A new class at Stanford teaches the underlying concepts that make Facebook applications engaging: http://captology.stanford.edu/facebook/overview.html
"Captology" is a word coined by Stanford professor BJ Fogg from "Computers as Persuasive Technologies" and has many implications for computer-assisted instruction.
The Facebook Application framework is growing in popularity and a portion of the class deals with learning applications.
Mashup and interoperability are watchwords for connecting the social web and learning tools. We are hearing these more and more in Silicon Valley.
On Facebook this evening it looks like there are 411 educational applications ready for use on your Facebook profile including an NYTimes News Quiz, a BBC applet giving health advice and a NASA photo of the day.
--j
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