Facebook on iPhone (Inside Facebook)

This story from Inside Facebook hipped me to what has to be one of the slickest apps on the iPhone. This translation of the desktop-based Facebook experience is flawless. By that I mean that while not exactly the same, the designers clearly looked at the user experience they wanted to provide and then looked for ways to do that within the confines of this technology.

Wow Mark, that sounds like a good way to start our mobile learning projects.

I'm glad you think so. I think the design process is just sooo much more interesting when there is an actual user in the mix.

Comments

[Sue Waters]

BTW just noticed your Twitter on the sidebar that talks about listening to another presentation on mlearning using a mobile phone. Would it cheer you up or make you more depressed knowing I use PDAs?

Sue

[Sue Waters]

Interesting...obviously I can not talk for other educators but I certainly know what I want my students to get out of using mobile devices. I agree totally you first need to think about what your desired outcome is and then consider if a mobile device is the way to go.

Issues I have with Facebook are 1. maybe we should just let the students choose to interact and network with each other, by themselves, in Facebook and 2. Not sure of the costs of accessing the mobile web in your location but it is not cheap here in Australia (BTW iPhones are not going to be sold here until at least beginning of 2008 - that must be why we are called the lucky country :) ).

Sue

[mark oehlert]

Sue,

While I think that there may well be ways to use facebook w/ students, whether in a mobile sense or not (I'm thinking about a class being a group and being able to share info, ask each other questions, etc) - what I really was getting at was that starting from the standpoint of thinking about what experience you want users to have in your mobile learning instance is a valuable and IMHO, radically under-utilized design view.

I think that our discussions of "mobile learning" (I'm coming to dislike that term, is it in contrast to 'immobile learning'?) move way too quickly to discussions of hardware before we even know what we want learners to get out of it.

[Sue Waters]

Interesting post but what I am really interested in "that sounds like a good way to start our mobile learning projects". I would love to hear you thoughts on how you would use Facebook on mobile devices with students.

Sue