Duke University to continue Apple iPod program

“Following a preliminary review of its year-long effort to incorporate Apple iPods into the curriculum, Duke University will continue distributing the devices to students next year, although in a more targeted manner, while also exploring other educational applications of multimedia technologies, school officials announced Wednesday,” AScribe reports. “Last fall, the university distributed about 1,600 iPods pre-loaded with orientation material to all incoming first-year students. Next year Duke will shift distribution away from an entire class of students and will focus instead on making the devices available to specific courses upon the request of faculty members at all undergraduate levels.”

AScribe reports, “The university’s Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) will coordinate the use and distribution of the devices, which will be given to any student who enrolls in a course whose proposed use of iPods is coordinated through CIT. Students who receive an iPod through the program will own the device and be expected to retain it for future use in any other Duke classes using iPods.”

AScribe reports, “In his memo to the faculty announcing the decision, Peter Lange, the university’s provost and senior academic officer, said he and others were encouraged by a review of preliminary results from the Duke iPod First-Year Experience. ‘We weren’t sure what to expect when we launched this project, but we’ve been pleased by how it’s succeeded in encouraging many faculty and students to consider new ways of using the technology in fields from engineering to foreign languages,’ Lange said. ‘We’ve been focusing on iPods and other mobile computing, but our wider goal is to integrate technology broadly into the teaching and learning process. The iPods have helped jump-start this process, and we plan to keep pushing ahead.'”

“The project has gained momentum throughout the year, Lange said. In the fall, more than 600 first-year students enrolled in at least one course that used iPods. Many of these courses were for music or a foreign language, and the students used their iPods to record or receive audio files. As students began experimenting with the devices, they also began using them for gathering field notes, conducting interviews, podcasting or audio blogging, as well as for portable hard drives or as signal generators in an engineering class,” AScribe reports. ” Interest also has grown among the faculty. “The iPod project got the faculty talking about technology, and not only about iPods,” said Lynne O’Brien, who coordinated the project through CIT. “Some faculty are enthused about using iPods in courses, and others don’t see any real purpose for them. But without the iPods experiment, we wouldn’t be having such active discussions about what value new technologies have in teaching.’ Duke will strengthen its support, infrastructure and content for the iPod project as it moves into its second year, and introduce technologies that complement the iPod’s use for digital audio listening and recording, Futhey said.”

Full article here.

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