Moby Dick: On my iPod?

In response to this article by USAtoday...

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-02-06-mp3-homework_x.htm

The fact that more and more students are listening to MP3 versions of books, learning new languages on iPods while shopping, and listening to lectures online is a testament to how students have become expert multi-taskers.

Students do homework while watching TV, riding on buses and surfing the web. I'm living proof of this - I visited 5 websites and sent two e-mails while reading this article. The ability to multi-task isn't a bad thing; students are asked to do a lot in a 24 hour period, especially when they're in high school, so why not let them catch up on a night's reading while driving home, or doing their chores?

I do have one concern regarding MP3 books. This technology has the potential to make students less capable of staying focused for an extended period of time. There's already research out there that suggests young peoples' ability to stay focused on one task (i.e. reading a book, or in my case reading one article) has diminished, because they are constantly bombarded with technological stimuli. MP3 books would only add to that technological overload.

We all know that kids like to use technology, and use it often, but what interested me the most in this article was the quote from the school librarian. She claims listening to audio books encourages reading, and I wonder if this is actually true. I'm sure as audio books become more popular more studies and surveys will be done to corroborate her claim. If it is true, then I feel teachers have a responsibility to look into audio books. As long as kids are reading and absorbing material, who cares how its done?

Audio books have already been proven to help ESL students. I recorded grade school books on MP3 for a colleague last year; she said it was helpful for her students to hear and read the language at the same time.

Teachers are responsible for finding ways to work with their students. As aforementioned, kids are multi-tasking and using technology everyday. Why not make that work within (and outside) the walls of a classroom? If using MP3 materials (along with regular books of course) makes school feel more accessible and relevant to the students, that's something to be celebrated.