Technology Integration: Mobile Devices (iPods), Constructivist Pedagogy, and Student Learning.

Abstract

Although mobile technology is still evolving with most mobile devices supporting numerous communications and technology standards, there are currently very few applications of these devices to support teaching and learning activities. Integrated appropriately, mobile devices could help students acquire the skills needed to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy. This paper reports on a small yet innovative pilot study where preservice teachers were provided with iPods as part of academic courses in a Midwestern College of Education. Evidence from the pilot study indicates that preservice teachers recognized using iPods and podcasts as an effective tool for differentiated instruction. Further, majority of the preservice teachers saw podcasting as a vehicle for presenting content to their future students. Finally, the authors recommend that teachers take a constructivist approach in their use of mobile devices to integrate audio seamlessly into the curriculum.