The article “Companies mine growth of MP3 homework” implies a new and interesting way to educate students. I think it is a great idea to study foreign languages using audio books except just reading a book and doing exercises because it is less frustrating and more convenient to learn. The article gives examples of two students Zollos and Whetstone who wear headphones and learn Spanish while doing laundry or shopping for grocery. I wish my school had audio versions of books, so I could listen to dialogues in a foreign language whenever it was convenient for me.
Another idea I found interesting in the article is that audio textbooks are available at colleges. At Stanford University and University of Wisconsin-Madison professors post lectures that students can receive them for free. Some schools assign listening assignments rather than reading. Students can save so much time listening to audio book while doing their house chores or driving the cars or listening to a professor’s lecture at home. It is changing how people are educated.
I also believe that children with emergent literacy benefit a lot from audio materials. It is known that read aloud activities promote literacy in young children. However, teachers should not solely rely on audio books when children can already read. In my opinion, educational materials in MP3 form are good sources to encourage reading in children later in their lives, but not the main ones. Audio books should not replace regular books. I hope that Taylor is right by saying, “… new gadgets are unlikely to replace the book as we know it. More people are buying books than ever before”.
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