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iLearn with iPod
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IVCCD students tune in with iPods®  College has always been cool, but students at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls and Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown and Grinnell continue to be way cooler as their colleges plug iPods® into the curriculum! Podcasting is the biggest thing to hit college campuses since 24-hour pizza delivery! The exciting new “must have” iPod® technology is now being used for more than playing tunes on the go, though. It is also a great way to access information from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats. And it makes a great educational tool. Many professors at Ellsworth Community College (ECC) in Iowa Falls and Marshalltown Community College (MCC) in Marshalltown and Grinnell have been incorporating iPods® and podcasting into the curriculum since the fall of 2006. The faculty (and their students) are excited about using iPod® technology as a way to enhance and expand student learning. With the “iLearn with iPod®” program, ECC and MCC faculty can record digital audio (enhanced podcasts can also include slides and video) and make it available on the internet. Once downloaded using a computer with high speed internet connection and the Apple iTunes® software (available via free download), the digital recordings can be played by registered students on a computer or personal audio player. Though a personal audio player, such as an iPod®, provides portability it is not needed to access podcasts. Registered students will be able to subscribe to podcasts for their ECC and MCC classes through iTunes U, a service of Apple Computer, Inc. Here’s what’s cool about that: Students who miss a class where a podcast has been made will be able to hear the lecture for that day. Students who are easily distracted will be able to listen to the presentation as many times as needed to grasp the lecture. Guest speakers can be recorded and their comments preserved. Difficult concepts can be reviewed until the message is clear. And students can use their iPods® almost anywhere, making study possible outside, on the road, in the gym, while doing laundry, or at the shopping center. Several faculty members at Ellsworth and Marshalltown Community Colleges are now podcasting selected classes. Their goal is to make the curriculum more accessible to students, who will be able to download the information and watch/listen as many times as they like to help them understand concepts, study, or prepare for tests. Partnering with faculty, a new program in the District called “iCreate” is heading up the iPod® initiative. Though all three state universities and many other colleges are using podcasting in some way, ECC and MCC were the first educational institutions in the state to offer such broad commitment to podcasting by having a student lease/purchase option for iPods®. ECC and MCC students planning to take at least six credit hours per semester for at least two consecutive semesters will be offered the opportunity to lease an iPod® when they register for classes. At the end of the two-semester lease, students will be able to purchase the iPod® for a nominal fee. For answers to a variety of Frequently Asked Questions about iLearn with iPod®, click here! Ellsworth Community College, Marshalltown Community College and Iowa Valley Grinnell are operated by Iowa Valley Community College District. Iowa Valley is partnering with local organizations to help fund the start-up costs of the “iLearn with iPod®” initiative. The Barlow Family Foundation of Iowa Falls has already given over $5,000 toward purchase of equipment for ECC. Organizations that would like to help with the program should contact Cort Iverson at Cort.Iverson@iavalley.edu or call 641-844-5545. iPod® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
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3702 S. Center St., Marshalltown, IA 50158 • Ph: 641-752-4643 • E: ivinfo@iavalley.edu |
