iLecture

Response to Grade 10 Journal Entry Question #2: An iPod Classroom?

I have a pretty long commute to school. It takes me an 8-minute train ride and an almost 40-minute bus ride to get to Ward - and that's not including the waiting time, standing out in the freezing cold or extreme heat. What's a girl to do to kill time on this vast and daily journey? I could read a newspaper, listen to music.. or possibly even a seminar delivered by my teachers.

York U has developed "downloadable seminars," available as video podcasts for the Apple iPod. I could simply listen in on a seminar anytime and anywhere, just as long as my battery life isn't totally dismal. It gives a lot of flexibility to the way I learn, and gives me a chance to learn outside of the conventional classroom. It would be a great convenience for times like a busy commute or waiting for hours at the doctor's, so I could be more productive and make better use of my time.

The not-so-great aspect of the concept of these "downloadable seminars" is that not all of us are blessed with having an iPod at home, let alone a portable video player. Having an iPod is a luxury for most, or perhaps an over-rated trend that some people aren't willing to buy into, myself included. I'm just fine with my super-cellphone, and I don't feel the total urge to have those white earphones, either. But what about the people that don't own these amenities? I don't think it's right to force all students to own an iPod or a portable-player-of-your-choice just because their teachers won't deliver traditional seminars. Although you could look at them as fancy high-tech textbooks, it's not conventional for your average student to be spending what-would-otherwise-be about 5% of initial university tuition. (Trust me, it's a pretty big deal.) At the least, keeping the downloadable seminars as an option would be more accommodating to everyone.

The flexibility and freedom of having my seminars at hand would lead to the P-word... Procrastination. Knowing that I could simply watch the seminars at any time, could result in last-minute seminar-watching. From that, would come the consequential cramming and rushing of dreadfully long assignments. Without the motivation to learn or perhaps the drive to get things over with right away, I could always put it aside until the last minute.

Sound familiar to any of you Ward students?

The situation's way too similar to the woes of Mary Ward students, that it's almost too perfect for us to have these seminar podcasts. How better to spend our time but to stare at our iPods all day than to (supposedly) watch our educational seminars? It just gives us an excuse to have our iPods out during the day - it doesn't necessarily mean that we'd actually be watching our seminars, either. We all find ways to procrastinate, and the downloadable lectures give us the power to do it with an excuse included in the package. The lectures would be convenient, but I don't think I would do as well as having an actual classroom with a teacher and students, drowning in my boredom or actually trying to learn. The best solution for seminar podcasting, where it to be brought to Mary Ward, would be a mandatory seminar covering the basics of a unit, and optional seminars that go into the detail of each concept could be podcasted. But overall, I think that integrating seminar podcasts into our school system at Mary Ward would simply add fuel to the great fire that is procrastination and slacking off.

Learning things old school doesn't really hurt. Sure, it can be boring and without focus it'll be a pain to even pay attention. But we shouldn't take the easy way out and just learn whenever we want to - time doesn't wait for everyone.