Fall 2004 iPod courses
iPod Courses
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Music, Sound, and Style
University Writing Program
Theory and Practice of Tonal Music I
Economic Principles
Social Minds: Memory as Collective Practice
Berlin in the 20th Century
Fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing
Perspectives on Information Science and Information Studies
Living Downstream: Ethics, Communities and Water Conservation
Intensive Elementary Spanish
Computational Methods in Engineering
Music, Sound, and Style (MUSIC 70)
This course, taught by professors Robert Zimmerman and Kerry McCarthy, explores the components of music by asking students to compare how diverse compositions are experienced in a range of settings. The iPod will allow students to easily listen to musical pieces in a variety of environments. Students will also be encouraged to bring their favorite songs to class on their iPods, so they can share songs during class discussions as examples of topics that arise. For the final project, students will use their iPods to record samples of everyday sounds, which they will then use to produce a sound collage, or "sonic essay." CIT is proving loaner iPod devices and microphone adapters to non-freshmen students in this course and paying for student download of some music from the iTunes music store.
Evaluation Questions: To what extent is the students' course experience changed or enhanced by the integration of iPod devices and additional audio content?
Data Collection: Instructor logs, student logs, end of semester questionnaire
University Writing Program (WRITING 20)
Leading discussions well can be a difficult skill for university-level writing instructors to develop. To help them to learn it, the Duke University Writing Program, led by Professor Joseph Harris, is equipping faculty observers with iPods to unobtrusively record class discussions led by new writing instructors. Later, the faculty observers and new instructors will listen to the recordings to critique the discussions. Instructors will continue to record and review class discussions they lead, as they work to implement suggestions from the critiques. Finally, each instructor will select a recording to transcribe and include in his teaching portfolio, which is required of every second-year instructor. The CIT is providing iPod devices and microphone adapters to the writing instructors.
Evaluation Questions: Does the use of captured audio teaching interactions enrich the discussions and improved the reflective practice of teaching among University Writing Program instructors?
Data Collection: Reflective essays, teaching portfolio examples, faculty surveys, workshop evaluation
Theory and Practice of Tonal Music I (MUSIC 65)
In this course taught by Professor Anthony Kelley, students rehearse and perform Bach chorales. They will purchase copies of selected chorales from the iTunes online music store and then listen to them on their iPods. The students will also use music notation software to produce digital versions of the chorales that omit one of the vocalists. Playing the modified version of a chorale, each student will practice singing by substituting his own voice for the missing one. Finally, students will make original recordings of the chorales, which they may distribute on CDs or as MP3 files.
Evaluation Questions: Does access to portable course materials in a music course have a measurable impact on student interaction with materials, motivation, engagement, and/or vocal performance skills?
Data Collection: Student logs, instructor logs, end of semester questionnaire, student work samples
Additional profile article
Economic Principles (ECON 1)
This is a large introductory lecture course with an enrollment of approximately 300 students, nearly 90% of whom are first-year students. Taught in an auditorium setting, Prof. Lori Leachman typically uses a microphone and displays graphics to illustrate course concepts using a variety of presentation technologies. This course will make audio recordings of the lectures available to students during the week prior to each exam. In addition, Teaching Assistants in the course will provide some annotations for these audio files to enable students in the course to connect audio portions of the lectures with visuals already available through the course's Blackboard web site. This project aims to provide students with audio recordings so they can review instructor explanations of difficult concepts and to investigate how audio resources like this can be used to improve student performance in this course and other similar courses.
Evaluation Questions: What are the best ways to record and distribute lecture audio to large classes? Do students make use of the recordings? Do the students report that recorded lecture audio is a valuable learning resource?
Data Collection: Pre-use questionnaire, End of semester questionnaire
Social Minds: Memory as Collective Practice (WRITING 20-24)
In this freshman seminar, part of the "Exploring the Mind" FOCUS program, students will examine ways people internalize, or reject, narratives of institutional authorities, as collective memories are formed. Working in small groups, students will choose an event that garnered national attention, such as the space shuttle Challenger explosion or the death of Princess Diana. Each member of the group will then record a narrative account of the event from at least three individuals, using the iPod with a microphone attachment. Groups will then write papers identifying patterns in the accounts they collected and suggest ways that further research might examine how these patterns are linked to official historical accounts and the interests of particular institutions. Each group will also be required to present their findings to the class using a PowerPoint presentation with embedded audio files from their interviews. The course is taught by lecturing fellow Michele Strano, Ph.D. To support the project, the CIT is providing a loaner iPod for the instructor; training for students in the class on audio recording and editing is being conducted by Academic Technology Services (OIT).
Evaluation Questions: To what extent was the portable audio technology effective in supporting student field research? What was the student reaction to the project? To what extent did the students use audio effectively in their projects?
Data Collection: Faculty logs, student logs, student work samples, end of semester questionnaire
Berlin in the 20th Century (GERMAN 115S)
In this Freshman FOCUS seminar, Professor Peter McIsaac will use iPod devices to add an audio dimension to the course's literary, artistic and cinematic treatment of Berlin's culture in the twentieth century. Students will have access to historical recordings of Berlin's music, from 1920s cabaret songs and the underground music scene of the 1980s to the techno explosion of the late 1990s. As part of the iPod experiment, students will listen to historical speeches on both their iPod devices and through streaming media files on the Web to compare these two methods of accessing course content. Throughout the semester groups of students will record interviews with Americans, using an iPod accessory, to find out how seminal events in the city's history -- the World Wars, the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall -- are perceived in the United States. To support the project, the The CIT is providing an iPod for the instructor and paying for student download of some music and speeches from the iTunes music store. Training for students in the class on audio recording and editing is being conducted by Academic Technology Services (OIT).
Evaluation Questions: To what extent was the portable audio technology effective in supporting student field research and meeting course goals? What was the student reaction to the project?
Data Collection: Student work samples, feedback questionnaires, end of semester questionnaire
Fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing (ECE 180)
Because topics in this class can be mathematical and abstract, Prof. Lisa Huettel is introducing a hands-on laboratory to provide real applications for theoretical concepts presented in class. Students will use the iPod to record environmental sounds and collect pulse rate data during physical activity. These recordings will be brought to the laboratory to be visualized, manipulated, and analyzed. Using the iPod as recording/storage devices will both provide a real-world component to the course, and will also facilitate data transfer and student collaboration. This should both motivate the students to study the material – due to their recognition of the applications of their studies – and encourage creativity by allowing students to select, sample, and process signals that match their particular interests.
Evaluation Questions: Does iPod use enhance the flexibility and portability of laboratory activities? Does the integration of hands-on iPod lab activities significantly enhance student collaboration, motivation and class participation?
Data Collection: Instructor logs, student logs, student work samples, end of semester questionnaire
Perspectives on Information Science and Information Studies (ISIS 100)
In this course, Professor Richard Lucic will examine how new methods of information gathering, processing and transmission affect intellectual property policies, understandings of ethics and the physical form of information. Freshmen and upperclassmen will use the iPod to listen to recordings of lectures and to transfer files for digital multimedia assignments. They will also discuss in class other potential educational applications for the iPod.
Evaluation Questions: To what extent does the integration of the iPod promote student innovation and application of course concepts? Do students make effective use of audio technology in their course presentations?
Data Collection: Instructor logs, student logs, student work samples, end of semester questionnaire
Additional profile article
Living Downstream: Ethics, Communities and Water Conservation (ENVIRON 181)
In this freshman FOCUS seminar, Professor Sally Schauman will lead students in looking at how American communities address water problems, such as flooding, shortages, declining aquatic species and degrading water quality. For a class project, students will use a microphone attachment on their iPod to record interviews with local residents and take verbal notes in the field. Students will also use excerpts of this material in group presentations on their projects. To support the project, the CIT is providing a loaner iPod for the instructor; training for students in the class on audio recording and editing is being conducted by Academic Technology Services (OIT).
Evaluation Questions: To what extent was the portable audio technology effective in supporting student field research and meeting course goals? What was the student reaction to the project?
Data Collection: Faculty log, student work samples, end of semester questionnaire
Intensive Elementary Spanish (SPANISH 14)
This course is designed so that students complete a year's worth of Spanish language training in one semester. In it, Professor Lisa Merschel often employs multimedia examples of authentic Spanish speech. This year, freshmen and upperclassmen will be able to listen to some of those examples on their iPod devices, so that they can complete comprehension and speaking exercises outside of class and language labs. They can listen to Spanish songs on their way to class!
Evaluation Questions: To what extent does access to portable audio playing and recording technology effectively support intensive language learning?
Data Collection: Faculty log, student work samples, end of semester questionnaire
Additional profile article
Computational Methods in Engineering (EGR 53)
In this required course for first-year engineering students, a key component of the hands-on laboratory experience is a data acquisition system, with which students are able to take and analyze measurements. Dr. Michael Gustafson will have the students use iPod devices as signal generators for the laboratory and investigate the effects of audio file compression. The course will also incorporate a discussion of digital music players from the four viewpoints represented by Duke's school of engineering - biomedical, civil and environmental, electrical and computer, and mechanical and materials science. According to Dr. Gustafson, "The addition of an iPod gives me a great, common engineering marvel to explore while simultaneously teaching students computational methods as well as opening their eyes to some of the possible fields of study within engineering." CIT has loaned a set of iPod devices and recording attachments for use by the TAs and for lab activities, as well as providing server space for transferring large files among the instructor and students
Evaluation Questions: To what extent do the hands-on lab activities enhance student understanding of important course concepts? Do these activities increase student motivation and interest?
Data Collection: Instructor logs, end of semester questionnaire, student work samples
Additional profile article
