XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Friday, January 6. Today’s theme is expansion and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — Online gaming will continue to grow at a rapid pace over the next three years. Based in part on an industry report from Parks Associates the article estimates that revenues from online gaming
  within the US to increase to
  more than $3.5 billion in 2009 from $1.1 billion in 2005.
• Blogging, Podcasting, and Vodcasting — The Student Filmmakers Showcase, or “SFS TV” is coming soon to a portable vodcast near you.
• Handhelds –The round-the-clock availability that cell phones and pagers have brought to people’s lives may be taking a toll on family life, a new study suggests. The study, which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life — and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life. From another perspective, at least we can all be thankful now that Yahoo will make all of its communication services (e-mail, calendar, etc.) available via cell phones (see Yahoo Go)without the use of a browser. One the positive side, from the Signs of the Convergence archive, Pioneer and Samsung have unveiled new portable XM satellite radios that incorporate MP3 players.
• Social Networks –
  Mobile lines overtook fixed lines on a global scale at the end of 2002. At the end of 2003, there were over 1.35 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, compared with only 1.2 billion fixed-line users. Particularly among younger users, mobile technology is the preferred form of social networking.

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

• From Doug Johnson: Post on looking forward and the impact of new technologies on education.
• From Gregory Smith : Post on digital entertainment and Higher Education.
• From D’Arcy Norman : Post on RSS, attention, and flocking behavior.
• From Will Richardson: Posts on World Languages teachers getting excited about podcasting.
• From Graham Wegner : Post on reading blogs anywhere, anytime on a Pocket PC.