A relatively recent (perhaps, slightly dated) eSchool News article explores the academy’s interest in the educational potentiality of the iPhone. As you may well know, many educators and institutions are intrigued by the device and are actively weighing its potential impact in schools. The iPhone’s revolutionary interface and its access to more than 300 applications coupled with a surge in the use of cell phones and iPods in classrooms has contributed to a significant amount exploration concerning the efficacy of iPhones in the classroom.

In a recent blog post, Helen Barrett, an Apple Distinguished Educator and recent retiree from the faculty of the College of Education at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, said she believes “online simulations, games, learning objects, widgets, blogs, and built-in-camera features … could [make] the iPhone the next one-to-one platform for learning.”

Jeff VanDrimmelen, an academic computing expert at the University of North Carolina and author of the EduTechie blog, says the iPhone’s multi-touch display, widgets, and easily browsable internet service could be the three features that make it compatible with education. “Imagine harnessing the power of a multi-touch display in a test, allowing students to more naturally interact and manipulate the test and then send it back to you over the air, anywhere,” he writes.

Indeed, Jeff. We’re imagining…