XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Thursday, March 9. Today’s theme is come together now, and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — A new study gives some nice insight into the revenues related to online games. According to the just released DFC Intelligence Online Game Market Forecasts, subscription revenue from online games was $2 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to $6.8 billion by 2011.

• Blogging, Podcasting, and Vodcasting — Podcasting in sports (where else?) is really taking off. Now folks can get an audio fix of their favorite pastimes, players, and teams whenever the need hits them.

• Handhelds – T-Mobile because the first company to launch a branded version of the Opera mini browser yesterday at CeBIT. This addition extends T-Mobile’s mobile Internet offering to a wider market by including the capability in low-end and mid-range phones. And this post by Shawn Oster reflects my feelings pretty well with regards to the new Origami devices. I’ll definitely be in line by Christmas once prices have hit the $500 mark.
• Social Networks – USA Today has a decent article summing up the problems many students (high school and college) hace had as a result of posting on MySpace and Facebook. Worth the read. Also, a nice update from eMarketer on Social Networks as a marketing tool. Some good statistics here.

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

• From Dave Warlick : Post on the value of new technologies and their ability to turn students into creators rather than digesters of content.
• From Bud Hunt : Post the slow-going process of getting students and teachers to make blogging a habit (and the time required to blog) .
• From D’Arcy Norman : Post on the effects of his own blogging and the effects of Stephen Downes’ hiatus from blogging on his thinking..
• From Lanny Arvan : Thoughtful post on “burnout” and Stephen Downes’ hiatus from blogging.
• From Will Richardson : Post on the mashup meme in education.
• From Christian Long: Post on the usage rate of MySpace compared to Google and American Idol.