School plugs into iPods

Date: June 20, 2007
By: Charles E. Ramirez
Source: The Detroit News

STERLING HEIGHTS -- Molly Zapinski will get the chance to do more than listen to her favorite tunes on an MP3 player next year -- she'll also be able to curl up with a good audio book from school.

Under a new program scheduled to start next fall, Molly and the other 439 students at Harvey Elementary will get the chance to go to the school's library and check out iPods that have children's audio books loaded on them.

The popular MP3 players are made by Apple Computer Inc. They allow users to store and listen to digitized music and some store photos and video.

"It's going to be pretty cool to have books on iPods," the 10-year-old fifth-grader from Sterling Heights said.

The goal of the program is to use technology to promote literacy, said Jacki Zawierucha, Harvey Elementary's media center specialist.

The program will enable students to check out one of 15 iPod nanos in the school's media center for about a week to listen to audio books, Zawierucha said.

The iPods have about two gigabytes of memory. The units cost about $149 each and can hold up to 500 songs, according to Apple.

Students will write book reports or take quizzes about the stories they've heard.

Every student will have the chance to use one at least once during the school year, she said. Students at Harvey, which is part of Utica Community Schools, attend class in the media center once a week for an hour.

The iPod project is being funded by a $1,500 grant from technology giant EDS. The company is based in Plano, Texas, but is one of Michigan's largest high-tech employers.

Zawierucha applied for the grant at the prompting of Molly's father, who works for EDS. She had to submit a five-page application that explained what she would like to do with the grant.

Launching the program also required nominal funding from the school, Zawierucha said.

Dave Ellis, a spokesman for EDS in Detroit, said the company has awarded more than $2 million in educational grants like this one worldwide. Zawierucha's grant was one of five EDS awarded in Michigan.

The goal of the grants is to encourage the use of technology in the classroom, he said.

You can reach Charles E. Ramirez at (586) 468-2905 or cramirez@detnews.com.