Instead of restricting iPods from the classroom, schools in New Jersey are using them in bilingual classrooms, language classes, drama, music, and English classrooms. While iPods are felt by some districts to be a distraction, projects such as this prove the devices to be powerful incentives to learning. Scott Amdahl, a former-OMET student, oversaw a similar rollout in the Texas school district in which he works: students in ESL class were provided with iPods to help them learn English.
I like the examples provided in the NY Times article of how one teacher loaded music onto the iPods so Spanish-speaking students could listen to English-lyric songs as a means of improving their fluency. The students were entertained and had fun learning this way as opposed to using outdated textbooks to which they could not relate. By incorporating a sense of "play" into the lesson, by using the iPods, educators stand to hook their students into the lesson.
I like the examples provided in the NY Times article of how one teacher loaded music onto the iPods so Spanish-speaking students could listen to English-lyric songs as a means of improving their fluency. The students were entertained and had fun learning this way as opposed to using outdated textbooks to which they could not relate. By incorporating a sense of "play" into the lesson, by using the iPods, educators stand to hook their students into the lesson.
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