28 paper

Why don’t students attend lectures and what can be done about it through using iPod nanos?

Susan J. Shannon
School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
The University of Adelaide

How can teachers encourage students to listen in lectures – and indeed to attend them? What about international students and those who have language difficulties? These were the questions which triggered a study of the beliefs of first year students about learning from lectures, and a desire to improve students’ ability to learn from lectures through providing  MP3 uploads and a classroom set of iPod nanos. Students completed a pre- and post-course evaluation which revealed their beliefs about lecture attendance and supplementing that attendance by listening to lectures on iPods for revision and re-listening.

Keywords: contemporary challenges, personalised learning, iPods, audio streaming, educational evaluation, mLearning, teaching and learning strategies