XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Friday, February 17. Today’s theme is windows of opportunity , and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — In the near future kids may opt to play games as a way to instant millionaire status (as opposed to basketball or golf).
  Games Media Properties has announced the premier of the World Series of Video Games, with $1 million in cash to be won.

• Blogging, Podcasting, and Vodcasting — MySpace is trying to mobilize blogging by becoming and MVNO partner with Earthlink. Also, PC World has a nice take on the possible impacts of podcasting on the music industry.

• Handhelds – The music player business just got more crowded (if that’s possible). Amazon has announced it will create its own music player. And, Microsoft is bullish on its new Direct Push e-mail services as it tries to make a big dent in Blackberry’s market share. We’ll see…
• Social Networks – MVNOs, the new crop of mobile phone operators who don’t have their own network but simply piggyback on the networks of established providers, have been getting a lot of buzz lately for filling in “niches.” Also, check out Yahoo! 360 and see what they’re trying to do to help their users connect with social networks.

Now, here’s a recap of our favorite posts from the edublogging community from the past 48 hours.

• From Brian Lamb : Post on alternate reality game antecedents.
• From D’Arcy Norman : Post on clarification regarding EduGlu.
• From Anne Davis : Post of blogging snapshots from the classroom.
• From Jeremy Hiebert : Post on a Personal Learning Environment model.