I demonstrated Jaiku at ALT-C and then sent a good hour out of session taking to a English Literature lecturer who was very interested in using Jaiku (or Twitter) to enhance a session on discussing a book.
The book was set in a cafe, and he wanted the students to go to a cafe and then post their observations and discuss the book whilst drinking in a cafe.
Obviously you could do this face to face (difficult in a cafe to find enough chairs) likewise you could use a moodle discussion forum (such as this one), however one of the strengths of using something like Jaiku or Twitter was that the students wouldn’t need a wireless laptop, all they need is a phone capable of SMS and what student doesn’t have a phone these days?
Photo source.
Thats an interesting idea. I think one of the main strengths of systems like twitter and SMS when it comes to creativity is the size limit, it forces you to be more concise and strip your idea down to just the basics.
I would agree, some of the ways in which people such as Merlin Mann are using Twitter shows how creative you can be with a 140 character limit.
I like the idea but there are barriers as well.
Although most students have mobile phones these days, some have pay-as-you-go contracts without free text messages. Sending a message to Twitter or Jaiku can cost up to 25p on some networks (like mine).
Other contracts with free text messages don’t allow Twitter messages to be sent for free. And there was a rumour a couple of weeks ago that T-Mobile was blocking Twitter.
I’m on t-mobile and as far as I can see my sms posts are getting though. My Jaiku posts are costing 17p + vat and cannot be used as part of my Flex contract. Hence the growing bill (I am rehearsing my speech to my accountant). Still prefer J to T becaue of extra functionality. David