Living in the 4th Screen

Below is a video about a University of Texas professor using Twitter as part of classroom discussions. Using their cell phones or computers students can post to Twitter and the professor has these responses projected onto a screen in the front of the room. Nowhere in the video does it discuss the interaction between the live in-class lecture and the Twitter posts.

I like the idea that students can post to Twitter, as this probably provides a forum for shy students to provide some input into the class discussion (A point brought out by a few of the students in the video). I also thought it was interesting how the professor participated in one of the classroom lectures via Twitter when she was out of town. The TA led the class but the professor engaged the students in her Twitter posts. That is a nice use of technology.

At the same time I find the 140 character limit of Twitter to be frustrating. The limit makes me feel like I am having a bunch of conversations that get cut off midway through the discussion. Maybe I will feel differently in time as I just started using Twitter with any regularity. I do like the real time nature of Twitter (Last night's updates on the Chile earthquake where way ahead of the mainstream media). I find the hash tags (#) and @ symbols mixed within posts to be frustrating. I have a programming background and understand characters and such, but what about the non-geek world? Can we come up with a Twitter-like experience that is real time, but allows more characters and eliminates these ( #@!&) symbols in the post?

Does Twitter or any real-time feed have a place in education?

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Click here to see a list of apps to use on your iPhone/iPod Touch created by Cheryl Davis and Acalanes Union High School District. The list of apps is broken down by curriculum areas. The list is comprehensive and provides an iTunes link to each application. There are currently 172 apps listed.

via I Education Apps Review

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CNET News reported that Apple has closed the gap with Research In Motion (RIM) in the percentage of market share amongst smartphone owners.

RIM holds a 40% share to Apple's 30%. Those numbers represent a 1% decline for RIM and a 5% increase for Apple.

Overall smartphone ownership is up significantly. Below is a quote from the CNET article:

When including all manufacturers, the smartphone market is clearly gaining momentum. ChangeWave reports that 39 percent of those polled in September now own a smartphone, an increase of 2 percentage points since June, but more importantly, double the ownership of consumers polled two years ago.

I believe this trend will continue and that you will see this kind of growth amongst our high school population. If I am correct what kind of implications does this have for our schools?

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