GeekSugar

Transform Your iPod Into A Translator With iSpeak

GeekSugar — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 13:07:12 -0700

For all the traveling I do, this should be a product that I never leave home without. Who knew that your iPod can be used as a portable translator? With McGraw-Hill's iSpeak you can download 1,500 audio phrases in French, German, Spanish or French right into your iPod! All you have to do is go to 'artist' and choose the theme you want. Then go to "album" and select the topic within the theme. From there you just select the phrase you want to hear and you will not only hear it but you will see it on your iPod screen! These translating travel buddies are only $13 and are also compatible with the Zune and other mp3 players. If you want other languages, expect Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese editions to launch this summer. Now if only I would have had the Spanish iSpeak and my iPod on me when I got lost in Barcelona!

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Should Schools Use iPods as Educational Tools?

GeekSugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:00:07 -0700

Ever since the release of the iPod and snazzy Smartphones the media has been a buzz about iPod thieves and the assumption that iPods are actually contributing to crime and hearing loss.

On the flip side, many schools have started using iPods as an educational tool. Monday's New York Times featured "In Some Schools, iPods Are Required Listening," an article about how the use of digital music players help bilingual students improve their vocabulary and grammar by singing along to pop songs and mimicking pronunciation.

I think the idea is fantastic because using an iPod provides the same function of listening to language lessons on tape. Do you think the iPods can provide an educational benefit in class, or are you against their use in school?

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iTunes U: Free Educational Content at Your Fingertips

GeekSugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:00:40 -0700

With back to school season right around the corner, I guess you can say I'm getting in the "school spirit" by showcasing some informative and educational tech tools. Well there's now a way you can access educational content 24/7 and it's called iTunes U. Filled with audiobooks, free lectures from hundreds of colleges and universities across the country, video files from museums, and language lessons, iTunes U makes learning easy and accessible. You can also sync iTunes U content to your iPhone or iPod and access it from your Mac or PC. Wondering where to find all this amazing stuff? Go to the iTunes store, and you'll find iTunes U under the iTunes store heading on the left side of the page. Check it out, it seriously makes learning fun.