Students Given Free iPods for Lectures

A college in Dover, UK (South Kent College) has spent over $50,000 to outfit the student body with the iPod Nano. 250 very lucky students will receive the iPods, free of charge, with the expectation that they will use them for handling lectures from their professors- which will of course be in podcast format.

Digital music players are already in use at Georgia college and the State University in Milledgeville (in the US). At many colleges, the use of digital music players, and other similar digital devices that have the ability to record sound, has become an integral part of the coursework.

Surprisingly, some people in Dover have raised objections to the faculty’s decision to spend taxpayer’s money on what is seen by some as a “bribe” to get students to attend college. Some, like pressure group Campaign for Real Education Chairman Nick Seaton, have even gone so far as to call the program “a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money.” Fortunately, others involved with the situation are more circumspect. Mr. Coleman, the principal of the Dover college involved with the case, asserts that the iPods would only be handed out to those teenagers who had completed all their assignments and had full attendance.

He further added legitimacy to the project by adding that the entire project was funded by money the government saved in a business venture and not from a general fund contributed to by taxpayers. Officials at the school maintain that the staff reaction to the plan has been positive.

Lectures surrounding IT, motor vehicle engineering, and childcare will be the first courses that offer podcast formatted lectures with the remainder of the course offerings scheduled to be available as podcasts next year. Although some people reacted negatively to the plan to give iPods to students, the course has already been set.

Technology is an inseparable part of the educational experience. Students who are not acclimated to technology by using it during their coursework each day will be sorely missing out on an important part of the learning experience.

Via BBC

A college in Dover, UK (South Kent College) has spent over $50,000 to outfit the student body with the iPod Nano. 250 very lucky students will receive the iPods, free of charge, with the expectation that they will use them for handling lectures from their professors- which will of course be in podcast format.

Digital music players are already in use at Georgia college and the State University in Milledgeville (in the US). At many colleges, the use of digital music players, and other similar digital devices that have the ability to record sound, has become an integral part of the coursework.

Surprisingly, some people in Dover have raised objections to the faculty’s decision to spend taxpayer’s money on what is seen by some as a “bribe” to get students to attend college. Some, like pressure group Campaign for Real Education Chairman Nick Seaton, have even gone so far as to call the program “a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money.” Fortunately, others involved with the situation are more circumspect. Mr. Coleman, the principal of the Dover college involved with the case, asserts that the iPods would only be handed out to those teenagers who had completed all their assignments and had full attendance.

He further added legitimacy to the project by adding that the entire project was funded by money the government saved in a business venture and not from a general fund contributed to by taxpayers. Officials at the school maintain that the staff reaction to the plan has been positive.

Lectures surrounding IT, motor vehicle engineering, and childcare will be the first courses that offer podcast formatted lectures with the remainder of the course offerings scheduled to be available as podcasts next year. Although some people reacted negatively to the plan to give iPods to students, the course has already been set.

Technology is an inseparable part of the educational experience. Students who are not acclimated to technology by using it during their coursework each day will be sorely missing out on an important part of the learning experience.

Via BBC