Mobile web applications
Although I've had my iPhone for many months, I've only started exploring the wide variety of web applications (web apps) now available for the iPhone in the last week or so. I am AMAZED by these applications, and the potential for information access and collaboration which these portend. While it is true only a limited number of people have an iPhone or other smart phone today, it seems likely the number of cell phones with Internet data access is going to keep growing by leaps and bounds in the years ahead. The presence of cell phones in traditionally organized classrooms is regarded by many as a disruptive and unwanted element of the modern learning environment. I visited with 8th grade students in an Oklahoma school district last week who are assessed a fine that increases by $10 each time they are caught at school with a cell phone. It seems likely the administrators creating and enforcing these policies in K-12 school contexts have not yet experienced the amazing, constructive potential of mobile web applications to connect them to content and people. (It's also likely these administrators define the role of teachers quite differently than Dr. Phil Schlechty does in his book "Working on the Work: An Action Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents.") Here are a few of my favorite iPhone web apps I've used to date:
Podcaster: Subscribe and listen to or view podcasts directly on your iPhone without downloading them to iTunes and synchronizing your iPhone. Podcaster even supports the import of OPML, which is the "code" you can export from iTunes, PodNova, or another podcatching program that contains all your feeds. My favorite mobile podcasts to listen to on Podcaster are the NOVA Vodcast and Best of YouTube (ipod video).
43 Actions: 43 Actions is "a GTD (Getting Things Done) inspired, mobile to-do list and advanced organizer. Designed specifically to let you manage your daily life on the go, using the always-on internet access in your iPhone." I'm using 43 Actions to more effectively manage my to-do lists and get things done! Applications like this, which can be with us at all times on our mobile device, may be the most invaluable of all mobile applications because they can become an essential part of our workflow routines each day.
WikiPedia: Bjarne Grimsmo Mogstad's iPhone interface for WikiPedia is a streamlined, fast portal for WikiPedia information, images and links. I find myself referencing WikiPedia almost every day, and this application makes my mobile access to WikiPedia even faster.
It is amazing to think we are just seeing the first generation of iPhone web applications today. Data access speeds for mobile devices are only going to increase in the months and years ahead, and it appears an explosion of mobile applications are on the way not only for the iPhone but for all variants of smartphones. It's likely we'll see more universities follow the example of Vanderbilt in setting up a content portal specifically formatted for the iPhone.
As I wrote last week, it's time to get on the mobile learning train! We're likely to see more colleges and universities embrace mobile technologies for learning before many K-12 schools will, but the likelihood that mobile learning applications will continue to grow in power and ubiquity is hard to refute.
In this environment of expanding mobile access to digital content, programming skills will be more relevant and in-demand than ever. Free programming environments for students like Alice, Storytelling Alice, and Scratch offer learners of different ages the opportunity to learn programming in inviting as well as accessible environments. Is your school offering an after-school club focused on computer programming yet? If not, why not? It's not only cool and fun to be a geek in the 21st century, it's also a potential door opener for future employment in our digital flat world.
I've created a wiki page listing all the iPhone web apps I'm currently using, as well as the other mobile websites I have found useful. I'll continue to update this in the weeks ahead.
Comments
What do Alice, Storytelling Alice, and Scratch have to do with mobile computing?
Why should computer science be relegated to club status?
Posted by: Gary Stager | April 5, 2008 8:52 AM
Gary:
The link I see here is that developers with programming skills are creating these applications for mobile computing. Of course developers can create all sorts of applications that are not limited to use on mobile devices, but I see mobile devices creating 1:1 learning situations in many schools and classrooms long before access to more capable laptop computers will. I think we need to encourage students to develop knowledge and skills in programming for intrinsic as well as instrumental reasons. Those three programs I listed are all available for free, and provide software environments in which students can both learn programming basics as well as develop their own creative abilities.
I am not saying computer science and programming should be relegated to club status. It would be great if all our students could take a well designed and led programming class as part of their 'normal' school curriculum. The fact is that our mandatory curriculum requirements in most high schools today have become so full, there is not room for ANY electives in some cases.
I see after school programs as a great entry point for initiatives like this. I recently read about the MacArthur Foundation encouraging an educational focus on after school programs, in part (I think) because of the curricular autonomy which is possible for after-school programs. Where I live in Oklahoma, I'm not aware of any elementary or middle schools that have integrated programming or robotics either as electives or after school programs. We have the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics in Norman, but I think their focus is currently all on high school students:
http://www.kipr.org/
I want to point out how personally relevant mobile applications are going to be to all of us with cell phones in the coming years, and the potential which learners of any age have to PARTICIPATE in the mobile learning revolution as developers and not merely consumers. To this end, I think awareness of and use of programming environments like Alice, Storytelling Alice, and Scratch is very important.
Posted by: Wesley Fryer | April 6, 2008 5:39 PM