Entries Tagged 'Social Networking Sites' ↓

I’m in my second month of using an iPhone.  I had reservations about getting an iPhone due to cost (both of the phone and the data plan) but I have no regrets.

To get started with my iPhone I’ve added several productivity, social networking, and media apps.  The first thing I really needed was a good task management app.  I chose Toodledo because it was the best full featured app that works with Google calendar.  I had been using Remember the Milk with Google calendar but I found that Toodledo has more features.

I also added Evernote.  I’m still working on how I will use this app to corral information from many different sources.  I like the interface and the fact that there are web and client versions of the software all which sync.  I only wish that the software had a way to capture a drawn note  such as YouNote.  I’m still searching for an app that will allow my to draw on the screen.

I added the Google app but I’ve been disappointed that there is no method for entering appointments on the calendar there.  I ended up synchronizing the iPhone calendar app with my Google calendar.  I have also installed the Google Earth app.

For social networking I added the Facebook app and the Twitterific app.  I hear the Tweetie app is also very good.

Other useful apps I’ve installed are Pandora, Urbanspoon, NYTimes, and Stanza.  I’m still searching for an app to extend the camera and photo functionality.   I did find the Griffin Clarifi case and I’m considering purchasing it to improve clarity, especially for recognition with Evernote.

I read an interesting article yesterday in the Chronicle’s Wired Campus Blog about using Twitter in the classroom.  Professor David Parry said that using Twitter helped the students feel more like a community and he said that “It was the single thing that changed the classroom dynamics more than anything I’ve ever done teaching”.

I can certainly see how Twitter could be used as a backchannel and have similar benefits to audience response systems.  But these technologies are mostly helpful for courses with large enrollments where connections and discussions are difficult to achieve - if not impossible.  For those teaching smaller courses, this kind of in-class interaction may be counterproductive, especially in upper level courses.  As an instructional technologist promoting new technologies to faculty at a small liberal arts college (with lots of senior faculty!), I consistently have the challenge of convincing faculty to  use any new technology.  Many already consider laptops in the classroom a distraction.  However, some faculty might be willing to subscribe to a student’s Twitter if they are already very connected to that student.  I never convinced many faculty to instant message but that’s because they didn’t want to seem available to students 24/7.  Since Twittering is not chat, it may be a more attractive communication tool.

I’m really interested in Twitter’s possibilties.  I think for the right professor and the right course, it could really enhance interaction and take the course to a new level.  It may also be attractive to faculty who are already connected to their students and communicating regularly.  Time to start Twittering myself for further evaluation!