The iPod is the latest educational tool

That’s exactly what teachers are doing at Jamestown Elementary School in Arlington, Va., where students are producing “podcasts” — online radio shows named after Apple Computer Inc.’s hugely popular portable audio player.

Adding a microphone to the iPod, students record poems, jokes, essays, and stories, which are then organized on a computer into an audio report, says Camilla Gagliolo, the school’s instructional technology coordinator. The podcasts can be put online or downloaded to an iPod so students and parents can listen in.

“This is the GameBoy generation, so these devices really are simple for them to understand and adopt,” she says. “Students really like them. They ’re excited about them. They forget they’re learning because learning becomes so fun.”

Teachers at a number of schools using iPods echo that perspective. And Apple has happily jumped on the bandwagon, supporting pilot projects and developing a website devoted to the iPod’s educational uses.

In Texas, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District is using 116 iPods in a pilot program at a number of schools.

Kindergarten teachers download songs and stories to the devices to help English language learners (ELLs) practice their phonemic awareness and vocabulary skills at school and at home, says Angela Shelley, the district’s media specialist. Older students also use the iPods to help them improve their English skills.

“This week, [high school students] are studying The Odyssey, and we read a chapter into the iPod,” she says. ELL students “listen, read along, and practice saying those words — seeing and comprehending them better. They can listen to it over and over, take it home, and refer to it again.”

Other devices, such as Palm handhelds, also are entering classrooms in greater numbers as a handy device to store photos, audio books, video, calendars, notes, and more. But teachers say the well-designed iPod, with its sleek design and easy-to-use software, has a “cool factor” with kids that makes a difference.

Universities were the first to embrace the iPod in a big way, with some handing out iPods to freshmen and making podcasts of lectures. The devices also are used to download online classroom material and as portable hard drives.

At the K-12 level, teachers are just beginning to explore the potential of the technology.

The TRECA Digital Academy, a statewide online K-12 school in Ohio, has handed out 1,000 iPods to its students to augment its technology-based approach to learning.

One teacher is turning PowerPoint presentations into podcasts, while another intends to use an iPod to organize frequently asked questions and provide detailed audio explanations of complex scientific principles.