In an Australian first, a Tasmanian high school is using iPods in the classroom.
Media and Design students at Hobart's Rosetta High School are this year part of trials of a global "iPodagogy" project that involves iPod use in US, Scotland and Singapore schools, The Hobart Mercury reports.
Students are able to record lessons on their iPods, download and transfer files from school to home, create podcasts and send assignments and other material to teachers.
School calendars, assignment reminders and lesson plans can also be pushed out to the iPod.
The iPod project is being driven by Australian e-Learning company Etech, which created the world-leading Studywiz Virtual Learning Environment software and has now made it possible for schools to incorporate iPods into classrooms.
Etech, which has its global client support base in Hobart, has adapted Studywiz to support iPod syncing of data so students can easily use an iPod at their school or home computer.
Etech chief executive Geoff Elwood said the universal popularity of iPods made them a great tool when used as part of a broad learning platform.
"The children love using them and they are an effective platform to receive or download information in a very portable manner," he said.
"It is a fun learning environment for children and they enhance their learning capacity if they are having fun."
Rosetta Year 10 student Adrian Ianculovici, 16, who does not own an iPod but often finds himself borrowing one, told The Hobart Mercury that the devices made learning more fun.
"They're easy to use, reliable, well-structured - everything is easy to do," he said.
"All the students really enjoy using them, and if you incorporate an iPod into class work they're more inclined to work rather than screw around."
Etech chose Rosetta High for the iPod project because it has shown its interest in finding new and innovative ways to improve students' learning.
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