Stand back Wikipedia

CellphediaThe ubiquitous social encyclopedia is here. Introducing Cellphedia. A thesis project by Limor Garcia, a graduate student at NYU. Go to the web site, and set up an account, sharing your name, e-mail address, a password, and selecting your “Cellphedia Groups”, one or more areas of expertise or interest. You can also limit the number of messages per day and block participation at night.

Here’s how it works. You have a question, What is podcasting? Flip open your mobile phone, and text message to the appropriate group (tech@cellphedia.com) your burning question, preceded with a question mark.

? what is a podcast

A number of that group’s members will receive the question via mobile phone text message. If any of them have an answer, they will text message it back:

! <question nmber> Podcasting is an audio blog that people can subscribe and listen to using their media player.

I’m still waiting for my definition, but this experiment illustrates the increased social aspect of our information environment. As a growing percent of the content available to us is attributed more to conversation than to formally published information, and as our access to that content becomes increasingly “at-hand”, perhaps our notions of what it means to be educated should be shifting.

Testing SecurityWhat happens with testing, when students can discreetly pull out their mobile phone, type the question, and receive an answer? It might not be the right answer, but that aside, does this mean that we redefine testing security?

…Or does it mean that we redefine what and how we teach?

In an information-rich and highly connected world, who is the more valuable person, one who is good a memorizing answers, or one who can ask good questions and know where to find the answers.

Ever get the sense that this planet is becoming one giant brain. Cool!

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