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A key change at iCommons
If you're not part of the iCommons mailing list, take a look at the letter that Heather Ford, Executive Director of iCommons, sent to the list yesterday:
Dear friends,
At the 2 August iCommons Board Meeting, the board decided to make some difficult but necessary changes at iCommons. It has become clear over the past months that our vision for iCommons is different from the... more
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A new look at Newton's Laws of Motion
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| Newton's diagram, by by redjar, flickr.com |
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In our global history where education has been distributed unequally in the past, even knowledge as basic as physics and Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion, has not been accessed by millions of students around the world. Today, however, things are very different. Quite literally, any of the three billion people who now have mobile phones could receive Newton's Laws of Motion on these potential learning devices.
A new hot fad service called Twitter could now enable Newton's Laws to be sent to an unlimited number of mobile phones, at no cost for the service. The laws could be sent by SMS - the limit of characters in a single Twitter message is 140. In the image of Newton's Laws of Motion shown here, the laws have 138 characters.
When mobile phones are suggested as tools for learning, it is a common reaction to think that it is too soon to get started. But why? The need for teaching and learning is enormous and there is a young generation who need to get educated - now. The strongest argument for using the features that every mobile phone contains, for exchanging and interfacing information, is that students already have phones, or can find one to use. Currently there are three choices:
- Wait for desktop computers ' that may never happen in many places around the world.
- Wait for mobile phones to get more features. That is happening, and it seems certain more and more mobiles will browse the Internet and do much more. But this is a work in progress.
- Use the mobile phones that nearly half the world's population already have. That can begin now and begin where you are, if you do it.
Twitter is becoming a craze because it is fun. Twitter is also popular because anyone with a mobile phone can participate. In a Twitter guide online, its broad bottom line for access is stated:
As all mobile phones have SMS capabilities, there are no limitations on which phone you can use. As such Twitter is very accessible, and profoundly mobile. By being able to access it in a variety of ways, you can truly manage which information you receive and at what point.
It is a stunning new truth of our time that the laws of motion have changed for knowledge. What is known by humankind can move from person-to-person across the planet at the speed of light. Knowledge can move in showers of messages from a single person to myriad more. And those who receive it can answer back and comment to each other. The new laws of motion will let us spread the exchange of knowledge into a twittering global commons.
Teachers and policy makers responsible for bringing education to our younger generations should not wait to begin to reach those youngsters whose only device for receiving knowledge so far, is a mobile phone. Knowledge may have to be delivered in 140 characters or less for a little longer ' but as the image with Newton's Laws demonstrates, some pretty hefty knowledge can ride in even one Twitter message.
Twitter is not the only way to put the new laws of knowledge motion to work for learning. But Twitter is a good place to begin and to learn what these new laws can do. What follows are Twitter's answers to some frequently asked questions:
What is Twitter?
Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you're doing. For some friends you might want instant mobile updates'for others, you can just check the web. Invite your friends to Twitter and decide how connected you want you to be.
How does Twitter work?
When you send in a mobile text (SMS), Twitter sends it out to your group of friends and posts it to your Twitter page. Your friends might not have phone alerts turned on so they may check your web page instead. Likewise, you receive your friends mobile updates on your phone.
What's with the 40404?
When you send a text normally, you might send it to a phone or an email address. With Twitter, you use what is called a 'short code.' That's what 40404 is ' a special phone number you use to interact with Twitter on your mobile phone.
How much does it cost?
Twitter is a free service. At some point we may introduce optional, for-pay features or services but basic usage will remain free. Note: with phone alerts turned on, Twitter makes use of texting or SMS so check with your mobile provider to find out if this will cost you extra.
Now read these again, and in your mind change the goals from chatting with friends, to delivering learning. What ways can you devise to use Twitter to deliver knowledge to students following the new laws of motion in our connective age?
tags: united states education mobile-learning twitter mobile-phone
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