My iPod, My.. teacher?

With an ever changing appearance and newer features being thought of everyday, Apple’s, iPod is slowly but surely taking over the world. Not only is it an mp3 player, but now it is a video player, photo album and even a teacher; according to a York university article. Kinesthetic studies and the iPod go hand in hand. It is what separates college from University. This type of learning regiment allows students to experience more freedom and allows them to multi task. Unfortunately it also leaves the constant space for a vigorous amount of distractions.

Mary ward being a school devoted to a self-directed learning system allows for the easy adaptation of this “iPod education”. Yes, the self-directed learning leaves students with a lot of freedom, in preparation for University, but sadly Mary Ward’s self-directed learning system, like KFC, comes with the consequential heart attack students call procrastination. I believe that the iPod learning system would also allow for this. I myself am opposed to it, though it is a new and more efficient way of learning for some, I don’t believe that I would be better off with this type of hands on learning. I’m sure many people would be with this kind of learning; people who prefer to have a lot of freedom, but in my case I profit from sitting in one place and working on one thing for a certain period of time with no major disturbances. Not only does it help me do my work more efficiently it also allows for the better quality of my work. I would be extremely distracted if given the amount of freedom offered by the iPod lectures; certainly many would agree that even the freedom offered at Mary Ward is a bit overwhelming and regularly leads to the popularly known temptation of “HALL WALKING.” Though there are some disadvantages, I believe that an iPod in the hands of a hardworking Mary Ward student would probably benefit them, allowing more to be accomplished in less time. Seminars, being a time consuming task, could be avoided, leaving more time for work and an hour left not wasted by a teacher talking about things one already knows.

In my opinion the iPod learning system allows more freedom at the expense of education itself. Though many would argue that it is a likely opportunity to prepare for university, I believe that it would lead to the eventual down fall of the persona of the hardworking student. The system of kinesthetic studies would let student have the ability to move around and work at the same time, but one has to argue about the amount of concentration placed upon specific tasks. More would be accomplished but at what expense; quality of course. I believe that the V-cast is good in certain situations. If given to a hardworking, concentrated student, it would be very useful and allow them to complete more in a compromised amount of time; but if given to a student who is easily distracted and doesn’t work much it would probably just be the perfect excuse to buy an iPod. The practicing student is the main subject, for the use of the iPod is in their hands; it is their choice to misuse it or to use it to excel in their education.