“Next month, the Union City district will give out 300 iPods at its schools as part of a $130,000 experiment in one of New Jersey’s poorest urban school systems. The effort has spurred a handful of other districts in the state, including the ones in Perth Amboy and South Brunswick, to start their own iPod programs in the last year, and the project has drawn the attention of educators from Westchester County to Monrovia, Calif.,” Winnie Hu reports for The New York Times.
“The spread of iPods into classrooms comes at a time when many school districts across the country have outlawed the portable players from their buildings — along with cellphones and DVD players — because they pose a distraction, or worse, to students. In some cases, students have been caught cheating on tests by loading answers, mathematical formulas and notes onto their iPods,” Hu reports.
“But some schools are rethinking the iPod bans as they try to co-opt the devices for educational purposes. Last month, the Perth Amboy district bought 40 iPods for students to use in bilingual classes that are modeled after those in Union City. In South Brunswick, 20 iPods were used last spring in French and Spanish classes. And in North Plainfield, N.J., the district has supplied iPods to science teachers to illustrate chemistry concepts, and it is considering allowing students in those classes to use iPods that they have brought from home,” Hu reports.
“In many affluent communities, iPods have evolved into an essential accessory for students,” Hu reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Matthew R.” for the heads up.]
As one who tried to cheat in school, and who learned the material throught the act of preparing to cheat and therefore didn’t need to use the cheat I say this: set the iPods free!
Another failure of government. Give them pencils and good teachers with the power to discipline. Spending more money is not the solution.
@ Ron,
Pencils are so archaic to these kids. They have grown up digitally and digital tools is a great way to capture their attention and keep attendance up.
As for discipline… you’re spot on!
My ‘grandson’ brought his iPod to school and had it stolen. This was in Newton – a rather well-to-do suburb of Boston. We got it back, but the incident left a scar. Alex, a brilliant musician, couldn’t use his iPod to cheat if someone explained the process to him.
ron, there is no way to use a pencil – unless you meant the kind that includes a USB thumb-drive – to help with pronunciation.
– I’m sure Daisuke is wondering why all Americans seem to think his name is DiceKay (not DieS(u)ke).
– North Americans go to Peru asking about Llamas, not Yamas.
– Even Canadians not raised in Montreal have a problem with the French “eeuw” sound.
My Dad was allowed to use a slide rule in college and on the job. But the slide rule is not as precise as a decent calculator and you needed a good basis in math to ‘help’ with it. No calculator on earth will help in Geometry, where the answer is secondary to the process, or Algebra, where the process is also important.
It would be wonderful if schools got all the money they needed for teacher salaries and the Air Force had to run a Bake Sale to buy a new Bomber, but that day is far away and today our teachers get more grief than salary – and that’s from the parents who feel the teacher ought to be a substitute parent! No Child Left Behind, indeed. No money spent on children that does not benefit friends of the Administration!
I’ll stop now. Sorry.
Dave
Ron said: Another failure of government. Give them pencils and good teachers with the power to discipline. Spending more money is not the solution.
Did you even read the article? For example, where it said, Ms. Poli said her Spanish-speaking students — known around the school as Pod People — have been able to move out of bilingual classes after just a year of using the digital devices, compared with an average of four to six years for most bilingual students.
Doesn’t it even matter that doing this actually works? The kids enjoy singing in English and can’t afford iPods. Or is it only education if it hurts?
Bets on how many will be stolen this year?
Do they come preloaded with the Amboy Dukes on them?