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Review: BBC Bitesize App

19 May 2016

By Joseph

I’m sure we’re all familiar with BBC Bitesize. I’m sure we can all confess to forgetting about a piece of homework and resorting to a quick copy-and-paste job and hoping the teacher didn’t read the same Bitesize page as you, thus exposing you as a fraud!

Most students make good use of Bitesize in school and the eagle-eyed among them (I say eagle-eyed, but you can’t miss the big notices) may have noticed that the traditional Bitesize has started to give way to a new, more swanky website.

Well, the latest development is a free mobile application available on iOS and Android.

The Bitesize website states: “We’ve launched the Bitesize app for 14-16 year olds just in time for exam season”, and you can really tell.

It’s important to remember that the app is still in its infancy and as such has not yet bloomed into the omnipotent, God-like revision tool that it could be. The biggest indicator of this is the lack of flashcards for most subjects. We know that using flashcards is amongst the most effective techniques for remembering topics, because they stimulate the brain and help you retain information more effectively. The BBC says it’s working on bringing flashcards to more subjects.

Some subjects, on the other hand, just need more content full stop. For example, the triple science physics section only provides a couple of the topics students need to revise the course. Where flashcards are not available, Bitesize links you to the standard internet-based revision guide, which feels a little clunky and poorly optimised for mobile. Although you can take tests to assess yourself, I feel they rarely provide enough substance to be worthwhile. The revision guides also link you to videos on the topic, which unfortunately don’t seem to work on mobile devices, meaning you’ll have to switch to a computer to watch them. Perhaps the nail in the coffin for the Bitesize app is the fact that it needs to use Wi-Fi, or – dare I say it – mobile data to work. For a lot of us, this really undermines the usefulness of a BBC Bitesize app and means we can’t benefit from the app as much as we would like to outside of the home. Fortunately though, you can restrict the app to use Wi-Fi only if you prefer.

On the positive side, the BBC Bitesize app does cater itself well to your individual needs. It starts by asking which part of the British Isles you’re based in before proceeding to ask which GCSE subjects you’re taking (it doesn’t cater for students who aren’t studying for GCSEs at the moment), and then only gives you the information relevant to those subjects. It lets you choose your exam board for most subjects, too. As would be expected with Bitesize, the subject information it provides is stellar and what is available will no doubt prove infinite help to students on the verge of exams. All this makes it very well suited to ‘on the go’ revision, or occasions when you don’t have much time to commit to focused revision. One of the more interesting features of the app is the ‘Exam Essential’ section, which teaches you how to revise, not what to revise.

Overall, I’d say BBC Bitesize is worth the download, even if the app leaves students always demanding more; “why isn’t there anything on alpha particles!?” Let’s be fair to the Bitesize team: they’ve done their best to get it out for this year’s exams, and give it another year or so and I bet they’ll have nailed it. Unfortunately though, some of us don’t have that time…

Happy Revising!

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