Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56540
We have a killer environment—the wireless network and the smartphone— so anything is possible. Qusay Mahmoud, University of Guelph Killer Apps your classroom, but not sure where to start? More than enough information is avail- able online. "There are 200 to I 300 free Web resources that couple with mobile phones," says author and educator Liz Kolb. "They do everything from allow- ing you to post reports on the Internet to helping you create text message campaigns like the one Barack Obama used." Both simplespark.com and Listio.com have compiled dozens of Web resources designed for mobile phones, and Kolb constant- ly reports about new ones on her blog. These are among the applications she likes best: ■ Polleverywhere.com allows individuals or orga- nizations to pose questions to a group of respondents. When the respondents send a text message to a specified number, the site instantly tracks them online through a text messaging board. In an entrepre- neurship classroom, for example, this might allow students to get consumer nterested in integrating cell phone technology into feedback on a potential new product. The professor first could have students brainstorm ideas in class through the site. Then he could give them a week to solicit input from friends and family, who send mes- sages to the same num- ber. "When they come back to class a week later, they'll have a whole board full of ideas on how to develop this product," says Kolb. ■ Textmarks.com allows users to create a catchy keyword about any product or topic they desire. Any- one who texts that keyword to 41411 gets the response the user has specified. The site even allows users to print T-shirts bearing that keyword. So, says Kolb, if a student has launched a new business to sell bath prod- ucts, she might designate the keyword "bubbles." She puts up posters, sends e-mails to her friends, and wears a T-shirt, and each medium encourages people to text the word "bubbles" to 41411. When they do, they might receive back a text message describing the product and how to purchase it; or the text message might direct them to a Web site with more information. If they choose to become subscribers, every time the student releases new informa- tion about the bath product, the subscribers will get a text alert giv- ing them the latest details. While the student gets a crash course in product mar- keting, the professor who signs up as a "subscriber" can gauge how well the student is performing in her product launch. ■ Mobileactive.org is an activist's dream site, an organization that shows how cell phones are being used in worldwide appli- cations among the poor- est people in the world. Students can learn about cutting-edge applications for banking or about com- petitions such as last fall's "Calling All Innovators," a contest run by Forum Nokia which invited par- ticipants to create mobile applications that would improve the world. The other possibilities for cell phone applications seem limitless. Says Qusay Mahmoud of the University of Guelph, "In short, there is not one killer application for mobile learning. We have a killer environment— the wireless network and the smartphone—so any- thing is possible." BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 39 THOMAS NORTHCUT/GETTY IMAGES