Monday, April 26, 2010

iExit (All Stays) - Youth Worker Tips

This blog post falls into the Youth Worker Tips and Technology section. So if you aren't a youth worker, this post may not apply to you. (But if you are a dad taking the family on a vacation this summer... you might wanna keep reading...)

A couple of months ago, I downloaded an app that I thought would be useful. I didn't realize how useful until this weekend.

If you are a youth worker who takes students on trips... any kind of trip or any length of trip... and you have an iPhone, you need this app.

Here's the basic gist of the app and I think you'll see why this is helpful. When you load it up, it uses the GPS in your iPhone to find you. Then it tells you what exits are coming up on the interstate ahead of you (based on your direction) and what restaurants/gas stations/hotels/etc are at that exit. It will also tell you what the nearest rest area is and how far away it is.

We had a couple of situations this weekend when we're traveling along and students needed to go to the bathroom... Boom! I load up the app and I know how far it is to the rest area or whether we should go ahead and stop now. No more "maybe just a few more miles... can you hold on... hoping there's a rest area around the next corner..."

Also, if you want to provide multiple selections for a lunch stop (cause nobody can agree on McDonalds, Taco Bell or Wendy's... why not all three?), it shows you the best exit to stop for that purpose. It also provides you with phone numbers (if you want to warn the restaurant before your posse of 55 middle schoolers and 3 adult leaders is about to descend upon them) and addresses if you need to reprogram your GPS to take you there. You can also... although I haven't done it yet... save certain exits as favorites so you can remember them for the future.

It's a great app. And for $2.99, it's a pretty good buy for those youth workers who are going to travel with students this summer... or any time.

Pick it up HERE. You won't be sorry!

Jim

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