Why is TWITTER so powerful?

There are two types of people in the world. Those who get Twitter and those who don't.

OK, I'm joking, but Twitter does seem to divide people. What can you say that's worthwhile in 140 characters? some people ask. Others claim that much of the Twitterverse is vacuous rubbish that isn't worth reading.

Well, anyone who uses Twitter on a regular basis will tell you that the power of the tool is not so much in its content, but in its ability to connect you to other people. The same applies of course to any other social networking tool, but unlike Facebook for example, Twitter contains very few distractions. It's stripped down and very simple. There are no frivolous food fights, 'poking' or third party games such as Farmville contained within its wrapper. Twitter quite simply connects you with people who are interesting, informative or humorous.

And here's the real power: The more you connect on Twitter, the more connections you get. For me, the value of Twitter is in tapping into its social critical mass. I think that most people who try Twitter and fail to see its value don't give it enough time. If they persisted and put some time into developing their contacts and connections on Twitter, they may discover that it pays them back for the time they have invested. To do this they can use lists, following those who are good value and produce useful content, while at the same time tweeting content that others may find useful.

No, Twitter is not so much about the information and useful links you can gain access to. Twitter is powerful because it allows people to share their emotions - you can gain a window on their everyday experiences, and that often helps you in your own daily struggles. I am often encouraged by people who share snapshots of what is happening in their lives right now. It's an important dimension - I have made many friends on Twitter whom I have later met and strengthened my friendships with. Self disclosure is a risky thing, but others often reciprocate. It can all be summed up by a quote from one of my favourite authors:

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one." - C. S. Lewis

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-twitter-is-so-powerful.html

Twitter ICT Education

Its here

We have been able to get 2 iPads and they are just so KEWL. Now the playing will start and we can explore how to use it as part of the technologies in our classrooms.

Once they are available in NZ we will surly get plenty more!

And some more . . .

The newest tablet story is that Microsoft is also hard at work on their version of a tablet, or tab book / booklet.

Gizmodo. com reports:

Courier is a real device, and we've heard that it's in the "late prototype" stage of development. It's not a tablet, it's a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They're connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.

Until recently, it was a skunkworks project deep inside Microsoft, only known to the few engineers and executives working on it—Microsoft's brightest, like Entertainment & Devices tech chief and user-experience wizard J. Allard, who's spearheading the project. Currently, Courier appears to be at a stage where Microsoft is developing the user experience and showing design concepts to outside agencies.

Knowing MS's track record on innovation, I'm not holding my breath. I'll wait till February to get my Apple tablet!

iTouch Learning

I've read this on the blog of Jane Knight and thought it was worth sharing:

I have recently been investigating the use of the iPod Touch for learning and performance support purposes.

The iPod Touch is the little brother (or sister!) of the iPhone; it has pretty much all the same functionality except for its mobile phone capability. 

It is therefore much more than just an iPod/MP3 player.  You can watch (MPEG-4) videos on it, and it also has on board a range of Internet applications (e.g. Safari browser, mail reader, YouTube player and Google Maps reader).  You can connect to the Internet wherever there is WiFi connectivity.

The multi-touch interface lets you control everything with just two fingers; and there is also a touch-screen QWERTY keyboard when you need it.  The accelerometer detects  when you rotate it from portrait to landscape and adjusts the contents accordingly.  Just like any other iPod you can synchronise your audio files with iTunes, but with the Touch you can also sync your email accounts, bookmarks, contacts and so on.

I consider the iPod Touch to be a very useful mobile learning device. 

I've also been putting together a list of the top web apps and optmised sites for the iPod Touch for learning and performance support purposes, as well as collecting tips to get the most out of it as well as other resources about its use.  I've added a new section to the Centre's website, called iTouch Learning to share these findings, and of course would be very pleased to receive any links to other relevant web apps, resources, etc that could be added to the lists.

iTouch Learning

05 May 2008 at 08:11 AM in 

Lucky Lucky Lucky

I have been very fortunate to go on the USA Educational Experience earlier this Term. The tour focused on visiting schools that are on the 1:1 initiative. We talked to distinguished educators and visited classrooms to look at the impact of having a laptop per student is having on their learning.

We met some wonderful teachers and some delightful kids in Florida and in California. The last two days were spent at Apple's Campus in Silicon Valley where different members of the Apple team briefed us on various aspects of software and hardware development.

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