Is it really all about the users?

I have been really disappointed with the whole sales process for the iPhone 3G. While Apple’s design and advance technologies are impressive, it is fairly disappointing that they still don’t understand it is about the costumer. We’re in the era of the prosumers, crowdsourcing. The whole iMonopoly or is a practice that (help me out here those who understand economy) might not work in the future. People want freedom, they are paying for a product, they want to use it the way they want to. Why impose a limit of 1 device per user at all costs? They had plenty of time to get the amount of iPhones out there in the market, but they prefer to control the market (even knowing that their costumers will pay for it anyway).

When you call AT&T stores, the automated message says you should “get iReady before going to the stores due to high demand”… well, maybe Apple and AT&T should have gotten their iAct together before starting sales, iTested the servers, and given better iCostumer treatment. Instead of trying to turn everyone into iSuckers by asking them wait for ours to them find out they don’t have enough devices or that they can’t iActivate the phone. And what a tasteless pun: “iReady”… ha    ha… 

Why not offer the same activation options as AT&T? My wife and I have a discount on our plan which can only be maintained if we buy the iPhone at the AT&T store. To get it activated at the Apple Store we’d have to deactivate the discount to then, call AT&T to reactivate the discount on our plan.

Anyways, Apple needs to stop having this attitude of iCanDoWhatever because they will still buy my products… it is all about the customers and I have encountered quite a few people that are upset with Apples policies and services lately… the whole MacBook Intel systems haven’t really been the “greatest” thin on Earth… anyway…

“i” am starting not to like Apple as much… already iHated iPhoto, for instance… now it’s worse…

iPhone 2.0 Applications

Has anyone been surprised by the new iPhone apps?

Some amazing ones…

Like Loopt.com that lets you know where your friends are on a Google map…

Others like Evernote.com that let you take photo notes, audio notes, etc (all sync’ed to your profile on their website)…

One of my favorites is the Shazam app which RECOGNIZES a song when you play it next to yourt phone and tells you the title, artist, album AND lets you buy right there… Amazing… So, when you are preparing some learnign material that you need THAT song that is playing on the radio but you don’t know its name: Shazam!

Cool apps… I even use the iPhone as a book light now

Google Lively - 3D Chat/Virtual World

As if Google wasn’t already trying to be the know-it-all and the have-it-all of the Web, now they also try to compete with 3D chat rooms and virtual worlds in this new release in beta phase:

Lively - “Chat and interact with your friends in rooms you design.”

“Customize your avatar and stream personal photos and video.”

“Invite your friends to chat and help decorate.”

The look an feel resembles virtual worlds such as CyWorld, for instance. Many others are compared on this chart by TechCrunch. The Blue Book published by the Association of Virtual Worlds contains and enormous list of Virtual Worlds…

It might be worth giving it a try. I am just not sure whether we need yet another virtual world combined with a chat room capability… mmmm… All in all, It might be just another move for Google to place their ads all over the Web , this time on the 3D Web…

By the way, no Mac version as of now…

Also, take a look at Karl Kapp’s list of Alternative to Second Life.

Hold Off on the iPhone 3G?

An article by Ben Patterson on Yahoo! Tech has case some buzz on the Web lately. It’s title: “5 Reasons to Hold Off on the iPhone 3G”.

While I agree with him on some points and disagree on others (I love freedom of speech), I feel like I need to respond to his article:

1. Shortages are unlikely

I agree on this one, if there reason you are camping outside an Apple store to get your new iPhone 3G, forget it. Unless you want to be known as “that guy” on the local news, there is no need to hurry…

2. Chaos on Day One

Totally agree that the new activation method (over the counter and not iTunes) might be a little bit of a stressful change, especially for the Apple stores, which are not used to processing phone contracts. Patterson is right: it might be a bit chaotic that first week.

3. 32GB iPhone 3G on the horizon

I disagree on this one. Why is a bigger storage number going to keep you from getting a gadget these days? They are always going up on storage, email, hard drives, video game consoles, SD cards, even the brain size… You are going to have to have an outdated gadget in a few months no matter what. Also, why do you need more than 8GB for a PHONE?

4. Best new iPhone features are coming to the original iPhone

Agree and disagree. While I don’t want to miss a call because I am looking at the GPS on my iPhone, I do think that the faster internet will be a big deal here. But the price in the long run is worse for this service package… IT might be good to keep the old iPhone for some reasons but bad for others…

5. The HTC Touch Diamond

I agree we shouldn’t get all excited about the iPhone being the ultimate phone and turn a blind eye to new technologies out there. But I do think that the iPhone, for many reasons and for different audiences might be the best one out there today…

The biggest reasons to hold off on the new iPhone to me really are:

1. the price of the new service package with the faster 3G connection

2. I forgot which one was number 2

Do Games for Learning Really Work?

There are many articles we could link to here that tackle this question that can hardly be answered by the lack of research in the field that really “proves” something.

Dr. Blunt just assembled the results from three recent studies that try to express the effectiveness of game-based learning or serious games.

You can download the word processor version here. Or view the HTML version clicking here.

He finishes his article presenting several ideas for future serious games research topics:

1. Several studies of other participants using other games.
2. Studies of COTS games that could easily be adapted to teaching.
3. Studies into why there is a positive relationship between learning and video games.
4. Studies into the costs of using COTS video games versus custom content video games.
5. Studies into the presentation of different learning styles in learning video games.
6. Studies into the parental acceptance of game-based learning.
7. Studies of business models (learning industry v gaming industry) to fully integrate game-based learning and pc-based simulations into e-learning companies.
8. Studies on what impact using game-based learning will have on academic programs focusing on Instructional Systems Design (ISD) majors such as how curriculum will have to change.
9. Studies to explore the relationship between attrition and video game-based learning.

Sell Your Old iPhone and Get Paid Enough to Buy the iPhone 2.0

As highlighted on TechCrunch and other technology blogs, some companies are buying or helping you sell your old iPhone. Not so surprisingly, you can almost make as much money as necessary to buy the new iPhone model coming out July 11. Why? Well, as TechCrunch explains in this post, the market for the old version of iPhone that is more compatible with service providers other than At&T will still crave for the old version of the iPhone which doesn’t offer the 3G connection (which is, by the way more expensive than Edge, the one you have right now).

So, get ready to sell the old one and upgrade to the new iPhone 3G without losing much money. An let’s explore this upgraded platform to create learning applications!

Flipswap

Venjuvo

Shoout’em - White Label Mobile Social Network

What can a service like Shout’em do for mobile learning? Mobile learning is a concept that has been getting stronger lately with the advent of improved functionalities in mobile operating systems such as Android and the increasing quality of mobile devices (phones, PDAs, iPhone).

As learning goes more mobile and just-in-time, demand will increase for services that offer more robust solutions for mobile operating systems, like the social networking capabilities Shout’em offers (the Ning.com for mobile platforms as they call themselves). This type of services will create even more collaborative learning experiences and facilitate reaching the learners where they are…

Matt - Building a Web Application in 32 Hours

I have to admit that,typos aside, TechCrunch remains one of my favorite sources of information on technology, especially Web technologies. I suppose that unmerciful deadlines and the increasing speed of publication everyone ends up committing some spelling mistakes (I have noticed this especially in academic press). Well, let’s not get into that. TechCrunch and other tech blogs are still a good source of information if you want to stay informed on the latest technologies that can impact you somehow.

All of us that are involved with Instructional Design somehow (instructional designers, teachers, programmer, learners) can benefit from adopting or developing emerging technologies. At least playing with it…

Personal conversations with Thiagi, an expert in training and instructional design, reinforced even more my belief in quick but “quality” development.

Here is the most recent post from Ryan Carson, when invited to post on TechCrunch.com. In this post he discusses the process he and his colleagues from Carsonified Design underwent to design, develop and implement a simple Web application called Matt (a multi-account Twitter Tweeter) in 32 hours. The original post has valuable tips for quick application development such as:

1. The best boost you can give you or your team is to provide the time to be creative. Turning off your phones and email and just focusing on something new and exciting will do wonders for your energy level.
2. It could generate some amazing buzz around you and your company or products.
3. You’ll come back to your current projects with a new perspective and renewed energy.
4. It will push your team to learn new skills. For example, Will, our head of sponsor relationships, spent the whole week doing PR - something new for him.

Can we apply these principles (and others which Ryan’s team experimented with) when developing learning technologies and applications? Have you had a similar experience Let’s share it here.

PS.: you can find a video tour of “Matt” on their main page. If you look for “Matt Carsonified” on Youtube, you will find some videos they created throughout their “Matt 1 week”.

For More Customizable Learning Environments

For More Customizable Learning Environments - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: For More Customizable Learning Environments

Please give me your feedback on this rough draft, I’d like to get it published in conventional publications (journals) and your feedback is valuable…

Learning in MMORPGs - Constructivism in World of Warcraft

Learning in World of Warcraft - Constructivism - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Learning in World of Warcraft - Constructivism

Please read this draft and give me your opinion/suggestions in the comments area.

Thank you.