Using Ipods in the classroom

Ipods are just another example of the many ways teachers are trying to incorporate new technology into the classroom. Of course I am among the majority who has only used an Ipod to listen to music. It comes in handy at the gym quite a bit. But educators are going above and beyond that and turning their classroom Ipods into complete multimedia centers.

Duke University is quickly becoming a pioneer in the field. Satti Khanna, a professor of Asian and African languages, utilizes Ipod Touches in his Advanced Hindi class. Not only do his students record language related activities around campus, they also record videos and send them back to India. An article on Dr. Khanna's methods can be found here.

This new technology is not simply reserved for older students however. Mrs. Levin uses Ipods extensively with her Pre-K students. She plays educational songs on such topics as shapes, colors, and the alphabet. She also utilizes Audacity, a free recording software, to dictate stories onto the machine. Mrs. Levin has created podcasts for parents regarding important events in the classroom, and hopes to have one with her students one day. Her very informative website can be found here.