Comments on iPhone 4: Don't Want, Will Buy

• Get Out of My Head!
• Posted by Dean Dad on June 11, 2010 at 8:15am EDT

• You've captured it perfectly. It's a nifty little temptation, and it's risky for educators to let themselves get too far behind the curve. That said, though, two-year lock-ins with high early termination fees don't work for me. (Neither does AT&T, though that's a matter of local geography.)

  A pay-as-you-go smartphone on verizon, though...

• Posted by Jonathan Dresner on June 11, 2010 at 1:15pm EDT

• As popular as these things are with the adult population, the iPhone demographic doesn't seem to include my students much. The iPad demographic seems to be almost exclusively tech-savvy early adopters and tech-phobic older adults who don't want to bother with laptops.

• Posted by Claire on June 11, 2010 at 1:15pm EDT

• I think you make an excellent point. All too often it is much easier to get comfortable with the technology that we use on a regular basis. I have AT&T already and will be needing an upgrade this summer. I had not really considered an iPhone but your post has made me rethink my thinking. Thanks!

• Posted by kathleen on June 11, 2010 at 1:15pm EDT

• i would urge you to really consider another device besides the iphone. i think those of us in education should be very worried about the censorship issues that arise with the apple store and other lock-down issues with that particular device. students want you to know how to interact with a smart phone, but it doesn't necessarily mean an iphone.

• Posted by Suzanne Aurilio at San Diego State University on June 11, 2010 at 6:45pm EDT

• I use new technologies for the same reasons, although I've come to accept that it's years before our students and faculty use them in the same ways too. If it ever happens.

  If there's wisdom to be had in observing contemporary and historical trends in education, it's in noting that politics and economics drive changes, not good ideas about teaching and learning.This is particularly true with distance education, which historically has been about reaching more people, not about the coolness of the latest technology.

  Don't get me wrong, I like, and dole out the cool aid that technology is a game changer in education. I just don't think it's going to as "fun" as Apple makes it out to be. My iPhone is fun; it's not a productivity tool. It's convenient, but only when my laptop isn't. I don't hear students saying anything wildly different, and I don't see too many with iPhones either. Indeed, our student computing lab is full most of the time, with students, if you can believe it.....printing. :)

• Posted by Joel Nelson , Instructional Technologies and Distance Learning at Columbus State Community College on June 12, 2010 at 1:30pm EDT

• I like all of your points in this article. They make complete sense to me. And yet, I am one of those people who watch the the introduction of iPhone 4 nad made up my mind at that point I was getting one. I also have an iPad and and iMac.

  I thin people read too much into these things. I have some of my colleagues and we has lively debates about the technology out there, but in the end it all comes down to personal preference. What is important to you individually. The reason why I have adopted the devices that I mentioned before (excluding the iMac) is not only because of the features, but because my preferences. For instance, I prefer to communicate with most people, besides my family, via text or email. Simple as that.

  I liken this to cars. Foreign vs. Domestic. Sport vs. Family. SUV vs. Sedan. And this is where I think the point that you made about making sure that the mobile content can be viewed by students on any mobile platform. I think, more than that, it is going to be our duty to make sure that any learning content be accessed on any platform. There aren't specific highways and streets for specific cars.

• I love my I-Phone, but I'm also sort of afraid of it!
• Posted by Cherie Dargan , Communications Department at HCC on June 12, 2010 at 8:45pm EDT

• My husband I got our iPhones last August, and we love them. We can check email, twitter, take pictures, check the weather, watch a video--you get the idea. I am also fond of my Koi Pond (it soothes me during long academic meetings), have read a couple of books, and like to listen to Pandora radio while working in my office. I will confess to using the flashlight app when showing a video, soothing a stressed student with my water over rocks app, and checking scores with my calculator. I'm a teacher and my husband is a librarian; we're both geeks but keep telling ourselves that it isn't so much the iPhone, but smartphones. I think it has definitely given me more "street cred" with my students, and for someone who had never sent a text message before last July, I've learned a lot about how our students are using their phones to communicate and access the web.

  I am also more aware of how different things look on mobile devices; navigating my college website, my online courses, or our online student records system is not as easy on a mobile device. I would not want students to try to do all of their work on an i-Phone. It is a useful tool and has given me new skills, insights, and access.

  However, there are problems. We recently went on a trip to South Dakota and Wyoming: I feel genuine sorrow in reporting many minutes/miles of NO SERVICE. I actually took my old Tracfone--and used it once. Seldom have we seen the magical 3G and when we do, we have to resist the urge to pull over on the interstate and start downloading stuff! Being "deprived" of the i-Phones was torture; I found myself checking to be sure that it STILL said no service.

  I have also noticed something strange: many pictures taken of my husband in the past year have been of him staring down at his iPhone. I have taken many of those pictures with my phone, and now have over 500 pictures, which I can quickly email or post on Twitter or Facebook. When we go to restaurants and are waiting for our food, we try to be polite but sooner or later one of us gets out the iPhone, which signals the other one to do the same. When I leave the house or a store or my office, I find myself checking my purse to be sure that I have it with me; I even joke it is "my precious."

  I think Joshua is right on, again! I share his concerns about multitasking and the effects on the brain. I worry that students may spend big bucks for a fancy phone and then claim not to be able to afford their books or a decent laptop. I also worry that our next generation may have deformed fingers and thumbs as the text messaging addicts marry and reproduce. However, those of us in education cannot afford to be left behind. Mobile learning is here!

  So, will we upgrade to the new i-Phone this summer? No. We are not happy with the AT & T situation, either. When our two year plan is up next summer, we will at least look at the other options. However, whatever phone we get will have to have a touch screen and lots of apps! (And yes, I am still sort of trying not to lust after an I-pad).

• Nice Sell Job
• Posted by WmFXIR , Dir ITMS at NJIT on June 15, 2010 at 1:15pm EDT

• Way to talk yourself into going for the new iPhone ;-} I have used one for 2 years now and all of these comments are spot on. It is certainly not a replacement for a computer and I read only sparingly on it (I have an iPad for that, which I love). But being able to Facebook etc. on it and check the traffic status before I hit the road each AM is priceless. I also fine a different level of connections with the students.

  That said I will be holding off to be sure that it does not become available on Verizon some time in the fall, and then, for a little while longer to be sure that it does not do to the Verizon network what it seems to have done to AT&T.

  Patience, patience........