Apple iPod Touch Getting Started - Page 4

Getting Started with iPod touch: 4 A guide for using iPod touch and iTunes for teaching and learning Foreword Educators all over the world are examining the methods and tools required to develop the 21st century skills our students need to succeed in their schools, workplaces, and civic lives. One device many educators are already using in their classrooms with great results is the iPod. Teachers are using iPod to support second language learners, address the needs of diverse learners, motivate struggling readers, as well as to support their own professional development. And, because the iPod is mobile, teachers and students can learn where and when they want. iPod makes it possible to deliver large quantities of content-such as comprehensible language-to students in an efficient and convenient manner. Today, one out of every five K-12 students in the United States comes from a home in which a language other than English is spoken. This situation presents additional challenges for educators. With iPod and iTunes, teachers can now enhance audio with pictures and video, making important visual connections to the second language being learned. Teachers and students can use the iLife suite of digital authoring applications included on every Mac, such as iMovie and GarageBand, to create their own iPod content. iPod and iLife are a great way for educators to create, organize, and distribute content, all of which adds new and exciting dimensions to learning. And iTunes provides an easy way to store, organize, and purchase content for the iPod. The seamless integration of iPod and iTunes makes it easy for teachers to provide textual, auditory, and visual resources to reach all types of learners, particularly those students who need extra assistance. Using iPod in the classroom can also assist in helping students master content standards. For example, iPod can help students achieve oral reading fluency-an important bridge between word decoding and reading comprehension. Capturing the attention of today's students can be challenging, and using iPod with audiobooks is yet another way to get students engaged in learning. Audiobooks motivate and create interest in the physical texts themselves. Audiobooks can be readily used with iPod-using them in this way is like having a reader with the student at all times. And with the iPod touch-with its built-in Wi-Fi capability and Safari web browser- students can access the Internet, take notes, keep track of their calendars, communicate via email, blog, and even access a scientific calculator. They can also access hundreds of educational applications in the iTunes App Store. Many schools are discovering the power of giving all students access to an iPod touch and are seeing how having mobile devices literally at students' fingertips transforms teaching and learning.