Winston

LQ: 8.0

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Brain grade: 7.8
Fun score: 8.2

Platform/Console: , , , LWK Recommended Age: 12+ Thinking Skills Used: ,

Winston is a personal assistant app that creates a list of stories from a variety of sources, and than reads them aloud to the user. Rather than read articles themselves, the app’s warm British narration briefs users on current events and updates from a selection of categories. Winston is not long winded — allowing users to get the “gist” of a story without having to delve to deeply into the content themselves. Users select the subjects they would like to receive news about, press play, and the narration begins, as Winston seamlessly switches between stories. A slideshow of photographs accompany each story, giving users to necessary context to better understand each topic. The app covers topics like news, sports fashion, technology and entertainment, and can also connect to social networks, updating users on their friends, popular posts and important events.  Since stories are narrated there is little to no reading required. The app covers material best suited to kids ages 12 and up.


this app is good for kids who need help with:

Organization

Arranging and coordinating materials in order to complete a task.

Touted as "Siri's older, more distinguished colleague," Winston features a highly organized interface. As soon as the app is opened, Winston explains how users add news categories to their personalized list in the "briefing" section: a good tutorial to revisit every so often. On the home screen are tiled categories, which can be reordered and interchanged to users' preferences, allowing for a personalized home screen. On the upper right portion of the screen is the Catalog where users have the option to change the order of the stories based on what they want to hear first. They can also swap topics, choosing broader or more selective options of a type of news story. They can even curate the catalog to resemble a daily paper, using a exhaustive, but still concise list of handpicked categories.

Self-Awareness

Understanding our own actions, thoughts and feelings. Improving social skills.

Winston asks users their name for a more personalized experience, and from there, lets them create a news feed that reflects their personal interests. It provides a visual representation of all things that are important to them. Because Winston is so personalized, users paint a picture of themselves simply by looking at their choice categories. And if they wish to branch out -- it's just one click away. Winston also can link up to social networks, allowing users to connect and stay up to date with friends and family. The app will read off popular posts from Facebook or other services, making the app a viable, easy way to stay socially connected.

 

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