Apple iPod™ - What is it and why should I care?

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http://www.lehigh.edu/~inlts/teams/it/forum/podcast_final.rss

Introduction:

We were initially asked to do a short presentation about the educational uses of the iPod for a Instructional Technology Conference, Cybertools, in August of 2005. We expanded and updated that presentation for a group of Lehigh faculty and staff members for a Lehigh Lab Forum session in October 2005. This web page is simply a collection of some of the information that we gathered and we offer it as an initial resource for learning about the iPod and some of it's educational uses.

The iPod was introduced by Apple in October of 2001. It had a 5GB hard drive and cost $399 and was for music files only. What distinguished it from other types of players on the market was the ease of use, the large storage capacity, the high price tag, and for Mac users only, the integration with iTunes, Apple's software for managing digital music.

Since that time, Apple has introduced many new models, added support for Windows users, created the iTunes online store and integrated that with iPod synchronization, added the ability to store pictures and, most recently, videos. It is enormously popular, and with each new enhancement to this product, it becomes interesting and useful to a wider audience of people.

Robin Deily

Ilena Key

Jason Slipp

Instructional Technologists at Lehigh University

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DUKE University- A Case Study

Overview of the Ipod Initiative

• Participants: 1,650 freshmen and 150 were given to faculty members or lent to upperclassmen for use in courses. (Carlson, 2004)
  
• Device: 20 GB Apple Ipods and Belkin Voice Recorders were distributed to incoming freshman in August of 2004.
  
• Cost:  approximately $500,000 on the project. (includes hardware and staff support)
  
• Funding: That money will came from a fund for incorporating information technology into instruction. Apple provided an undisclosed discount on the devices.

• listen to assigned songs or audio clips in music or foreign-language courses.
• record lectures with the devices
• distribute assignments
• recording  interviews in the field 
• the university plans to hire a consultant who will help faculty members use the iPods, although most faculty members do not yet know about the iPod project.
• put out a call for project ideas,  put them out there as a tool and see what happens.

Results: What did they Learn?

Academic Uses (Duke University, 2005): 

• Course content dissemination tool- Portable access to course content such as lectures, songs, historical speeches, and foreign language content distributed via the Duke Ipod content server, Itunes Music Store, Blackboard course management tool and podcasts
• Classroom recording tool- Capturing lectures, class discussions and verbal feedback.
• Field Recording Tool: Capturing field notes, interviews environmental sounds and audio data.
• Study support tool- Repeated listening and repetition of commercial and original audio content, such music, audio books, rehearsals and vocabulary lists.
• File Storage and Transfer- Simple transfer or backup mechanism, particularly for large multimedia files. 

Benefits of Academic Ipod Use-

• Convenience for both faculty and students or portable digital courses content, and a reduced dependence on physical materials.
• Flexible location-independent access to digital multimedia course materials, including reduced dependence on lab or library locations and hours.
• Effective and easy to use tool for digital recording of interviews, field notes, small group discussions, and self recording of oral assignments.
• Greater student engagement and interest in class discussions, labs research, and independent projects.
• Enhanced support for individual learning preferences and needs.

Barriers and  Problems Encountered with Academic Ipod use.

Significant challenges in integrating multiple systems for content storage, access, sharing and distribution with one another and with existing technology infrastructure

• Absence of systems for bulk purchase or licensing commercial .mp3 audio content for academic use.
• Difficulties in locating commercial sources and obtaining licenses for content from independent and international publishers in appropriate Formats.
• Inherent limitations of the device  ( e.g., no mechanism for input other than synchronization, lack of instructor tools for combining text and audio.
• Limited pre-existing documentation and training resources, particularly for PC users and for academic uses
• Recording  made on the Ipod were not of sufficient quality for use in some academic contexts
• Lack of awareness of accurate knowledge of Ipod functionality and academic applications among faculty and students.

Follow-up

• found that the institution's much-publicized iPod giveaway had educational merit, but not in every course.(Read, 2005)
• Duke will scale back the initiative and only give them students who enroll in courses that put them to substantial use.
• Faculty had other interests that the iPod didn't fulfill.
  

Future Projects-

• Drexel University- School of Education  
  
• Distribute iPod Photo to 30 and 50 students -        
  
• Goal- Spark innovation and curiosity among students through an instrument that most students want to carry around anyway.

What are they? (info from wikipedia.com)

Ipod is a class of portable digital audio players designed and marketed my Apple. Ipods store media (audio files, audio books, pictures, music, etc.) on a built-in hard drive and can also serve as an external data storage device when connected to a computer.

Hardware and Software (info from wikipedia.com)

Most Ipod models offer FireWire connectivity. Media transfers and charging of the Ipod take place via FireWire (however, data transfers and charging can occur via hi-speed USB 2.0 connectivity as well). Most Ipods come with an AC power adaptor, headphones, USB 2.0 cable and/or FireWire cable.

Ipods can play most popular audio formats. These formats include MP3, WAV, and AAC.  Ipods work with iTunes media library software, which lets users manage the music libraries on their computers and Ipods. iTunes can automatically synchronize a user's iPod with specific playlists or with the entire contents of a music library each time an iPod connects to a hose computer. Ipods also have PDA functions. They can synchronize a user's contacts and schedule with the address book and iCal applications on the user's Mac.

Technical specifications/ requirements (info from apple.com)

MAC OS X

A Mac with a built-in FireWire port and Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later.
A Mac with a built-in USB 2.0 port and Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later.
iTunes 4.7 or later.

PC

A PC with built-in FireWire or a FireWire card installed, or built-in USB 2.0 or a USB 2.0 card installed.
Windows 2000 with SP 4 or later, Windows XP Home or Professional.
iTunes 4.7 or later.

How Much do They Cost?

Ipod Shuffle - 512MG (120 songs) $99, 1GB (240 songs) $129
Ipod Nano - 2GB (500 songs) $199, 4GB(1,000 songs) $249
Ipod - 20GB (5,000 songs) $299, 60GB(15,000 songs) $399

Ipod Content
There are many ways to get content onto the iPod. However, most of the content must first be loaded into the iTunes media library software on the user's PC or MAC. Once the content is available in iTunes, the user can "sync" their iTunes with their iPod via a FireWire or USB cable. Content can come from many different sources: iTunes online music store, CDs, or self created. Users can legally download music and other digital audio (audio books, pod casts) from the iTunes online music stores as well as other websites. Users can also "rip" songs from CD's to place in iTunes as well as the iPod. Finally, users can create their own audio content by using a microphone (Belkin voice recorder) that can be purchased separately. The mic attaches to the iPod and records the user's voice. The audio can be replayed as well as saved for later use. 

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iPods in Action

• (Click Login, then Preview, Courses tab, enter ipod, in the search field, click on the name of the course to view it as a guest:

  iPods - They are not just for music anymore

2. Use the iPod to record an audio file and upload it to a Blackboard course - Create a recording by using a sound recorder device and show how to upload a file to a webpage/course management system. The basic work flow is a follows:

1. Plug the recording device into the iPod, the recording program should start automatically
2. Record and save
3. Connect the iPod to your computer
4. Although the memo you recorded will probably be available through iTunes (if that's what you use for music!), you will want to access your iPod as a hard disk. To do that you need to check the iPod options from within iTunes to "enable disk use". See your iPod help, for specific instructions for your iPod model and computer operating system
5. Find the file, might be in a folder named "Recordings
6. In Blackboard (or another Course Management System) add the file to the course. Typically, the terminology would be, "upload" or "attach" the file. For example, in Blackboard, you would add content, attach the file, choose the "Special Action" to "Display Media File within the Page". This will place the file directly on the page with the media player controls.

3. Use iTunes to subscribe to a podcast:

There are lots of programs that you can use to listen to podcasts, we chose iTunes since it is widely-used, free, and is cross-platform.

1. Open up iTunes (version 4.9, or later)
2. Choose Podcasts as the Source (Look for the word Podcasts in the list of sources on the left side of the iTunes window and click on it to open the podcast interface.)
3. Go to the iTunes directory to browse the podcasts listed with iTunes (Click on Podcast Directory, at the bottom of the podcast window).
4. Browse the casts, find one to subscribe to, click on subscribe, confirm. The podcast will then be listed in your podcast window and the available shows will be downloaded. Double-click a show to listen to it.
5. If you synch your iPod with iTunes, then the podcast will be transferred to your iPod during the next synch.

4. Use iTunes to subscribe to a podcast when you have a specific URL:

1) If you do not have iTunes installed, please download and install it:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/

2) Open iTunes

3) From the "Advanced" menu select "Subscribe to Podcast..." Copy and paste the the URL in to the "subscribe" window.

4) Click OK, you will see the podcast begin to download into iTunes.

5) Click on the podcast, then double-click on the presentation to listen to it. Make sure your speaker volume is up.

Note - The above steps will not be exact for every system and will differ based on the following:

• Computer platform and Operating System: PC, Mac, OS 9, OS X, XP Pro, ME, home, etc.
• Type of recording device
• Security Settings: firewalls, pop-up blockers, etc.
• Browsers: Safari, Mozilla, Firefox, Internet Explorer
• Media players: Quicktime, Windows Media Player, Real Player, etc..
• Browser plug-ins: see above
• Editing options within Blackboard differ if you are using a Mac or a PC

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How Do I get started?
Tips:

• Look at the models and the options before you buy. Make sure that it will do what you want it to do!
• Know what kind of iPod you have (size of the hard drive, model or generation). If you want to purchase any accessories, this information is vital!
• Know how you connect the iPod to your computer, either USB or Firewire
• Know the operating system of your computer, some accessories may behave differently or may not even be supported on both platforms
• Basic iPod necessities:
  • iPod
  • Carrying case
  • Cable to connect to your computer
  • Power adapter
• Additional possible accessories for use in the classroom:
  

• Some sort of recording device for the model of IPod that you have
• External speakers, if you want others to hear what is on your iPod without synching with iTunes, or uploading to the web.

FM transmitter, to "broadcast" a file to an FM radio (this can be an alternative to external speakers)

General iPod Information links:
Apple iPod Site: http://www.apple.com/ipod/
Apple iTunes site: http://www.apple.com/itunes/
iPod Educational links:
Apple iPod Educational site: http://www.apple.com/education/ipod/
Short article from the Educause Resource Center: http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=ELI7003
Carlson Article from The Chronicle of Higher Education:
http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i07/07a03401.htm
Fun accessories:
Belkin (cool accessories): http://www.belkin.com/iPod/matrix/index.asp?cid=1&lid=1&dock=y
Audible (recorded books, magazines, newspapers, podcasts): http://www.audible.com/
iLounge (the place to be): http://www.ilounge.com/

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created 10/13/2005

rjd0