Greg Tracy

Nearly two months ago, I wrote that I had canceled the data plan on my mobile phone. I'm reporting back that it has been a smashing success. I love being connected... to the people around me rather than the interwebs.

If you're disciplined about keeping the phone in your pocket, good for you. If you're not, this might be an option for you.

The experiment was given an extra boost when two weeks into the experiment I promptly lost my non-smart phone. Brilliant move in retrospect. I avoided the nervous, fidgety grabbing of the phone to look to see if a new message arrived. One might say that I went cold turkey, and it likely made the whole transition easier. So easy, in fact, I often questioned whether I needed any kind of phone at all!

That's not to say that the data plan isn't missed. My expectations were pretty spot on. I miss Google Maps and posting photos for the family. Here are the few notes I've jotted down along the way...

The pot

Let's get it right out there... I miss having reading material when I'm on the pot. If you have a smart phone, you know what I'm talking about.

My calendar

I miss access to my calendar... I haven't missed big meetings, but I have missed those non-vital but still important events that aren't necessarily on my radar every day. I've looked into the Google API to get access via SMS and will try to implement this one.

Twitter

I'd like to find a better desktop tool for Twitter. Now that I see less of it throughout the day, it would be nice to find a tool that helps me catchup on some feeds I don't want to miss.

Email

Email becomes less important - which is good. Everyone talks about the email tax where you can't control inbound email. I've found that by sending less and reading less frequently, I've been able to lower the burden of managing email. It now comes in well controlled bursts - those blocks of time that I dedicate to my inbox. I've also become ruthless with unsubscribe options.

Better focus

I haven't quantified this, but it feels like I have better focus through less distraction. If you're not pulling your phone out all the time to check in on your online life, you've improved your chances of focusing on a specific task whether it's work, a game with the kids or cleaning up around the house.

You all have become more annoying

I'm now way more annoyed by people who choose their phones over me. Whether it's to take a phone call, respond to a text message and check the sports scores, it's nothing short of annoying. I don't know how much I did this to other people two months ago, but I'm glad I don't do it anymore.

I built an app over the weekend for the Twilio developer contest called spellitfor.us. The goal of the app was to automate spelling test practices. Allowing kids to practice spelling using the telephone.

On the surface, this project was a combination of scratching a geek itch and laziness. I've been reading words to my kids every week for five years now. And yes it does get boring. But not just for me. The kids are dying for new and more interesting ways to learn. I've tried experimenting with games and I try to have fun using the words in sentences. I'm always looking for news ways to make the chore of homework and studying more interesting and fun. This app was very much in that vein.

While the end product still needs some polish, there are a number of elements that make this a net win. First, they type in the words to create tests (practice in itself). Second, they love to record the words using their own voices and hear them back on the phone. Third, spelling words on the phone makes them feel like they are hip, texting, teenagers.

The features

The app only has a couple of moving parts and the initial implementation was very much focused on an individual practicing.

• Create a spelling test - Let anyone bundle a set of words into a "test", apply a grade level, and name it. I wound up adding a record option for each word as well. This gives the kids a chance to record their own voice.
• Quiz yourself on those tests - Let anyone take a test by responding to prompts on the phone.

There are a lot of community/social opportunities to get kids more engaged. Challenges, leader boards, average scoring, analytics on tricky words, etc. All for another day...

The Twilio magic

The initial goal was to process 100% of the test via voice. I thought I could use my pseudo-synchronous transcription hack and have the kids spell the words one letter at a time - "B-A-N-A-N-A". But I quickly discovered that the transcription service doesn't do letters. It likes words. So I turned to Plan B which uses the <Gather> verb to have the kids use the phone keypad to spell out the word.

The two new things for me on this adventure were the call flow dynamics as well as the call-out feature from the browser. While testing, I never tired from pressing my little phone button in the browser UI and having my phone ring. It brought a smile to my face every time. :)

If you're interested in seeing the nitty gritty details of how I built it, I've posted the code - a Google App Engine project - to github. Not well commented with plenty of shortcuts, but as I noted, I built that in a day. I'm putting it out there so there are more examples for others to learn from. The Twilio API code itself should be a pretty example for you, however.

Now go test your spelling - http://spellitfor.us!

(download)

Click here to download:

Hacking_education_with_Twilio_.zip (60 KB)

With the Red Sox struggling so much offensively, the Tracys have been searching for a way to play their part in Red Sox Nation. We've been trying to figure out how to help bring the bats alive.

• Team batting in August is 12th at .255
• Team slugging in August is 9th at .439
• David Ortiz?!? Oyh...

We did the only thing we could do... we brought out the Green Monster for a whiffle ball home run contest. Let's hope this helps!

Today's my wedding anniversary... 14 years. I'm incredibly lucky. Maybe that's why I was smiling so big in this photo from high school when Mel and I first started dating.

My wife has started a new business and she has a truly great product. It's passion. Passion for gardening. You won't have to spend more than thirty seconds with her to see the love and joy she has for her gardening craft.
 
And everyone around her is envious. We all recognize her passion is the blueprint for success.
 
So go check it out at http://www.melsgreengarden.com as well as all of her other new media touch points... Twitter and Facebook and here on Posterous

My daughter is doing a book report on Jackie Robinson. As she started to get started with the research, she pieced together photos into a slide show using Animoto. It was a fun way for her to get started on the report.

... when you eat it with your hands.

We cleaned out the school backpack over the break. We found the show-and-tell entry for 'A'. Yes, that's an apple, and I'm both thrilled and surprised that my wife had the foresight to put it in a zip lock!