New Blow for Mobile Learning: iPods and Podcasting in Primary Schools

Use of the mobile devices in primary schools can open new possibilities for technology adoption in schools. There have already been several very promising experiments in the area of mobile learning. Still in the "real school life" mobile learning has not taken its own place. There has been two key problems that have prevented the use of mobile terminals: (1) the expenses caused by mobile phone bills and (2) the fact that it is technically hard to create usable and meaningful content for mobile phones. This paper presents experiment where 10 Finnish primary school teachers tried to implement iPods and podcasting in their daily routines. The combination of iPods and podcasting may not solve all the problems of mobile learning but provides a new and interesting opportunity for mobile learning.