Carrie’s TEBlog

The article “Rural college pushes iPod use for lectures” makes a great point about today’s technology. It talks about how colleges are beginning to use iPods for coursework and college related activities. I think this is a great idea. My main concern was that not everyone has an iPod, but the colleges take care of this either by loaning them out or giving them away to incoming freshman. What is great about using iPods like this is that it helps create more ways to learn then just inside the classroom. I think the more resources available to help someone learn the better. On top of being another resource, an iPod is something students would be more likely to use. Since it is so easy and almost kind of fun, I think students would feel more motivated to use it. One concern some of the people had with the use of iPods was that they can not replace being actively engaged in a learning environment. This is true, but using it has a side tool and not the main instruction helps create more time for in class discussions and so forth. It helps get students more familiar with the class topic, so they are more prepared to discuss it in class. Also I know for me, I am so dependent on my notes, so to have another outside tool to use to help me study would be great. As long as it is fair with all students having the same accessibility to the technology I think it is a great idea. However, if it becomes a way to distinguish between the students on who have the knowledge to use the technology or ability to obtain the technology, then it defeats the whole purpose as a learning tool. Technology is a great tool when it is available to everyone.