Drexel U. to Hand Out Video-Playing iPods

Abstract

Students entering the School of Education at Drexel University this fall will receive iPods as part of a program to explore and evaluate the educational potential of the devices. Duke University launched a similar program last fall, distributing iPods to all 1,650 of its incoming freshmen. The program at Drexel, however, is much smaller in scope, with about 30 students expected to enter the School of Education in the fall. Some have criticized such programs as gimmicks that are unlikely to produce valuable educational results, and officials involved in the programs acknowledge the risk that students will simply use the devices to listen to music. Drexel officials said part of the university's program is to solicit feedback from students about how the devices could be put to good use educationally. Students will receive microphones to record interviews and other meetings, and the university will request that the students use the iPods to create "audio Web logs" during a required semester of off-campus work. Drexel will also experiment with podcasting, a process in which iPod owners can download audio files, such as news announcements or lectures from professors, and listen to them at their convenience.