Using iPods in the Classroom

I’ll admit it. I have an iPod Nano. I will also admit it. I love it.

I have joined the throngs of people who have paid perhaps a smidge too much money for the experience of participating in the communal ownership of a well-branded product. However, it is also an excellent product. So wonderful, in fact, that now schools are picking it up! New Jersey school, Jose Marti, has begun teaching students with the help of iPods.

Though the music devices are still banned from school grounds, teachers are now incorporating them into their curriculum and their usage has been extremely successful. Grace Poli, a media specialist and teacher at Jose Marti, teaches bilingual students. She allows her students to use iPods to listen to songs and sing outloud with them in order to learn English. Other school districts are now picking this up, as well, in both bilingual and science classes. Although it is difficult to quantitatively measure success at this point, Miss Poli says she has seen an increase in the number of students who have transitioned out of her class into an all-english class.

Although I do get frustrated when I hear about students wanting to be ‘entertained’ by teachers, I am grateful for experiences of learning, whether it is by an iPod or some other form.