Foursquare encourages people to get outside and explore and share their environment, whether that be a city or a town. They do this by using their mobile device to share check-ins, tips, and to-dos, while earning badges and discovering new things. It is a geo-networking tool. 

How this can be used in education as a tool for learning seems to be debatable. It is now linked with Google Earth, and perhaps may be great for geography teachers, and as an orientation tool for year seven students new to the college, to familiarise themselves with buildings and areas. It could also be a brilliant tool for school camps (especially excursions to cities). Furthermore, you can create apps using foursquare’s API, so media teachers may like the sound of this. The apps that have been created are listed in the 4sq app gallery (great incentive for technical-minded students).

Accredited Online Colleges have a post on their blog called ’30+ ways to use foursquare in education’. There are some good ideas listed, especially in the ‘field trips’ section.

Purdue University has a page in its wiki repository that details foursquare, including its history, how it relates to other applications, and its real world application. The real world application section includes lesson plans from geography, economics, technology, and music.

Foursquare seems to be a great networking tool for universities, with many getting on board. If any primary and secondary school educators are using foursquare as a teaching and learning tool, please leave a comment and share your experiences.