iPhone

Yes now there is the iPhone.

Google the "iPhone" and this morning I received 80,400,000 hits. The MacWorld conference had a buzz with most people wanting to see this latest release from Apple. It should be available in the US market by June....the New Zealand market possibly several months later. There are many interesting features about the phone but what about its educational possibilities?

It is basically a hand-held mini computer that runs on an operating system (OS X). A widescreen iPod (with touch screen controls), a cell phone, and an internet navigator all in one.

Benefits in Education????
Like any new device there is always a chit chat of how this new technology can be added to the curriculum. Although I must say there is a lot of chatter about this one online. A quote from ChalkFace Project lists the following possible benefits of the iPhone in the classroom:

• Adoption. Every kid will carry one of these voluntarily long before they all have laptops, or you have enough desktops in the school.
• Portability. Ever tried playing football on your way home carrying a laptop? But you'd do it with a phone in your pocket, wouldn't you.
• Connectivity. It's got both GPRS and wifi. So you don't have to think about how you are connected, you just are.
• Flexibility. It's borrowed one thing from the desktop computer; OSX. So it runs real programs. Lots of them.

Education and the iPhone.....what do you think?

"How Stuff Works" gives a good overview of the iPhone.