OverSkreen

OverSkreen

$2.49

Available for Android

This is app was demonstrated to me by a student on their android tablet as part of our research, Nortcliffe and Middleton (2012), students comments and reflections as computing students, that developers need to reflect more on how users use technology more:

“Makes your web browser float over things [home screens and other apps], over anything [enabling multi-tasking]” student E

“It is really interesting, the way people expect people to use technology is to be focusing on one or two things at once, the way people really use technology it is more chaotic than that” student D

To be frank this is an app I would like on the iOS.  The app enables the web-browser application to float over other applications or the home page.  Therefore provide the user with the functionality to breakout from a single app full-screen display.  It opens up the opportunity to enable the user to multi-task, for example make notes in Google Drive whilst reading article in a web based journal in OverSkreen web browser.  

I can see the practical advantage of this app, particularly when you could be viewing data of a survey in Survey Monkey in the browser, and you could be writing up the reflections of the results in Google Drive.   In my case I often or not have students work in email attachment, I want to be writing feedback in an email.   I could open up student attachment in the email web browser viewing mode; write the student feedback email in the mail app.   This would just make the process so much more practical and time efficient instead switching between apps, which I seem to be doing all the time.   My students inevitably find  me in my office using my phone, my iPad and my PC, as this is my current work around solution.   This app would make life easier, the functionality is possible on iOS, as it is a functionality provided in the Blackboard Mobile app, no wonder I like Bb mobile so much.

Reference

Nortcliffe, A.  and Middlleton, A. (2013) The innovative use of personal smart devices by students to support their learning, In Increasing Student Engagement and Retention using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies, (Eds) Wankel, L. and Blessinger, P. (eds), (Cutting Edge Technologies in Higher Education). 175-210, 2013, Emerald, Bingley, UK