How the iPod Changed My Life

To say that the iPod changed my life is both hyperbole and true. Hyperbole in the sense that my life is essentially the same as it was before I got my first iPod (that was four iPods ago). And true because Apple's elegant music player has dramatically altered how I think about audio and video content. And it has offered some interesting opportunities in the classroom which is why I'm writing about it in TeachingTech.

My interest in recorded music goes back at least to my high school days. I now have a collection of 900 CDs. Back in 1999 or so I purchased one of the then-popular Diamond Rio MP3 players. I think it had 64 MB of storage. I remember at the time thinking how remarkable it was to carry around several CDs worth of music in my shirt pocket. I also remember around that time reading that a music player with more than a gigabyte of storage was in the works somewhere in the world. What would that mean? I did a rough calculation. I would be able to carry the equivalent of nearly 20 CDs in my shirt pocket.

Fast forward to today. I can now put my entire CD collection on an iPod, plus videos, still photographs, audio books, and podcasts. I carry all of those around with me and access them in various combinations daily. And I still have room for more. It's not the capacity of the iPod that makes it important, however. What Apple has done is more than just create a big container. It has created a new way of thinking about audio and video content. It's now compact, portable, instantly accessible. Apple has now sold more than 2 billion songs on it's online store. One billion of those in the last year. Obviously someone out there likes the idea buying music online. Now they're selling audio books, TV shows, and full-length movies. There are thousands of free podcast episodes. For me part of the fun is the sheer enjoyment of reading about a new release, listening to all of those thirty-second clips on the iTunes Store, choosing the album, watching it download, copying it to my iPod, and then walking off with some music that I didn't even know existed ten minutes ago.

What does any of this have to do with education? Well, just as Apple, iTunes, and the iPod changed the way we try, buy, and listen to music, they also changed how we can use audio files. Apple didn't invent the podcast (If you're unfamiliar with the term, there is a good article on Wikipedia here.), but it wasn't until Apple began listing podcasts in the iTunes Store that they really took off. All of the sudden, many people realized that they could create an audio file, upload to some server somewhere, create the feed, and post that to iTunes. And anyone in the world could search iTunes, subscribe, and download it for free. We all became instant radio stations.

Here's an example of good podcast project that I've used: Students conduct an interview of some person (a teacher, parent, or friend). The project would follow these steps (I've listed software that I've used, but there are many other possibilities):

• Students listen to some podcast episodes (there are many free ones listed on iTunes).
• Class discusses what makes a good interview and podcast.
  
• Students decide on a subject for the interview.
• Students write interview questions and a script.
• Student practice recording their own voices and performing simple edits. Audacity is a great, free recording and editing program that runs on Windows, Macs, and Linux. Get it here. Students can learn the basics in a few minutes. Mac users can get great results with Apple's GarageBand. It comes free with all Macs as part of the iLife software suite.
• Classes discusses some technical issues such as file size, file format (e.g. MP3, AAC, WAV), podcast feed, microphone.
  
• Students schedule a time for the interview.
• Students record the interview using Audacity and a laptop or desktop computer.
  
• Students edit the audio file to clean up errors, equalize volume, add intro and outro using Audacity.
  
• Students convert the audio file to MP3 or AAC format using iTunes. iTunes has various options for mono, stereo, and bandwidth that allows good control of file size.
• Students upload the audio files to a web server. I use our school's website.
• Students create the feed for iTunes. This is actually the most technically complicated part, but Apple has good instructions here. A Google search will also give you plenty of answers.
• Students subscribe to your podcast through iTunes and download to a computer and/or iPod.
  
• Now anyone can search the iTunes Store, and your podcast will show up in the directory. Try a search for the ones I've done at my school. Search the iTunes Store for "CIC Podcasts".
  

There are many alternatives and variations to all of this. All accessible to students and teachers with very little technical background. Some example. Students can write and record a radio play. They can record musical performances. Students can recite stories and/or poems that they have written. There are even more possibilities. Include photos and chapters in a podcast episode. Go another step and try a video podcast.

These are great learning opportunities for students and teachers that go beyond the technological aspect. What I particularly like is that the technology isn't so overpowering that only the real geek teachers and students get it. After a bit of practice the technology fades into the background, and you can stay focused on the content.

So the iPod changed my life as a teacher, and it can change yours too. Enjoy.

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