Providing Faculty iPods to Explore Innovative Teaching and Learning

English Version

Abstract

The iPod digital music player has been available since late 2001, and even in higher education, its presence has been seen, although mostly in the hands of students and rarely for outcomes-based educational purposes. In 2004, Duke University provided free iPods to all 1,650 first year students, which subsequently enabled faculty to create learning opportunities, which actively engaged students to integrate digital audio and more into their lessons. Our study takes an alternate approach in which the Center for Teaching and Learning provided a small group of faculty (n = 11) from different disciplines with a free iPod, microphone, training, support and collaboration opportunities. The faculty members were asked to create innovative instructional methods and then use the tool in their classes for the 2008 spring semester. In return, faculty agreed to share their outcomes, which would become part of a resource showcase to assist other faculty. So, instead of distributing the technology to a wide audience, where only some may participate, and our goal was to identify those who would actively engage in the project, develop specific applications, and ultimately assist faculty and subsequently students, in integrating functional instructional technology. The primary purpose of this study is to share another model for using and distributing electronic media tools in higher education and secondarily to provide the results of this model in the form of varied and successful uses of the device in teaching and learning.

Educational technology has continued to gather attention due to its increase in use and potential to assist some students with learning styles aligned to the strengths of technology enabling them to participate more easily and to learn more effectively (Palmieri,1997). There has been an increase in the types of instructional technology as well, including laptop computers, document cameras, digital cameras, presentation software, handheld computers and now a new approach to mobile/social technology which allows the user/student to become more actively engaged as a stakeholder and contributor. Terms such as Web 2.0 and AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) are frequently used now, which is a perceived second generation of the web or a new way to use the web in a social construct. The line between learning and socializing is becoming fuzzier as students use the same tools for capturing and attending to both environments. Examples of this approach are blogs, wikis, podcasting, virtual worlds and a host of social networking categories. Students have integrated their cellular phones (with digital camera/video and audio); as well as iPod digital recorders/players into many aspects of their lives. One particular example of the ubiquity of digital capacity is during an environmental science course, to build context and relevance during class, the class was asked to walk through campus to visit trash dumpsters. The following week, the class was to meet at the local county landfill, so the intent was to provide students with an origin for the landfill material. When arriving at the dumpster, the instructor simply asked the students to document the area, preparing detailed notes, sketches and taking photographs. With out hesitation, every one of the twenty students took out their cellular phones and began taking digital photos; two even captured digital video on their phones. That evening, students downloaded their digital media to a discussion board thread located on the course Blackboard site to begin the collaboration of sharing information for their project-based research deliverable at the end of the term.


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