iPods in Instruction

I was surprised to find how many ways iPods could be used in the classroom. Being from a very small town and school, I have never heard of iPods being used in the classroom. However, I found that several instructors use them for various reasons. The Education World website had a list of links that contained information about iPods in the classroom. From this site, I found that it is better if the iPods (or iPhones) that the students use have access to the internet because there are many more classroom uses for the iPod. Also, I found a website called Learning In Hand, which lists several uses for iPods in the classroom, including ways to help students with math and reading. From the School CIO website, I found that iPods can really enhance the information you give students through images, audio, and video. In Orange County, California, one way teachers are using iPods is they are having the students record a podcast of what they learned during the week and using that for review throughout the year.

I was surprised to learn that in 2004, Duke University handed out free iPods to entering Freshmen. Several classes incorporated the iPods into the classroom to enhance the students' learning and allow them access to the information outside of the classroom. This test run became the Duke Digital Initiative that aims to put emerging technology into the classroom for academic enhancement. The Duke Digital Inititiative website has a lot of information to offer about the uses of iPods and other technology in the classroom. Though I am not going to teach elementary school, I found a very good website, Pre-K Pages, that gives many good ideas for iPod uses in the classroom. This teacher uses music from the iPod to help the children learn numbers, letters, and shapes. She also mentioned a listening center, which is used for homework. The teacher can record his/her own voice, so the students can listen to a story he/she read. Those were some pretty neat ideas for younger students, so just thought I would share.