Thoughts regarding the MP3 Players Chapter

I work in a school district where a majority of the students is from low-income households but most students seem to have iPods or some sort of smart phone, which I find surprising. Having these devices available can assist in the classroom and can be used as a handy tool. Teachers can create their own podcasts for lessons or lesson reviews. The chapter also discusses some sites that the author has found helpful. I have listed a couple of sites that contain educational links to the iTunes educational site as well as 100 ways to use your iPod. I find these sites to have many interesting applications that range from flash cards, ELL tools, foreign language introductory tools, books, book summaries or Spark Notes, etc. The only issue with a lot of these podcast or apps for iPods is the cost. Many of them have a cost; however, local libraries can be a resource for literary podcast. Another idea is to work with the school libraries to create a library of purchased podcast or learning applications. Often apps or podcasts can be purchased for use on multiple devices added to the library resources as found in public libraries.

The author made a point in the chapter to discuss three important topics. The first is using these devices to cheat, the second, the need to educate students in copyright laws and digital citizenship and the third, multitasking students. In my opinion, if a student wants to cheat, he/she will find creative ways to cheat and we should always be aware during examination periods. Regarding copyright and digital citizenship, these skills should be in the curriculum and taught throughout a student’s educational career. The theory behind understand the law does not change with the piece of technology used or emerging technologies.

Finally, the concern of students and their ability to multitask is a viable concern. Every student learns differently and needs to understand how they learn best. Perhaps one student can listen to music while they are writing as English paper but not while they are learning algebra. This is where the knowledge of multiple intelligences would come in handy.