Google's new app helps anyone be a scientist
With the new app Science Journal, Google wants to make everyone think like a scientist.
Users can record data 鈥� such as speed, light, or sound 鈥撀爁rom the world around them. The data can later be plotted on graphs, annotated with notes and photos and compared against past measurements. For example, Google promotes the app with the potential hypothesis, 鈥淗ow does my acceleration change as I run?鈥� And screenshots of the app feature accelerometer data from the user鈥檚 multiple trials.
鈥淪cience Journal is a tool for doing science with your smartphone,鈥� says Google . 鈥淵ou can use the sensors in your phone or connect to external sensors to conduct experiments on the world around you鈥�. It鈥檚 the lab notebook you always have with you.鈥�
The app has garnered both positive and negative reviews.
鈥淭here is so much to measure and research for the curious people on this planet, and the mighty Google is providing us common people with tools to conveniently apply science and engineering, hopefully, aiding to benefit Mankind and the Environment,鈥� wrote user Tye Aldana.
鈥淲e assume our surroundings,鈥� adds user Roman Segura, 鈥渢his app helps you investigate a little further on what noise, light and movement really means鈥�.鈥�
Other users were not as impressed, saying the app鈥檚 features are interesting only聽to young scientists.聽
鈥淩eally, is that all? Very basic app,鈥� says Steve C. 鈥淣o ability to download and analyze data. Could probably be useful to explore science phenomena through the 6th or 7th grade but this is not useful for exploration of scientific principles. Perhaps future versions鈥�.鈥澛�
But supporters of the app say that was exactly the point: to facilitate interest among the world鈥檚 young scientists. Science Journal is a feature of the Google鈥檚 Making and Science Initiative. Google does not specify age for their target audience, instead saying 鈥�.鈥� But other products and events by the initiative include student field trips, science camps, and science fairs.
Because while engineers at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Lab in California may find the app boring, it鈥檚 not built for them, says Google. Science Journal鈥檚 purpose is to engage the curious public.聽
鈥淲e believe that anyone can be a maker,鈥� Chris DiBona, director of Google鈥檚 Making and Science Initiative writes . 鈥淪cience is also fundamentally about improving the world around you. It鈥檚 not just memorizing facts, wearing a lab coat, or listening to a lecture. It鈥檚 observing the world around us to figure out how it works and how we can make things better through experimentation or discovery.鈥�
The free app is currently available for Android phones. Users can also purchase an activity kit to accompany the app, which includes sensors and microcontrollers to complement experiments run on the app.聽
