Qik.com does live broadcasting via mobile phones to the internet. People can even ‘respond’ via the website (webcam, etc), and it feeds back to the broadcasting phone. Plus broadcasts are archived on Qik’s website.

Now that is cool. Nokia only though :(

Data is becoming cheaper. £100/Gb 5 years ago, to £5/Gb now. In non-3G areas, the phone will cache uploaded video and upload it once you are in a 3G location. Competitors include stickam (although this is webcam only).

Major question raised, what are the legal implication of doing this? Then again, people taking photos on Flickr can also be a breach of privacy. Students using Web2.0 technologies, may have their information exported to other countries, how does that fit in with the Data Protection Act? Do you have to have Terms and Conditions for taking a course, and do you have to allow students the option to ‘opt out’ of using Web2.0 technologies, is this discriminatory? My partner in this exercise has just shown me a very legal-ese looking document, which basically says “It’s up to the user to read the T&C’s for external sites”.

Anyway, on to potential benefits, uses, and legal pitfalls…

• All the legal pitfalls and concerns above have to be taken into account
• Very useful for media courses, or journalism courses

Note to self: Don’t video myself driving down the M5.

Twitter is mobile blogging (and web), but limited to 140 characters.

Jaiku is an alternative…

• No limit on characters
• More of a social networking site
• Can accept MMS as well as SMS
• Can follow/be followed in Jaiku
• Can link into Last.FM, etc
• Can syndicate feeds

Anyway, uses for e-learning?

• Instant feedback
• Syndicating feeds, giving people an idea of useful content
• Alternative to instant messaging? Especially across different campuses
• Useful for courses where short/concise messages are ideal. eg. Journalism, literature, etc.

Whoops, we just broke Jaiku!

Uses for Flickr:

• Using copyright free images in teaching (http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net)
• Media courses
• Building communities in a multi-campus universities
• Research (phone based pictures could be used for reasearch)
• Engineering, Architecture, Art, etc. courses. Especially with GPS tagging in phones
• Portfolios (Art, not CPD or PDP)*
• Portfolios (CPD, PDP)*

*Flickr’s access restrictions could come in useful for portfolio based work.

[flickr]tag:altc2008[/flickr]

I’m sitting here at ALT-C 2008, in one of the parallel sessions – Hood 2.0.

Having seen seesmic, we’ve just been asked to think of examples where it could be useful.

So, here goes:

• Peer review
• Feedback
• Reflective diary/PDP
• Media courses (Journalism, fism making, etc.)
• Where an event may not be repeatable, due to environment, location, etc.
• Where face-to-face communication is important (Language, acting, etc).
• Research (eg, videoing locations, etc.)

So here I am, typing this whilst on the train to London, again, for another Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) training course. This time one about SharePoint administration (I think I forgot to mention last time, that I was on a SharePoint developers course).

This is really my first time in using a laptop ‘in anger’ whilst on the move. In the past I’ve normally carried the laptop to friends houses for the weekend, or off on conferences, but used it as a desktop replacement once there. Being able to type out this blog entry without the use of a thumb pad or stylus (as with my TyTn II) is a welcome break. Albeit a welcome break with my man-parts being slowly roasted.

I really should look at getting my own laptop, rather than steal my wife’s every time I leave the house.