A colleague on a listserv pointed me in the direction of a great article entitled 100 Ways to use your Ipod to learn and study better, which can be found at http://oedb.org/library/beginning-online-learning/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better or http://tinyurl.com/2l25dg

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better

Published on Tuesday 12th of February, 2008

If you think that iPods are used just for listening to music, you obviously haven't been keeping up with the latest technology. The Apple-developed music player now features all kinds of accessories to help you study better, and now other companies are in a rush to get their designs in sync with the iPod. Pre-teens, college kids and even adults are taking advantage of the educational benefits an iPod affords them. From downloadable podcasts to just-for-iPod study guides and applications, learning on the go has never been easier. To find out about the many different ways you can transform your iPod into a learning device, check out our list below.

Study Guides

Stop trying to keep track of all your Spark Notes and endless study guides. Use these programs to upload study materials onto your iPod.

1. Spark Notes: Long considered a busy high school or college student's best friend, the online study guide database now offers users an iPod-friendly version. Get summaries and analyses of books like A Tale of Two Cities, Beowulf, Hamlet and more.
2. iPREPpress: This website provides study guides, travel guides and foreign language training, all compatible with iPods.
3. Raybook: This company has turned popular study guides and flash cards like Cliff's Notes and Netter's into iPod-compatible study sessions. Programs use video, audio and interactive media to help you learn more effectively.
4. VangoNotes: College students can browse this website for audio downloads in subjects like Sociology, Nursing, Business, Computer Science and other disciplines to access textbook study guides.
5. NotePods: Currently offered for just $1.99 each, these iPod-compatible study guides give summaries on Jane Austen novels, Shakespeare plays, works by Tolstoy and more.

Check out the remaining 95 of the suggestions, they can really make you a power IPOD user!

Want to read about technology to keep up? My family friendly book is a good start: Tech Psychologist's Guide, is available at VirtualBookworm.com

Do you or a loved one need to figure out what technology to use to keep up? Please visit my website, http://www.techpsychologist.com, for information to excel in learning, what you do, and what you love.

Need a low tech method of contact? Call me at 847-446-1251 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Dr. Jeanne Beckman
jb

But why?

Have you ever noticed how young children continue to re-ask, "But why?" whenever they do not understand the logic of grownups? Well, I have a few burning "but why" questions of my own:

• But why: why do schools say that children must learn to read the regular way before they are allowed to access the curricula via technology (text to speech software that reads books aloud)
• But why: why do schools say that "slow learners" or other disabled students who are not necessarily dyslexic do not need text to speech software to learn the regular curriculum of their age peers
  
• But why: why do schools segregate special needs children from their peers to learn? At home and in life, we do not segregate these children or the grownups they will become. Imagine if we said to our 3 year old, "Sorry, you cannot eat dinner with the rest of the family. You need to learn to eat without spilling first, and having you at the dining room table will interfere with the older children's ability to eat."
  

The typical child learns approximately 3,000 new vocabulary words per year. The longer they are held back, the longer they are denied accommodated access to the same curriculum materials of their age peers, the farther they will fall behind and the more discouraged they will become.

Does it make sense?

Do you or a loved one need to figure out what technology to use to keep up? Please visit my website, http://www.techpsychologist.com, for information to excel in learning, what you do, and what you love.

Need a low tech method of contact? Call me at 847-446-1251 to schedule a confidential consultation.
Dr. Jeanne Beckman
jb