Opening Up the New World
It’s official. More and more educators continue to introduce MP3 players into their classrooms.
This technology is not only being embraced by educators, but can help students in areas such as boosting their self-esteem, helping with read-alongs, with ELL students, and even helping them better assimilate into mainstream classes.
“tech-based learning brings more focus and that podcast[ing] has ‘unlimited potential’ in terms of enhancing creativity and learning power.”
Also possible now is the ability to create, rather than just listen to podcasts with an MP3 player. There’s a tremendous amount of flexibility that comes with listening to an MP3 player, let alone podcasting with one, but first, understanding what podcasting itself means is of utmost importance. Defined as distributing files for later playback over the internet via a computer or other device, podcasting has taken the education world by storm. Or said another way, it’s simply listening to a recorded audio file that’s been first saved as a digital file and later transferred, or uploaded, to the internet for broadcast or for sharing with other students around the globe or for exclusively for other students in your district to listen to.
While a great many teachers and students have embraced these kinds of possibilities, there are others who’ve not yet done so. Since every journey begins with a single step, Califone has helped newcomers to this technology by preloading our MP3 player with Children’s Songs.
Needless to say, there are lots of consumer-oriented MP3 player/recorders available in the market, but the list narrows dramatically when the player’s purpose, safety features, and durability are taken into consideration. The Califone MP3 player/recorder has already done just that. It is the first MP3 player of its kind to be specifically warranted for school use and its rugged ABS plastic shell can stand up to continued day-in and day-out use in computer labs and classrooms for podcasting, and those are just some of the advantages of this particular player and recorder.
As digital technology continues to advance, capturing a student’s attention and keeping them engaged is of paramount importance. Utilizing an MP3 player is one way to succeed – regardless of the subject, even Math. Ryan Friend, a math teacher from LaFayette, GA believes that “tech-based learning brings more focus from his students and that podcast[ing] has ‘unlimited potential’ in terms of enhancing creativity and learning power.” Since just about everything students are using these days is based on some sort of technology, using MP3 players as a podcasting tool will engage them in their learning and also teach them how to collaborate with their fellow peers because, via the internet, it brings students from all walks of life together for a common goal.
