Reaction to ipod Article

My first reaction to the ipod article is that all technology will have ups and downs, positives and negatives, as well as much room for improvement. The author had a thorough explanation as to how the ipod can be used in education, albeit confusing at times. As a high school teacher, I have seen ipods used negatively in education for the most part. Many students of today believe that their everyday lives must involve an ipod. For example, if students are assigned seat work, many will ask if they can listen to their ipods. After explaining to them that they may indeed work more diligent when listening to their ipod, they are not grasping and comprehending the information, however, Deborah Vess explains that ipods need to be used as tools of learning rather than a learning crutch.

Vess states, "I am a firm believer in using technology only when it allows me to accomplish something better than I can do without it." I completely agree with this statement, however, does the ipod really improve learning that much more? It appears that, at times, the process of using the ipod is a great deal of added work get the information from point A to point B. From what I gather, it seems like a voice recorder could do the same as podcasts. Sure, the podcasts can be listened to on the go or in the gym, but do teachers want their students listening to lectures or discussions in these environments?

In some ways I feel that by using the ipod in this manner only inhibits the learners from interacting with each other, including the professor. It seems like more and more in today's society, people who work in the same school or office would much rather send an e-mail instead of walking down the hall to interact with their superior. Again, the ipods do serve an educational purpose, but I believe that attempting to implement them into the curriculum of a high school or middle school is a great deal of time that is being wasted.