Journal Entry #2: An IPOD classroom?

I believe it is quite obvious that one of the most popular technology devices used today would be iPods. They are convenient and easy to use as well. Many would just look at it as a device for listening to music, viewing videos, and even just storing pictures and files. However, recently, an article was published and it suggests to us a whole new idea of using our iPods as our basic school system. Students may receive homework, notes, and seminars from it and can have the freedom of planning their own schedule and classes as they prefer. Now does that not sound familiar? Yes. This learning system is very similar to our very own Mary Ward self-directed learning system. Better yet, the iPod learning method provides students with even more freedom!

Now the question at debate is “Should Mary Ward, with its commitment to self-directed learning, embrace such technology for education?” Many students I bet may say “YES” right away and it’s very reasonable for them to say so, because many advantages comes to mind once this idea is proposed:

• Not having to attend school
  o Self-planned classes for students who have rather hectic schedules normally
  o May obtain more sleep
  o The choice of taking a break at anytime
  o The saving of transportation fees
• Provoking deeper and more independent thoughts in students since they are, more or less, receiving less guidance from teachers
• Students may choose to review the information offered in the seminars as many times as they wish
• For those who are hard-working and have a strong sense of self-discipline, they may go ahead on courses and take things at their own speed

And even teachers may benefit from this system as well. They can save a lot of work with not having to give the same seminar multiple times and marking may also be done conveniently on the computer once they transfer files from the iPod to it.

However, there are strong disadvantages that require our careful consideration as well:

• Students may slack off big time with the exceeding freedom they have --> may also be easily get distracted by other functions of the iPod
• The health of students and teachers may be damaged through the frequent use of the iPod and computer
• Unless the school provides an iPod, or else some individuals may not be able to afford one
• Teachers and students with only the interaction through an iPod, may fail to develop trust in each other which is a significant part of learning
  

With these disadvantages in mind as well, it would be hard to mark a definite right or wrong to this suggestion. Though, I personally don’t think I will learn well with an iPod learning system. I require a lot of teacher-student interaction and I believe my need exceeds the amount of communication the iPod system can provide. As well, I really don’t have much self-discipline. With the unbelievable amount of freedom I’ll have with the iPod learning system, I truly think I will procrastinate and even fail courses. For those who aren’t like me though, this may be the golden chance that they’ve been waiting for.