All posts by James Clay

coffee, twitter

Twitter bigger than Digg

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Digg has been the social bookmarking site over the last few years (much more so than in my opinion the more useful delicious). Digg has always been a popular site, however in the last year Twitter has shot ahead of Digg in terms of users.

The BBC reports

Twitter, the mobile phone-based micro-blogging service, rocketed nearly 1000% in use in the UK over the past year according to industry analysts HitWise.

For the first time, the site has seen more visits than “social bookmarking” site Digg, which allows users to share links to sites.

From my perspective as a long term user of Twitter, I joined Twitter in March 2007, I have seen the number of people I know start using Twitter grow and grow.

I am now part of a large community of e-learning people who use Twitter and as a result find it a useful tool and a interesting place to visit.

Back in 2007, as one of only a few e-learning people using Twitter, it was very little about the conversation and much more about “what are you doing” as you can see from this page, very little @replies and much more about what I was doing and thinking.

Reading documents on personlisation in preparation for a meeting on Wednesday. 6:58 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

How do we make resources for HE students available? 6:54 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

ILT Stategic thinking. 6:16 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Why can you never find an e-mail when you need it. 6:09 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Checking a JISC ITT on the retention of learning materials. 5:55 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Reading Ferl. 5:53 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Reflecting on ILT. 5:04 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

What percentage of your students actively use the college VLE? 3:41 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Preparing my team for College Development Day on the 18th April. 3:17 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Thinking about webquests for ACL. 1:51 PM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Reading articles. 10:11 AM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Now downloading a publication that Andy Black posted to the champs list: http://www.becta.org.uk/res… 9:56 AM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Thinking about how I can an audio track to my bidding presentation I gave to the RSC SW last week. 9:55 AM Mar 26th, 2007 from web

Now my typical Twitter responses are in reply and in conversation with others.

In Gloucester, one meeting today, which is in five minutes. about 4 hours ago from web

@jont or perhaps Cheltenham about 19 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to jont

@jont Gloucester about 19 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to jont

Probably going to run an unconference on mobile learning later this year. about 22 hours ago from web

Coming towards the end of the m-Champions event. about 22 hours ago from web

@MikeNolan I vote for Vodafone. 11:20 AM yesterday from web in reply to MikeNolan

@cristinacost I think I would rather go without internet then have to go to McDs @GrahamAttwell hopefully you can find a coffee shop w/wifi 11:16 AM yesterday from web in reply to cristinacost

As a result twitter is proving to be a much more valuable tool for me in sharing practice, finding out stuff and creating and developing relationships than it was when I first started using it nearly two years ago now.

It is now very easy to access Twitter via mobile devices (despite the lack of SMS support in the UK) and I will often use Twitterfon on my iPod touch.

I have written about Twitter before notably why I think Twitter is an important tool and that the informal chat side is as equally as important as the formal chat. A few people have “complained” about irrelevant tweets and I am aware of some who have stopped following others because of their so called shallow and lightweight tweets. These people in my opinion are missing the point about the real value of Twitter. I am sure that they get something from Twitter, but you have to ask the question is Twitter about following people and reading informative Tweets or is it about communication and community?

I use Twitter in various ways, as well as informing my community that I am drinking a coffee, I also let them know about various (what I think are) interesting things I am doing.  I tweet about blog posts I have made. I also use Twitter as a backchannel at events and conferences, finding out what is going on and what I find interesting.

However telling people is only half the story, maybe even as  little as 20% of the  story. The other key thing about Twitter is about communication, responding to other tweets, having a conversation. Responding to what others have written, or acting on what others have written. This was not how I used Twitter when I started (as you can see above) but is now a core reason why I use Twitter now.

I should say, for me in addition to the good stuff, Twitter is about the irrelevance, it is about the non-useful stuff. If all you ever post is what blog entries you have written, why would I follow you on Twitter, I might as well subscribe to your blog’s  RSS feed.

I want to find out what you’re doing, but I also want to find out the mundane things as well. This makes for a more rounded conversation and community.

One important thing for me to say is that for me Twitter is all about the coffee.

It’s the coffee you drink with colleagues during a break from work, where you discuss work stuff, but also discuss your commute into work, what you saw on TV last night, what bizarre thing you just saw, the weather.

It’s the coffee you drink whilst browsing the web and when you find an interesting web  site and you post the link to your blog, in an e-mail, on your VLE.

It’s the coffee you drink in a coffee shop, where you’re reading the paper, reading a book, chatting.

It’s the coffee you drink in the Library reading a journal, a book, writing stuff.

It’s the coffee you drink with fellow delegates during a break or at lunch at a conference. Where you discuss the keynotes, the presentations, the workshops, where you are going next, your hotel, the food, the coffee, what you do, where you’re going, what gadgets you have in your gadget bag.

Twitter is about these moments, but without the physical and geographical limitations. Twitter also allows people from different institutions, different sectors, different organisations, different departments to share these moments.

When you decide to follow someone, ask yourself could you drink coffee with this person, would they drink coffee with you?

At the end of the day Twitter is all about the coffee.

Twitter bigger than Digg</a></i>

Photo source.

So when did I first Twitter about coffee, you did have to ask, the first time was the day after I started using Twitter.

Just drinking coffee and about to leave for work. 7:04 AM Mar 27th, 2007 from web

psp, sony

So no PSP Phone then?

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After the success of the iPhone as a gaming platform, to me it made perfect sense that the PSP be given a phone capability. Sony’s PSP has been reasonably successful as a gaming platform, but add a phone into the mix, add the Sony PlayStation branding and we might have seen an interesting phone.

Mobile Magazine reports that due to internal disagreements, it is looking like that there will now not be a Sony PSP phone.

Sony Ericsson was planning a PSP phone but has been refused the brand

Sony is understood to have refused to allow Sony Ericsson the use of its PlayStation brand, after the handset manufacturer presented a pitch to the board late last year.

Sony Ericsson was planning to develop a PSP phone to capitalise on the growing success of the gaming sector, and after the success of Cyber-shot and Walkman handsets.

Sources said the refusal to sanction the brand on the handsets in December has prompted a fallout between Sony and the mobile phone joint venture.

A PSP with phone capabilities would have been a device I think many of our younger learners would have purchased and used.

The PSP has certainly been working for us as a mobile device for learning especially when using the camera. We are thinking of getting the GPS module for them and hopefully we can find a roughened case for the device so we can use it in the field (literally in a field up a mountain).

So no PSP Phone then?

As a footnote, nice to see Wired reporting on the Mobile Magazine story using my photograph of the PSP.

stuff

Free Maps from Ordnance Survey

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Fancy some free maps?

Ordnance Survey is now providing a selection of free, downloadable, basic small-scale maps of Great Britain for you to use for your own purpose. GB outlines with and without administrative boundaries are available in EPS, TIF, PDF, GIF and WMF format; download the style and format of your choice to use in your word processing, presentation or graphics application.

If you like what you see but require more detail, Ordnance Survey produce a range of large format, full colour OS Wall maps that may be of interest. The free GB coastline and administrative areas map is derived from the United Kingdom Administrative wall map, a wall map ideal for business or educational use.

Download them from Ordnance Survey.

Perfect for when creating handouts that require an outine of the UK.

stuff

New smartphone features ‘baffle users’

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BBC reports on how users are “baffled” by the complexity of modern smartphones.

The complexity of modern mobile phones is leaving users frustrated and angry, research suggests.

Some 61% of those interviewed in the UK and US said setting up a new handset is as challenging as moving bank accounts.

Of course some would say that today’s Google Generation and Digital Natives will be able to handle such smartphones with ease, therefore we do not need to worry about our learners using such devices.

I am not so sure.

The only mobile devices I have ever been able to set up e-mail on to both receive and send has been the iPod touch. Now I know I am not (according to the authors) part of the Google Generation as I am too old; however I do use a range of other services on my phone such as Qik, Shozu, JoikuSpot to name but three – and so I am quite adept at setting up applications and changing settings. However with e-mail, it has always been a pain!

The S60 operating system for example, is a great OS for installing third party applications,and I have done this on both the Nokia N73 and N95. Though there are included features which I can never get to work. For example, making video calls, hasn’t worked for me, so I just don’t do it. I got annoyed with the (Vodafone supplied) Nokia N73 which came with a Flickr application which never worked, in the main as Vodafone blocked Flickr as part of their Content Control.

Today’s devices are full of stuff we can use to save time, increase the quality and quantity of information we receive, to communicate, to share; however many devices are seriously lacking in terms of usability. This survey indicates that I am not alone in this view.

New smartphone features 'baffle users'

stuff

Intel’s Classmate comes to the UK

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BBC reports that Intel’s netbook for schools in developing countries, the Classmate is now coming to the UK.

A new version of a laptop originally designed by Intel for the developing world is making its debut in the UK.

The newly designed Classmate machine can be converted from a traditional laptop to a tablet PC to allow children to write and draw more naturally.

It will be available in the UK in February, and will be sold directly to schools as well as via online retailer Amazon and high street store Argos.

Won’t be cheap like other netbooks though, it has a list price of £349.

Read a review of the Classmate (with pictures).

blog, blogging, jisc, jiscel08

Blowing my own trumpet

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This blog post is really just me “blowing my own trumpet”, well can’t one do that now and again?

Why the self trumpeting?

Well the evaluation of the JISC 2008 Online Conference has been published on the JISC website.

One of the questions asked was about the blog I wrote for the conference.

The evaluation said:

Most of the respondents who included their comments thought the blog was excellent. Six people from forty-two did not find it useful or thought it was extra reading in an already busy conference, but most of the comments on the blog were in the following vein:

“It gave a useful overview of the conference that looked at the whole picture instead of the detail.  Also generated new ideas.”

“It was excellent and tied together much of the technology and reasoning behind the usefulness of an online conference.”

“For me it was one of the highlights of the conference – very, very good indeed.”

“Also enjoyed James Clay’s blog entries – amusing yet informative! Hats off…”

Really quite chuffed about the comments.

Finally to bring me down to earth, here is the bloopers tape from the conference, as not everything goes to plan….

stuff

Charging gadgets using a magnet

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At CES the BBC reports on companies which are demonstrating products which allow you to charge your gadgets just be placing them on a mat.

Magnetic induction could soon spell the end of tangled cables and a frustrating hunt for the gadget’s charger.

As someone who has a fair few gadgets, my office is full of small black chargers of various descriptions. Without my Tesco resealable plastic bags, Dymo labeller, I would be a total mess as more often than not before you know it, your chargers are all tangled up and due to poor labelling on the manufacturers’ part you are not sure if you are holding a charger for a USB hub or an UMPC!

I use resealable plastic bags for each charger, this avoids the entanglement problem, while a Dymo label on each charger gives me a much better idea about what it is for.

The thought of just having a mat to place devices on sounds very appealing.

stuff

Palm unveils smartphone

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Palm, at CES, has unveiled their new smartphone, the Pre.

Palm unveils smartphone

BBC reports

Handheld computing veteran Palm has unveiled its Pre smartphone at CES.

The touchscreen handset runs a web-centric operating system that aims to help people organise and manage their many online contacts and identities.

The device is widely seen as a competitor to rival smartphones such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, N97 and G1.

Find out more from Palm.

psp, sony

“learning by stealth” on the PSP

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gamesindustrybiz has an interesting and informative interview with Marco Minoli from Slitherine Software.

Slitherine Software are a games based company but with a slant.

Well, it’s very simple – we make history-based games. That’s our core, and I think while there are other companies who make a variety of products, we have a very clear idea of what we want to do. That’s what’s important for us – our licenses and the types of games we create.

It has to be cultural and entertaining – history is culture, and we don’t want people to notice that they’re actually learning something while they’re playing, that’s the goal. Because retail hates edutainment and culture, they just don’t like it. As soon as you say “culture” they tell you they won’t sell it.

The goal for us has always been to get people to learn by stealth, and movies like Gladiator or Saving Private Ryan – they’re entertainment, but they’re also giving some educational learning content too.

Though making a lot of PC software, they also see the PSP as having real potential as an edutainment device (though like most people I can’t stand the term edutainment).

But I think the PSP is more of a suitable platform right now, and I think at the moment it’s the console has the most potential to target new consumers.

From a learning perspective I do believe that the PSP has a lot to offer learners, and certainly my experiences with our MoLeNET Glossy project last year back this up, the PSP was the most used and popular mobile device we used, over other devices such as the iPod touch and the Asus EeePC.

Will be interesting to see if the PSP starts to have more educationally orientated content, the Nintendo DS certainly at the moment seems to have more non-gaming titles in its catalogue, though PSP sales outsell DS according to Minoli.

I’ve seen sales charts for some territories now and a top ten PSP game sells more than a top ten Nintendo DS game.

What do you think, is the PSP the future of mobile learning?

Original source of news, PSP Fanboy.