iPods

== Prices are in USD. == =iPods=

The iPod in its most basic form is a storage device, i.e. a handheld hard drive. The iPod ingeniusly combines 2 different worlds, that of music and the other of portable storage devices and combined them and offered the user a MP3 which can also be used as a USB key. But today the iPod has not just become successful just because it is a new and unique device but because it has grown and merged with popular culture. The simple yet high-tech look plus the light weight and the thinness of these devices make it even more appealing to consumers. Today everyone, everywhere has an iPod because it is considered a "cool" commidity and the"in thing" to possess. And with roughly a dozen different accessories, including a sock, it allows people to personalize their iPod according to their likes and dislikes, thus giving them more options and customizations. Today the iPod has evolved and offers new products along with its previous blockbuster iPod. The 2 main products are the iPod nano and the iPod shuffle. For the most part all three are roughly the same, each model offering different options, and the biggest difference between the three is that the shuffle does not have a screen.


 * Education**

No longer is the iPod used for fun and games, 1,650 freshmen students at Duke University were given free iPods upon enrollment. While some were worried that the students would see this as a free gift, many of the professors at the university tried to take advantage of the technology and test out new methods of educating. Professors found that the students were using their iPods as storages devices and recording devices, to record the lectures instead of taking notes. However, over the year it was not just the students who took it upon themselves to find educational uses for the iPod. Professors started to record their lectures and post them on the internet in the form of a podcast, for their students to download. Nevertheless with new innovations there are skeptics. Although professors found that students were using their iPods for class related uses, there were less than 20 classes that incorporated iPods and still several students who didn’t use theirs for school work.

The Drexel University’s School of Education is planning to give out 30 or so iPods to enrolling students, hopefully to model that of Duke’s giveaway. However, Drexel is making a program for this giveaway which will require the students to use the iPod in new situations. The main topic of the program is podcasting. Students are required to work at an off-campus job for one semester at which they will have to create “audio-web logs” to keep in touch to those at school. To start off the program and podcasting, officials at Drexel are releasing the details to the students through a podcast that can be downloaded online.


 * External Links:
 * For all things iPod, iTunes and beyond, visit http://www.ilounge.com/

Read, Brock. "Seriously, iPods are Educational" 18 Mar. 2005. 25 Feb. 2006 <[|http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:TbrmZvcKRTQJ:ipod.gcsu.edu/pdf/chronicle031805.pdf+]>
 * References:

iPod banner courtesy of http://www.apple.com/ipod/

iPod Image Courtesy of http://www.apple.com/ca/ipod/ipod.html