POD PEOPLE: Teachers Find Cool Uses for Apple's Ubiquitous Music Player

By Cheri Lucas

"It's a sleek, sexy must-have for the MP3 set, but Apple's iPod -- a digital music player in fancy dress -- is more than just a gadget for tuning out nagging adults. With the help of some clever software and creative teachers, the device can get kids engaged in their schoolwork -- and help them express themselves. Take a project by first-year teacher George Mayo, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His sixth graders at Brandon Middle School record podcasts, or online radio shows, as part of their classroom blog, the M&M Online Magazine. On the air, they talk about their own blogs, from Nicole D.'s "True Life Stories," about classmates, to Anthony R.'s "Myths and Legends," which deals with Dracula and the Loch Ness Monster. One podcast consists of interviews with "busy" eighth graders who talk about the life of an older student."