New Tech Toys

After being selected at NWA Teacher of the Year, the school system rewarded us with serveral recognitions. I invested the money on a Apple iPod. After reading the news that a major university in North Carolina had purchased each incoming freshman with an iPod, I was intregeded with how they were planning to use them. Education? I thought it was at first a joke. A music playing device used for educational purposes? I almost laughed. Investigating the way iPods could be used in an educational setting was not something I could Google. However, instructional strategies do exsist. The iPod can be used to upload audiobooks, and many files. Not to bore you with all the things they can do, let me mention how I have used my iPod so far. The first week, all I wanted to do we install all my CDs. That was a task. I read about a program called iPodderX. Wow! I have enjoyed that program with my iPod. Leo LaPorte, the KFI radio station Tech Guy posts daily RSS feeds. iPodderX lets me upload Leo's radio broadcast. I can listen to the shows on the way to work. I would love to do that, with a slant toward using technology in the classroom. Like why use Blogs. When I finish listening to the show, I can catch a few beats from the many tunes I have uploaded. The iPod is nice, but after using my friend's iTalk, I had to have one. ITalk? Yes, it has something to do with talking-- it is a voice recorder for the iPod. I also got a cover for the iPod called an iSkin. The skins are great. I can now stick my iPod in my pocket and not worry abouit it getting scratched. I have been thinking about how I can use the iTalk in class. Do you know of any good stratiegies to use? In the coming days, I plan to surf the net in hopes of finding ways to use our iBooks and an iPod.