Blog

30+ Ways to Use Foursquare In Education

July 8th, 2010

Foursquare is a smartphone app that is quickly becoming one of the most popular and useful geo-networking tools for general social networking and for promoting business. Unlike other social networks, Foursquare encourages people to get out and enjoy their city by sharing check-ins, tips and to-dos while earning points and badges as they explore new venues and favorite hang-outs. Foursquare can also be used in education, though, for online students, lower education teachers, and in campus communities. Read on for great ways to use Foursquare in education.

General

Use foursquare’s unique social networking strategy for linking up lessons, city guides and students from different classes.

1. Bring students from different classes together: Encourage students from different class periods to follow each other for more camaraderie, to enhance discussion, and create a bigger network.
2. Link up to Twitter and Facebook: Foursquare is experimenting with Facebook and Twitter integration, so you can reach more students who aren’t on Foursquare yet.
3. Follow C-SPAN: C-SPAN — and hopefully other businesses and media outlets in the future — has teamed up with foursquare to share interesting facts about Washington, D.C. and the political process. Follow them and check-in at programming locations to learn more about U.S. government and history.
4. Let your students find you: Be available to your students outside of the classroom or off campus by sharing your check-in status.
5. Study business models and marketing campaigns: No matter what grade you teach, you can educate your students on business, advertising and marketing by helping them understand how businesses are benefiting from foursquare.
6. Share tips and trivia about different locations: When you visit a venue — even without your students — share a tidbit that pertains to your classroom lesson, like a bit of history trivia about the location.
7. Manage foursquare accounts for different classes: This could get overwhelming, but if you teach two different subjects, like English and journalism, you can now access two separate foursquare accounts on the same phone.
8. Follow teachers and students in other countries: Introduce your students to landmarks and places in other countries by following teachers who leave tips from their home city.
9. Become a mayor: If you’re the most frequent visitor to a certain venue, you’ll eventually become its Mayor. Once you’ve become Mayor, turn it into a new study group location or unofficial class meet-up space.

Field Trips

Foursquare can help you plan field trips, and here you’ll find out how.

10. Track field trips with Google Earth: Google Earth now integrates with foursquare, so you can help your students remember where they’ve been on field trips.
11. Use the Trending Now feature to find main venues: To find whole districts, shopping malls, and airport terminals, use the Trending Now feature for directions.
12. Create a place-based tour: Tag or check in to different venues you’ve mapped out ahead of time to take your students on a place-based tour. A University of Dallas professor and his students are working on an app to tie in audio, pictures and video, too.
13. Organize independent field trips: Check in along a pre-mapped out route and let your students follow your lead on the weekend for an independent or extra credit field trip.
14. Tag Flickr photos: Share photos from field trips or trips you’ve taken yourself by tagging them with Flickr and Foursquare.
15. Create assignments: Include a "to-do" when you share your location as a way to create assignments. For example: "Write a response to the Jackson Pollock on the north wall of the XX museum."
16. Ask businesses to sponsor specials for your students: When visiting a museum, park or other even a restaurant along the way, ask vendors there if they’ll sponsor specials for your students if they check in from the locale.
17. Let students design their own field trips: Either assign groups or reward bonus points for extra credit as students map out their own field trip routes or guided tours around the city.

Points

Learn how to use the points feature or design your own bonus point system here.

18. "Grade" student participation: Square Grader is an app that lets you evaluate your Foursquare performance. Use it to help you quantify bonus points.
19. Organize Mayor challenges: For museums, public libraries and other educational locations around your city, challenge students to "steal" Mayorships from each other by visiting often.
20. Give bonus points: Transfer Foursquare points into bonus points for tests and quizzes relating to those specific locations.
21. Keep a running tab on points: Foursquare’s points expire every Sunday at 11:59pm, but you can keep a running record of students’ points for your own awards and bonuses.
22. Cash in points: Young students can practice math skills by cashing in points for "merchandise," and older students can trade in points for special privileges or bonus points.
23. Develop your own point system: Foursquare may be phasing out the current point system soon, so develop your own plan for giving rewards to students who follow your checkins or frequently visit educational locales.

Higher Education

Campuses like Harvard are embracing foursquare as a strong community and recruitment tool; read below for ways to use it in your school.

24. Encourage students to visit new parts of campus: Add venues around campus to get students to explore new parts of the library or your department floor.
25. Encourage students to socialize more: This University of Nebraska at Omaha student uses foursquare to get fellow students involved in socializing and actual activities, rather than drinking at dorm parties.
26. New student orientation: Ask your university to create an official foursquare account like Harvard did, to help new students learn about campus landmarks and find their way around school.
27. Recruit students: On your prospective student website, advertise your campus tours on foursquare, and invite them to check-in and join the community on school visits.
28. Teach the history of your school: A library program at North Carolina State University uses foursquare to show students archived shots of the first freshman class, old school buildings, and other historical images based on the smartphone user’s location.
29. Reiterate office hours: Remind students of your office hours by checking in to your own office or department.
30. Tag buildings: The University of Dallas is covered in virtual tags stuck on buildings, professor’s desks and other locales. Some think the tags are tacky, while others consider it a collage or record of campus culture.
31. Push students outside the campus bubble: Introduce students to great local hotspots for eating, socializing and learning through foursquare.
32. Keep up with study abroad students: Foursquare works everywhere in the world, so follow your study abroad students to keep in touch.
33. Arrange spontaneous study groups: Check in at a location on campus and invite students to join you for a spontaneous review session or study group.
34. Connect online students: Online students can connect over foursquare by sharing interesting facts about places they study or visit.
35. Add to school’s traditions: By opening up foursquare to students, everyone will learn more about traditions, campus hotspots, and more.
36. Share campus news: Share news about upcoming meetings, contests, construction projects and mixers happening at different campus buildings and centers.

Did you enjoy this article?