604,+iPod+Articles

Listed below are article reviews of 10 articles discussing the use of iPods in the classroom. Feel free to click the link to read the article in its entirety.

[|Pod People: Innovative Ways to Use Handhelds in the Classroom] Cheri Lucas describes ways that iPods were used in her school as early as 2005. (The iPod has come a long way since then!) Mostly used for its recording capabilities, iPods allowed students to record interviews, create audio classroom newsletters, and most interestingly, use the iPod for pod phonics--allowing ELL students to download recordings of themselves or their teachers pronouncing words and sounds correctly.

[|Using iPods in the Classroom Promotes Interactive Learning and More Effective Studying] More and more schools are embracing new technology in the classroom. This article discussed how valuable iPods are in the foreign language classroom. Some schools even go as far as creating audio lessons and study sessions tailored to their classes and have these podcasts available for download from their school website. Students are now more eager to study when they can use "cool" technology or do so while multi-tasking (listening to podcasts on the bus ride to/from sporting events).

[|Five Ideas For Using Your iPod In The Classroom] 1. Listen to music in a music class. 2. Lessons in Foreign Language by someone fluent in the language. 3. Listen to the Supreme Court deliberate via podcast. 4. Store, organize, and share artwork in an art history class. 5. Use as a storage hub to have all of your classroom document and files in one place.

[|Sites to See: iPod Resources] This is a short article which lists various external sites for helping you integrate iPods and podcasts into your classroom. Some of the sites they recommend include college websites and of course, apple.com.

[|100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better] We've all heard of sparksnotes and cliffnotes--why not embrace them and let students download the notes right on their iPod. Or have students download tutorials--this could be especially useful in my computer applications classes if I am gone and have a sub in for me--just direct the students to a site, download the tutorial, and work their way through the assignment at their own pace with the aid of their iPod. Use some of those free applications! There are all kinds of applications available for download and some are even educational and practical--find some, have students download them, then put them to work.

[|An iPod Touch in Every Classroom?: Yes, with Education Focused Apps] This article focused on the many, many applications that are available for download on the iPod. Flashcards, math simulations, ebooks and more! Many educational applications are free of charge, while others requires a minimal fee.

[|iPod Touch Fans: Brain Benders] Although this is not an article, this little write up about Brain Benders applications really got me thinking. What a great way to engage students while you are taking attendance or need to answer the phone. Or--how about a fun and engaging, not to mention, educational way to keep students busy when they finish an assignment early.

[|In Some Schools, iPods Are Required Listening] While some schools are confiscating iPods, others are handing them out! The recipients of the iPods in many cases are students in ELL classrooms. Listening to the English language spoken fluently helps these students make the transition to being more comfortable speaking the English language.

[|Top 50 iPhone Apps for Educators] Take a look at this site. It's a great place to find an application that can benefit you as an educator. Personally, I am interested in downloading 30Boxes, Air Sharing, TouchType, Graphing Calculator, Fact of the Day, Did you Know?, and Brain Tuner.

[|Pros and Cons of iPods in School] This site provides a great "real look" at using iPods in the classroom. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in all the excitement and not have time to think realistically about how the technology may work in the classroom. Some cons I think I would encounter include: students might download pornography or inappropriate media and bring them to school if using their own iPods where the district cannot enforce filters, or students can become so engrossed in listening to music that they may completely tune out what going on around them, causing unnecessary mishaps. However, some of the pros of using iPods far outshine the cons, including: iPods can be used to record lectures in class and listened to when reviewing for exams. This is also favorable when the teacher talks too fast; you can just rewind and listen again, and students can install educational applications such as dictionaries, bibles, and calculators thus eliminating added bulk to their backpacks/lockers, also it could be more beneficial for teachers (whose been teaching the same lesson over and over) to record and podcast their lesson--that way they won't miss including important points in their topic, finally, recorded lessons can be shared with students that are absent.

Link to Bob Wagner's iPod Wikispace: [|marianipod.wikispaces.com]