iPod+Articles


 * iPod Articles: Using iPods in the Classroom**

 [|COEDU Spotlight]  Allison Papke, a Special Education student teacher used iPods in the classroom to give students an individualized testing experience. Papke created podcasts for tests so that students could listen to tests read aloud within the regular education classroom while answering questions at their own pace. 

[|iPods in the Classroom]  This article offers a number of ideas on how iPods can be used in the classroom. The ideas range from administrative use, teacher use, as well as student use. The article interviews Robert Craven, education technology coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education in California, and asks questions that are genuine concerns districts might have when integrating iPods into schools. Craven states that the iPod is just as essential to the classroom as digital cameras and we must continue to move towards the future of education. 

[|Using iPods for Instruction]  Using iPods for instruction offers a variety of ideas on how iPods are being used in schools today. With iTunes U, lectures and other materials are available online that can help teachers integrate audio clips into their lessons. The article highlights that iPods are being used as language learning tools for ESL students, creating podcasts of interviews completed for historical events, making radio shows that can be shared on the Internet, and so much more. Another interesting idea pointed out in this article is the use of iPods as sensory stimulus objects for students with ADD or ADHD. According to one school, the iPods allow students to block out distractions and focus on the audio clip they are listening to.

[|iPods in the Classroom - GampusGrotto]  iPods are becoming increasingly more important to student success in college due to the ease of taking class notes and lectures with them whereever they go. Studying can be "on the go" now and students fit it into their lives more. The article does mention that iPods can only be effective if professors implement them correctly so that students can benefit  from its capabilities. Some professors see these tools as a distraction and would rather ignore their popularity and educational possibilities if it means less work for them.

[|An iPod Touch for each student?] “ <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Principal Susan Wells says that to dismiss the technology as a distraction or a gimmick ignores today's tech-driven world.” This article investigates one school's drive to keep students interested in what they learn and traditional lectures will not do that. iPods present all subject areas with new teaching strategies such as taking online guitar lessons for music class or tracking fitness and nutritional information for physical education. While one school is working to get an iPod Touch for every student, the article also explores another district where iPods have been banned. Check out both perspectives to see how to integrate technology into your classroom appropriately.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|Teaching with tech: teacher uses iPods in classroom] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">iTunes U is explored more with English and poetry professor, Anthony Delaney, who used music and media clips to present his lessons to students. He mentions that using the iPod in class acts as a “springboard” to start significant conversation that holds more meaning to the students in today’s generation. Poems can be read aloud by the author and students get a better understanding of the emotion invested in each poem they study. The article shows how using technology in the classroom, especially iPods, reaches three different learning styles: auditory, visual, and reading.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|Tech Teacher: iPod, uPod] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students who are reluctant to write essays now have a way to demonstrate their knowledge and share their ideas by producing audio clips such as podcasts. Students also can hold and record long-distance interviews through online tools such as Skype then post them on the Internet to be shared by others. The option of recording thoughts and uploading them to a computer allows students who hate writing or physically are unable to write a way to stay in the “educational game”.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-decoration: none;">[|Ingenuity and iPods: Exploring Their Many Uses in the Classroom] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">After a middle school's purchase of six iPods for their school and an uproar with how the money was spent, this article shows how teachers' minds have changed once they saw the possibilities iPods hold. Digital stories were created, student responses for reading tests were recorded, audio books were downloaded to open the doors to literature to students, and weekly podcasts were created as a newsletter for parents. After integrating the six iPods in the school, teachers quickly found out that they would need to purchase more.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|Pod People: Innovative Ways to Use Handhelds in the Classroom] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Online radio shows, recorded interviews, learning phonics, and learning English as a second language learner are just a few of the ideas mentioned in this article. iPods consistently offer our educational system with more than we could have imagined.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|Visual Acuity: From Consumers to Critics and Creators] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Multiple studies show that students spend around six hours of their day plugged to some type of media. With this number, it is hard to imagine students would be interested in the traditional lecture style learning. This article shows how students as young as third grade are creating films to show movie-making techniques which fourth graders are collaborating to create animated stop-motion films. George Lucas stated that “English” class today is more of a “Communications” class and technology is part of the communication they need to be prepared for.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[|In One Ear: iTunes U Puts iPods to Good Use] <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Great article showing how one director of instructional services in Utah integrated pop culture to teach abstract concepts to students. By using films such as Atomic Blonde and integrating them into her podcasts, discussions are sparked on Cold War fears and fission bombs. Pop Culture serves as a mediator that captures students’ interests while providing information to start conversation among students. Another way iPods are being used in classrooms is accessing Advanced Placement courses in other schools that would not otherwise be available.