Using technology in today’s society is very common. Therefore when young kids are in school, they should be allowed to use different types of technology to enhance their learning skills. In an economics class at my high school, we used iPod touches during our class. There were many positive and a few negatives to this type of technology use during school.

The iPods helped the class become more interactive. We were able to search for information with the teacher by using the Internet on our iPod. This was a creative way our teacher was able to keep our class focused. Another positive is the easy access to the Internet for projects. The iPod was like having a compact computer at your hands. I like how we were able to write papers and research at ease, and we did not have wait for a day when a computer lab was available. Also, I believe signing out the iPods at the beginning of class was a lot quicker than I expected it to be. I was impressed about how lining up was becoming a ritual everyday. This was a very different experience from my other classes in the past.

The few negatives during my economics class were not huge problems, but they still occurred. During class people could easily lose focus on the topic we were trying to discuss by surfing the web.  Also because of the easy access of the Internet, it was very easy for people to cheat on quizzes. I know a few people would take the quiz, but while taking it, be searching for the answers on a site like Wikipedia.  These problems only occurred because of the people who took advantage of having the iPods, but because of them others would suffer. While some people actually studied for a quiz and obtained a good grade, others slacked off and still were able to achieve the same grade.

I believe that these problems could be fixed. If we were able to take quizzes on paper instead of on the iPod, everyone would be at a fair advantage.  You will always have people who try to cheat, but taking the quiz on paper will make it harder for them to succeed at it.  Also to keep students more focused, I would have a set plan. They would have to go to a certain website during class. Then after looking over the cite give an outline of what is important on that cite. I believe students would remember the information better by writing down the information and also stay on task. In my class we did not have to look up the information asked, and only a few students would do it anyway.  Therefore having an outline or giving points to people during a lecture would help students focus on the material being learned. Although some students will not care either way, I think that more students will prosper.

All together, this was a good experience. Personally, I like writing my notes on paper better than on the iPods because writing information down helps me remember it.  Today we are seeing technology enter the classroom more rapidly, and fixing the problems of having it will be the next steps schools will have to take. Technology does allow students to prosper, but it also allows them to become inattentive.

Having iPods available for every student in a classroom is very beneficial for many reasons.  Not only does it give students the opportunity to search the World Wide Web for information as it is being taught in class, but it also allows the students to interact and participate more since they have access to so much information.  Overall, having these iPods in the classroom really broadens a child’s education.

As a teacher is teaching in class, what better way for the students to understand the lesson than to have them look up the definitions themselves in a quick and efficient way?  Using the iPods does just that.  They give students the ability to really gain a lot more knowledge than just having a textbook in front of them.

Along with being quick and efficient, teachers are always looking for children to participate in class and the iPods are a great way to get students to interact with the teacher and also other students.  From the iPods alone, students that are usually very quiet and do not talk off task, they are speaking up more and more to explain any information they found.

IPods are really a great thing to have in the classroom but there are some thing’s I feel that are better to be done on paper than the iPod itself.  Taking test and also taking notes are more beneficial to do on paper.  Tests are hard as it is, so taking them on little computer screens is very hard and adds more stress to students than they need.  Also, taking notes on iPods are not a good idea because when a student writes something on paper it is easier to remember.  But besides these two little issues, like I stated before, there are so many great aspects to having iPods in the classroom.