iHeart Wisconsin!

Usually considered a huge distraction and often banned from rearing their shiny heads in school, iPods (as well as Zunes and other mp3 players) are gaining some traction and earning a reputation as being beneficial for some students. Is the education community's ban on these devices coming to a thoughtful end?

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that a few districts in Wisconsin, particularly in and around the Greater Milwaukee area, are weighing the benefits of letting students have access to iPods during school hours. Students at the schools where iPods and other electronic devices are banned have argued that listening to music and podcasts helps them concentrate in study hall and drowns out noise in the lunchroom and other places. A 17-year old in Waukesha even started a Facebook group, which now has more than 400 members, as a sort of petition to encourage administrators to loosen the regulations surrounding the use of these devices on school grounds.

Teachers opposed to lifting the ban are citing a mixed bag of arguments ranging from the obvious ones of distraction to the value of listening to some popular music period. With cell phones and two-ways, which are still universally banned by state regulation, students can text each other unnoticed during class, but as long as the kids listen to iPods at appropriate times, what harm can they do?

It seems that many schools are moving toward letting teachers decide whether or not iPods can be used in study halls and other times during the day. The problem is that it creates discord among faculty members and the inconsistencies become bargaining chips for students when one teacher permits and another prohibits. Still, some teachers worry that allowing students to self-isolate can be emotionally harmful and question whether or not the students' claims are accurate. As one teacher mused, how could listening to Eminem be helpful for anyone?

The article, published on December 27, says that the schools involved in the debate are not currently using mobile devices like mp3 players as part of the curriculum; teachers are not widely posting classroom content on blogs so that it can be listened to and/or viewed later for reinforcement and to help students study for tests and complete assignments. Would that change the debate? I think so. In my mind, if teachers recognized the legitimacy of iPods as learning devices, students might actually use them in that way. I know for certain that I have been on duty in my fair share of study halls that could have used an iPod or two to keep chatter down and students focused.

What do YOU think?