Summer, summer, summer t-i-ee-mme (Enter Will Smith)

Before you say what I know you are thinking, yes, I am aware that we are already 11 days into May and my last post was nearly a month ago. No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but thanks for asking! Between graduation, a production I've been in (*gasp* A life outside of school?!?!?!?), and general family health issues, I haven't had time to breathe, let alone research handhelds/iPods/etc.

But, nonetheless, I will post, er you think I'm dead or some such nonsense.

So, I'm posting.

I guess I should tell you all that I am back to the grant-drawingboards, as it were. I was turned down for a grant because I didn't meet their criteria. However, I had countless grant-writers look it over, and I did indeed fit all the criteria.

Want to bet that it was due to the fact that I was asking for iPods?

I still say that iPods would be invaluable for a classroom. I still want them for mine. And I am still grant writing. Because iPods are no more "toys" than paper is. Yes, paper can be used for things other than school work. And yes, it is hard to make sure kids are taking notes not writing them. And yes, you may have problems policing students to make sure they are on task with their iPods. But no more problem than you have making sure that they are actually taking notes with the paper. Will students be off-task sometimes? Yes. Will they listen to their own music sometimes? Yes. Is there much you can do about it? Well, if you only have two or three students, yes. But if you have a classroom full? No, probably not. Are students more likely to remain on task? Yes. Will they get more out of the iPod than they would with just a worksheet? You bet.

Is it worth it for me to keep trying and proving to people that this technology could have a huge impact on the educational system as we know it?

I sure hope so, because I bet my career on it.

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Beyond Podcasting, Education of the Future, Random