all kinds of writing
With the official launch of the iPhone in the UK this week (9th November), it is interesting to look at the significance of the iPhone and the iPod touch to education worldwide.
The iPhone will, certainly, raise the bar in mobile phone design (notwithstanding Apple’s control freakery in relation to connectivity and contracts for the device), just as the iPod has done for MP3 players over the past six years. While no iPod-killer has yet appeared on the scene, there can be no doubt that the design and marketing of the digital audio player has advanced considerably since the advent of Apple’s industry-changing device back in 2001.
Many voices are saying the same now about the mobile phone in the wake of the iPhone. In the ‘Smart Phone’ area in particular (and perhaps unlike the MP3 player industry of a few years ago) there are many design-conscious and nimble producers who will undoubtedly respond - are already responding? - to the step-change that the iPhone has brought to the genre.
The iPod touch, too, is a significant piece of technology. The Touch shares much of the iPhone’s capability and design principles, of course. It is a stupendous piece of engineering, from the physical and tactile to the beautifully-executed software design. The implementation of Safari, and web-access generally, is jaw-droppingly brilliant, and the early inclusion of iTunes and YouTube directly in the interface makes this little device an absolute must-have!
Why should this be significant for education?
In my work I come across many regions and countries around the world who are looking to empower their learners by offering them all a connected device of some kind. As things stand, this objective tends to focus on the possibilities offered by laptops, or by PDAs and handhelds of various kinds. The OLPC and the Intel Classmate PC bring additional dimensions to the potential to meet this need. For some time now, whenever I have spoken to educators about the 1-to-1 vision, as it tends to be known, I have tended to look forward to a development in the mobile phone market as the eventual solution to the problem - I have been telling anyone who will listen that the advent of a powerful, handheld device, with access to the Web, and with productivity tools of various kinds built in, will be the solution. Any time soon…….
With an iPod touch in my hand, I think I can now say to people that this vision is closer to reality than even I had hoped. It can surely only be a short step from this initial implementation of the Touch, and of the iPhone, to an even more powerful device, with greater levels of storage, additional tools and functions, perhaps a virtual, laser-generated keyboard, and, of course, a price that makes it affordable as a possible 1-to-1 instrument for learners wordwide?
Can’t be long now, surely!
iPod Touch & iPhone: their significance for education
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
