Positives and negatives of iPods on college campuses

I ran across two very interesting articles on the net here about iPods and their uses on college campuses. We will start with the "positive" article first.

iPods are now known to be used a study aid for some college students.
Excerpt- "Six schools — Duke, Brown, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Missouri School of Journalism — recently participated in a pilot program with Apple called iTunes U."








Above: Two highly ranked schools intergrating iPods into their academics. Duke and Brown.

This format of iTunes allows students to download and organize lectures from professors. Some teachers have said that providing these lectures and materials has not hurt class attendance. There are noted incidents where class attendance was better because students enjoyed conversing more about what they watched and studied. I am sure there is a group of students that would use these technologies to not go to class as well. If I was short on time, I would bet I'd fall into that category to be honest. Since the iPod device has become ubiquitous among younger people, this is a great way to use it in an educational manner on campuses. Some think this is just a fad, while others think it is something that will last and stay. We will see...
Link- USA Today- "iPods now double as study aids" by Ken Fuson

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Apple has recently made deals for consumers where if they buy an Apple computer/laptop, they will also then get a free iPod mp3 player. This can cause some problems for college students though. iPod use in the classroom can really disrupt the learning process. Also, many people will be "plugged in" to their iPod in between classes or while walking across the campus. This puts them in a virtual world of their own, removing them from the people and surrondings right in front of them. There were a couple very noteworthy quotes from this article in the Boston College paper-
1) Greg Johnson, student, said he usually prefers to listen to music while walking through campus. "I usually don't talk to anyone in between class," Johnson said. "It's nice to listen to music while you're walking. It's like a soundtrack."
2) Whether in the classroom or on the school grounds, a student body that remains checked out could minimize interaction, and communication could thereby suffer. "We must remember the virtual communities we create for ourselves cannot stand in place for our real communities," Lang said.
Link- BC Heights Student Paper- "iPods on campus may hurt classroom learning" by Jeff Davis.

This second article directly ties into our course book Interpersonal Divide by Dr. Michael Bugeja. There is a whole chapter titled The Blurring of Identity and Place that deals directly with this subject. Bugeja states, "Many have lost that sense of security due to the blurring of place." Also, there is a "blurring of identity that occurs when technology places an individual in two or more places at once." All of this iPod use should be thought about by my generation so we make sure we don't become isolated or disembodied from all that is in the "present, real community".Above: A younger lady tuned into another world via her iPod.