iPods in Education

After taking C I 201 sophomore year I realized that such things as iPods, an electronic device known for storing music, could be used in the classroom. I hadn’t really thought about this much until recently when I was introduced to the TPACK model and started thinking of ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I decided to research iPod use because I myself have gone through two different models of the iPod and I am a fan of them. I looked on Google scholar and found an article titled The Use of iPods in Education. It appears to be an essay written by what I am assuming is a group of college students. The article starts out talking about when iPods were invented, who invented them, and how they came to be what they are today. The article then goes on to talk about how colleges are incorporating iPods into certain classes how they are researching the use and significance of iPods in class. I feel like after reading about this that iPods are definitely a good thing to have in college. You can take notes on them, record lectures, and transport them everywhere you go easily. Also, it saves on paper. This article didn’t just talk about the use of iPods in the college setting. It gave some examples of using them in schools. I learned that even the youngest of grades can use them. The article talked about how “students can use iPods to listen to letters and construct words such as bat, fat, pat, pad, and so on, and soon move on to higher learning by constructing new words.” I have also heard examples of slower test takers using iPods to take tests. The iPod will read the question for them and also allows them to repeat the question if needed. After reading this I thought of some other ways teachers could incorporate iPods into their classrooms. I like the idea of podcasting. You could have a station where students listen to different podcasts, whether they are books on tapes or some sort of oral instruction given without the teacher physically being there. Students could record themselves reading or explaining some activity and listen to it later. I have always been told that recording yourself and then listening to it is beneficial, it is sort of a reflection. You could also have students organize different activities, power points, podcasts, pictures/videos, etc., keeping their things all together and reducing the use of paper. I definitely think iPods are useful in the classroom and they will just keep getting more and more advanced and able to do more and more things.
Bandzwolek, Chaney, Shriner, and Snair. (2006). The Use of iPods in Education. Retrieved June 16, 2009 from Google Scholar. Web site: http://tiger.towson.edu/~kshine1/final.pdf