Bird Watching: New Birding App Testers Needed, 0 by chrisduke23

chrisduke23 wrote:
Hi everyone,

I am a PhD Biology student at Washington State University in the US, and I have just released a new, free App that I've been developing for iPhone and iPad. We're constantly improving our App, and to that end, we're seeking birders who would be interesting in testing the App and providing feedback.

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.

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 keabirdlearning.info@gmail.com. I will send them a questionnaire, and 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!