Don’t Turn ’Em Off, Tune ’Em In!

Tired of constantly telling your students to stow those pesky iPods? Some educators are encouraging their pupils to listen more often, incorporating them into classwork and homework. While one student records herself speaking Spanish and is graded on pronunciation, another prepares for a history test by listening to oral histories of World War II veterans, and a third listens to Shakespearean sonnets.

Even grade-schoolers are tuning in, boosting literacy skills by using a tiny device called a Playaway. On loan at school libraries nationwide, the mini-MP3s play such titles as Charlotte’s Web, Bridge to Terabithia, and Little Women. Check with your librarian, or visit www.playawaydigital.com.

Meanwhile…
The decreasing size of MP3 players is posing a problem in some schools. Students can slip in tiny headphones to listen to audio cheat sheets in homemade podcasts. A Meridian, Idaho, high school banned the devices this spring after a teacher overheard students bragging about doing just that. Similar busts have occurred in California and in Canada.