.

-We're working on building in more flexibility with the names. We are ultimately going to follow the official IOC nomenclature, which is a little unfamiliar in some cases. We also recognize that the same bird has different common names on both sides of the Atlantic (e.g. Divers vs Loons), so we're working on building in acceptance for multiple common names, then supplying the official IOC name as well.

-I appreciate your thoughts on our current level unlocking scheme, we'll jostle things around in the Taxonomic levels to improve access. We wanted to keep Kea as a free App to play basic levels with, rather than forcing people to pay for the whole thing to even download it. Users can buy tokens to unlock what they want, or simply unlock the whole geographic region and all the levels, without being forced to pay for regions they aren't interested in. It's not a perfect solution, but as with all things in a new App, we're working hard to improve it |=)|

Thank you again for checking us out, stay tuned as we build the best birding App on Earth!

Warm regards,
Chris

Hey, I haven't had a chance to check out the app as I have android machines, but I noticed the comments. So if you're open for suggestion, then here's one from a science teacher in an international school- if you have regional variations in the names, you'd perhaps be better off having the most of the answer input be multiple choice rather than type in. Its pretty easy to set up randomizing from your answer bank- this would avoid trying to spend a lot of time figuring out how to make your app recognize spelling mistakes/regional variations, etc... and most people are less stressed out by multiple choice than short answer. As they progress, you could transition to type in questions. These are strategies I see sometimes with language learning, and I think it could work here too! Can't wait to see it for Android!!!

Sounds interesting, downloading it now.