The introduction of the iPod
One of the tools used in modern day education is the iPod, a portable media player designed and marketed by Apple, launched on October 23, 2001. “The iPod is recognized as a ‘miniaturized hybrid assemblage’ incorporating a combination of audio, image and text technologies, enabling enhanced flexibility of interaction with different media” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 85).
The birth of podcasting
Adam Curry, an ex-MTV “video jockey” and commonly known as the ‘podfather’, “exploited the technology to enable audio broadcasts to be downloadable onto mobile technologies such as the iPod” (Dale, 2007, p. 50). Podcasting involves the authoring, subscription to audio or video files on the internet for personal downloading. The dawn of podcasting is said to have revolutionized the way in which people interact with multimedia. “Podcasting can promise a unique approach to improving foundational pedagogical approaches to information processing and conceptual learning….Podcasting enables key skills to be developed including communication, time management, problem solving, and critical and analytical thinking” (Dale, 2007, p.51).
Podagogy
The iPod technology is ubiquitous on any campus, whether elementary or college. William Lynch, director of Drexel University’s education program states, “Because students have been using it [the iPod] primarily as an entertainment technology, it’s natural for us to see if we can use it as an education technology as well” (Read, 2007, p.2). Duke University piloted the use of iPods with all their first-year students during the 2004 year. Though this pilot project, it was noticed that “within a classroom environment, it is recognized the usefulness of the iPod for playing music, for use as a portable hard drive, for displaying pictures and for recording audio” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 87). As other schools noticed this pilot study, the phenomenon of iPods and podcasting within education caught the eye of academics. It became clear to many that iPods are a means of enabling learning material to be dispersed in more creative ways. “Podcasting is an effective mean for encouraging development of collaborative learning, which reflects the development of social networks in a diverse society, and meets, inter alia, the needs of students with different learning styles, and those who like to learn on the go”(Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 86). Educators believe that since students enjoy iPods as entertainment devices, by incorporating them into the classroom, they can “transform the educational experience for students” (Vess, 2006, p. 479).
The use of iPods in education
Researchers have narrowed the iPods educational success to five elements, which are: flexible learning, creative learning, sensory learning, personalized learning, and collaborative learning. “Flexibility has been viewed as a key element of developing the learner experience via the mobile technologies. “Flexibility reinforced the experience of other practice-based researchers in the use of the iPod in the way it enabled the separation of the tutor and student from the traditional place of learning” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 91). Flexibility is the key factor to integrating two of the most important aspects of today, an always-on culture and an on-the-move population. As part of the podagogy project, a group of performing art students tested the iPod technology within specific classroom settings. In a popular music class, students were given iPod videos with the intention to supplement the taught sessions with “enhanced podcasts incorporating materials and supplementary resource web links with which students could interact” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 88). A majority of social media is based upon Really Simple Syndications (RSS) feeds that enable podcasts to be transferred to other devices. The benefit of that technology is for the knowledge to find the learner, as and when it occurs. This is unlike the traditional classroom learning experience, where students attend class at a specified time and location. Students from the podagogy project “commented on the greater flexibility of the learner experience that this offered, and how they were able to further improve their [dance] performances as a result of self-evaluation from observing using the iPod” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 91). The idea of flexibility led to the expanse of creativity in learning.
Technology in education has been viewed as a successful way of encouraging creativity within learning. Students involved in the podagogy project, felt that the development of performance-related videos and podcast for the iPod empowered them to think more creatively about their subject matter. Students were involved in their own learning. They created ways to learn which they knew would work best for them, as an individual learner. Those who were visual or aural learners benefited from the third aspect of the iPod’s classroom success, sensory learning. For example, a once boring lecture came to life when formatted to play as iPod videos or podcasts. “Lectures on the epistemology of Immanuel Kant became a number 1 download from Apple’s iTunes higher education list” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 92). Learning became more popular with students once it was introduced in more creative, sensory formats. “The use of the iPod blurred the boundaries between kinesthetic and aural learning with students being able to use a variety of senses to reflect upon the creation of shared learning objects” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 92). With the use of iPod technology, students can choose to learn individually or collaboratively.
The fourth key element to iPod learning is that it enables personalized learning. “The personalized nature of being able to develop learning objects…for the iPod was perceived by students [of the podagogy project] as a highly motivational experience and quickly developed into a social experience as they shared the material they had created for the iPod with family and friends” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 92). This is something which students might not feel compelled to do with the traditional assessed written essay or research project. According to Dale and Pymm (2009), students from the project claimed that they gained a massive amount of satisfaction from placing their own performance work on the iPod alongside other famous performers. The personalized learning capabilities of the iPod can lead to the development of self-esteem. This was then reflected in the quality of work that was produced by the students, suggesting “a deeper learning experience was gained” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 92). The last key element to the iPod’s success in learning is its ability to enable collaborative learning. “Students reported that they had experienced greater social bonding from engaging in the use of the iPod and that it had enhanced their overall learning experience” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 93). This gives students the flexibility to learn how they want to learn, where they want to learn, and who they want to learn with. This allows for a more creative learning environment which can give students the feeling of self-empowerment and pride. “Ultimately, this can lead to a more responsive and independent learner who has a greater degree of control over their learning experience” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 93).
How to incorporate iPods into learning
There are many functions on an iPod which can be beneficial within the classroom. The notes function is one of the most valuable tools of the iPod. Students can take their iPods into the library, look for the necessary material and then work through assignments and review important information with their iPods. “While reading text on a small screen is not the ideal context for reading, students found the convenience of the having materials right at their fingertips more than outweighed the potential of reading electronic text in miniature form” (Vess, 2006, p. 483). The voice memo function of the iPod is a convenient tool for recording oral presentation, taking audio notes, or recording a class period to have a secondary note source in case they were unable to record all of the needed lecture notes. According to Read (2005), a number of Duke professors of say they have found uses for their students’ iPods, usually employing the devices as sound devices as recorders with the help of microphone attachments, or as portable storage drives, since they can be used to store all kinds or large files and not just music” (Read, 2005, p.1). It is only natural to assume that Apple recognized the principles of flexible learning, creative learning, sensory learning, personalized learning, and collaborative learning and incorporated that into a bigger, better version of the iPod.
