As more schools and students use iPods, educators are adding to their repertoire of teaching strategies such as podcasting. Tools such as iWriter for creating learning programs and iLingo for language translation are specifically being written for these devices. A current sourceforge called Encyclopodia project allows iPod users to download and browse Wikipedia on your iPod. While the interface screenshots look a little naff, it is interesting for the simple fact that the worlds largest and most dynamic user generated encyclopedia can now be carried around in ones pocket!
Encyclopodia is a free software project that brings the Wikipedia, which is one of the largest encyclopedias in the world, to the Apple iPod. Encyclopodia can be installed on iPod genarations one to four, as well as on iPod Minis and Photo iPods.
This may be the closest we’ve come yet to the Hitchhikers Guide. Weighing in at a >800mb download the Wikipedia eBook carries with it some heavy issues like bias and source reliability. However, with appropriate critical literacy skills students of all ages will continue to find Wikipedia a good starting point in their research. Even Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales warns against it’s use as the be-all-and-end-all resource in educational settings:
Speaking at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday called “The Hyperlinked Society,” Mr. Wales said that he gets about 10 e-mail messages a week from students who complain that Wikipedia has gotten them into academic hot water. “They say, ‘Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia’” and the information turned out to be wrong, he says. But he said he has no sympathy for their plight, noting that he thinks to himself: “For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia.” Source: chronicle.com
This blog is part of a conversation on developments in our networked world. It is primarily intended for an education audience, in identifying critical technology, social and pedagogical trends, and their implications. 
January 18th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
[…] As a teacher who was fortunate enough to be allocated a number of iPods to trial in my classroom, this post on divergent uses of iPods from Paul Reid, the Digital Chalkie makes for fascinating reading. Though early days, the opportunities for taking school work anywhere are growing almost exponentionally. […]
January 18th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Hi Paul,
Having played with iPods a little last year, http://mrps.edublogs.org/, I have linked to this post on My Other Blog, (http://johnp.wordpress.com/). You might also be interested in
* ZappTek : iPresent It , (http://www.zapptek.com/ipresent-it/), which lets you make your next pitch using your iPod. With iPresent It you can convert your PowerPoint and PDF presentations into slideshows that are synced with your iPod.
* ProfCast, (http://www.profcast.com/public/index.php), which is characterised as a versatile, powerful, yet very simple to use tool for recording lectures including PowerPoint and/or Keynote slides for creating enhanced podcasts. ProfCast provides a low cost solution for recording and distributing lectures, special events, and presentations as podcasts.