Friday, January 30, 2009

Old team, new players, and current technology


A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to purchase tickets to a Harlem Globetrotter game. The thought of attending the event brought back memories of watching Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal from the rug in front of our Quasar console television.

The event was held in a local college gymnasium. The sights and smells were just as I expected they would be. I watched the Globetrotters of today take the floor as the speakers played 'Sweet Georgia Brown"

As in years gone by, the 'trotters brought their opponents with them. I watched as the Washington Generals prepared to do battle with the mighty Globetrotters.

The Captain of the Globetrotters and the Coach of the Generals made a public wager before the game started. If the Generals won, the star Globetrotter would have to leave his team and play for the Generals. If the Globetrotters won, the Washington coach would have to dress in an embarrassing costume: a Tutu or a Hot Dog Suit.

The game progressed with the expected antics. Some new tricks were added, but many of the old favorites were played out on the court.

The part I found the most interesting was during half-time. The crowd was asked to vote on how the opposing coach should be publicly humiliated; either by tutu or silly suit. All the crowd had to do was vote.

It was enjoyable to be able to interact with the events on the court. Children everywhere were voting with their own phones or ones they begged from a parent. A good time was had by all.


The game progressed in the usual format. The generals lost and the crowd had fun.
How did the vote go? Not even close. Nobody wanted to see the coach in a tutu.



The event made me wonder how many creative ways there might be to use cell phones in education. A Google search for 'cell phone in education' returned over 40 million results.

How do you think we should use mobile phones in the education environment?