Geomapping

I was in Ireland last week with my father for the 50th anniversary of the year his gaelic football team won their county championship, a big deal for their local club team -- in a small town about 50 miles outside of Belfast, where Irish games are a significant part of the identity of the local people -- and a very sentimental occasion for my dad.

I missed Michael and Viadis's presentations on Geomapping, but was able to stay connected, and view the slides on SlideShare -- after shaking off the jetlag of course. So that I wouldn't feel left out, I have uploaded some photos from the trip to my flickr account and have geotagged them.



I am most familiar with the social uses of these technologies such as the very hip dodgeball. These technologies are fun ways for friends to keep track of each other. But what about the implications for education as we continue our discussion of "Education 2.0"? As Michael said, teachers and students both need to keep up with the technologies. The teachers need to be trained so that they can use these technologies to teach their students. This is a major area for training and development.

What I find most exciting about all this is how it changes the experience of the user, who is no longer tied to the desktop computer. These technologies go with the learner out into the world in the form of hand-helds, camera phones and laptops. Also, the world comes now to the learner, who can access and share the information that these technologies provide.