Beth Boquet has caught the iPod fever. But for her, it’s not about the music – it’s about Fairfield University students and their writing.
Boquet, who has been the Writing Center director since 1994, and Jay Rozgonyi of Computing and Network Services (CNS) are exploring the use of iPods in education, namely in the Writing Center. CNS has loaned two 20-gigabyte video iPods, two microphones, one laptop and the necessary software to the Writing Center for use.
As part of a pilot project, two tutors were given the opportunity to record their tutoring sessions with students. Before sessions are recorded, students must sign a consent form acknowledging that they are participating in a research study.
To create the recording, tutors simply plug the small microphone into the ear plug jack of the iPod and press the record button. Sessions are recorded as mp3 files that can be imported into iTunes and listened to like regular music files.
The goal of the project is to see how useful iPods can be for what Boquet calls “ongoing staff education.” She thinks it will be a good reflection tool for tutors to assess how they can help students more during a session.
“Tutors can look at everything from turn-taking to the kinds of questions they ask: are they open-ended or closed-ended?” Boquet said. The recording can be beneficial for students being tutored, as well.
“We always think about what a student can do once the session is over,” Boquet said. This can be one solution.
Ideally, tutors would cut session recordings for length purposes and send them to students in an e-mail. Students could then listen to their own input during a session. However, the project has not achieved that level just yet.
Devin Hagan ’06, a Writing Center tutor who is involved in the iPod project as an independent study with Boquet, is also excited about the study.
“When a session ends here, it just seems like it’s over,” he said, “and I think this is neat because you can show that it is still going.”
Hagan also emphasized that “writing is a process and it happens over time.”
Since we are never done writing, he said, the iPod recordings can serve as a constant reminder of this. So far, Hagan has recorded and evaluated about 20 sessions.
When asked if the project has been effective thus far, Boquet responded, “I think it has helped him [Hagan] to set goals, which is one of the things that helps you improve.”
Boquet and Hagan are currently drafting a project proposal to be presented at the Technology and Pedagogy Conference, which will be held at Fairfield in June. If implemented, the Writing Center may change.
In the future, Hagan said, the online appointment scheduling system may include asterisks next to the names of tutors who offer iPod sessions as an additional option.
Rozgonyi also said that CNS is moving forward with more ‘iPods in education’ projects this summer.
“We are working closely with Apple Computer, which has asked us to be part of a program called iTunes University,” he said. “This is designed to allow ‘iTunes classes’ to be created in a private; Fairfield’s version of the iTunes music store.”
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