Would/could Branch be useful for teaching/learning/communicating in HE?

Possibly, although it lacks the critical mass of Twitter at present. In the long run, it depends what applications developers build, and on what is required in local circumstances.
The question I'm asking is what does this offer me that Google+ does not?

I'm with @ajcann, what does it offer that more established don't?

It adds long-form discussions to Twitter - like in G+. And as Twitter has a larger user base than G+ it's (potentially) accessible to more people.

Also, the 'branch' feature is novel, though I question it's utility.

interesting - I think Craig's point about Twitter's larger user base is a good one. Also is this more private?

Only private by obscurity ;-)

@AJCann HaHa!

@Jane Discussions are publicly visible, but participants must be invited or request permission to contribute.

There's a discussion about invite-only conversations here -> on.branch.com

I can't see how branch is more private than G+ with no circles or any mechanism to control who can view...? It seems to me that the value is for a subset of Twitterers who haven't/don't want to sign up for a G+ account (or similar). But as has been noted, Twitter's user base is large enough that this subset could be quite large...

@Simon

I don't think the intention was for Branch to be a private discussion platform, more to create a space for focussed on-topic conversation.

I think your point about it being a missing feature for Twitter users opposed to G+ and FB is spot on. I'm surprised it's taken this long really.

I'm with @ajcann and @mjmobbs on this one too. G+ does this very nicely (and in essence I see discussions in G+ as a big improvement to what FriendFeed did/does and I really liked that). The only issue really is building the users on G+. You can have public/private/focussed/un-focussed discussion incredibly easily with functionality that at first glance exceeds what Branch offers. No real criticism of Branch intended, just don't really see what this offers that G+ doesn't ? Maybe I'm missing something obvious.

So in summary:

If you already use G+ "nothing new here"
If you don't use G+ "this is nice"

Yes?

For the moment I prefer G +, but I think "Branch" is on the right track by following merging many networks to participate in a single conversation

I think 'branching' is a nice concept, but not really clear how much it will be used (as opposed to just creating a new conversation) and if it is used how easy it will be to follow/navigate and how big it will get. Think about how a real life conversation works, not sure 'branching' really covers it. Also as an observation, this conversation is growing and hasn't been 'branched' not sure that it needs to be either...

I've found interesting innovations in Branch: you can split a branch to create a new path within (branch a post); also, you can invite anyone to join your branch (outside a concrete network or even if they are not your friends) and you can share your branch almost anywhere; it´s so easy to create a branch about whatever and put it down wherever...

I am currently an online student, and our discussion forum is awful. Branch would certainly be a step up for HE discussion forums. It would also allow a way for students to bring in outside opinion on some things.

I would love to see professors use Branch to foster productive conversations outside the classroom...and then maybe use those discussions to tailor their lesson plans and in class discussions.

Are'nt we missing the way Branch may be used among research scholars, academia? A single thought/idea can be easily branched out by various "students" by adding their own unique perspectives and the mix/mash of such different perspective would be very much useful as a whole.
Branch will be very 'right' in such cases and must be pitched in those areas.Better than G+, Twitter, Boards...

Something that would be helpful is teaching something like Algebra, where how the teacher explains something could mean the difference between the student understanding and being lost. You could branch off different explanations to help those that are struggling.

Thank you @Craig Russell for accepting me in this branch. I find Google+ great, but as Chiklu mentioned, branch offers several novel features that are worth considering.
* Your entry into a discussion is restricted, hopefully low/nil spam
* You can embed a branch in any web page.
* I think these are killer features that enable interweaving discussions among Moodle, G+, Facebook, Twitter where this is going to add value to the classroom online forums.
Link an article from web --> start a branch --> embed in Moodle --> run parallel discussions in Moodle and Branch and then compare the intensity and quality of responses. I quite like the openness, and flexibility that @chiklu just mentioned.

I think that Branch and Higher Education goes excellently well together. Now first I want to get into higher education real quick. To me higher education is edification after high school. Whether the knowledge is in college or out of college.

I must say I rely on the web heavily for knowledge[C.S.]. In one doesn't see college as the only-way. I believe in pure experience. And that experience does have to be in a professional environment. It's about you dedication to chew up 4-5 programming books for knowledge & converse with those that have been in your shoes.

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So, yes I believe branch + higher education go well, because it's an excellent ways to converse or watch others converse. Additionally, I'll sit and try to figure out what they are talking about. To further enhance my knowledge on Computer Science.

Again if this is long why have limits.

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The ability to branch discussions seems interesting, but it also seems like it could be a nightmare. Right now it won't let me branch anything, so I can't test it - nor does it seem like anyone else has done this here. Do you know of any discussions where this feature has been put to good use?

Great comments from all. It'll be interesting to see how this product develops in the future.