EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
Merrimack Valley
Students rapping and reading
MP3 players donated by cable company assist in learning
Published: November 17, 2008
ANDOVER — Fifth-grade students at High Plain Elementary School are now reading and rapping in the digital age, thanks to a $3,000 grant used to purchase a dozen MP3 players.
The portable digital audio players are being used as reading and speech aids for special needs students. Other fifth-graders have recorded raps about famous explorers and posted them online.
"I never thought I'd do something like this in school," said Ben Purten, 10, after listening to a rap he helped write about Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon.
The MP3 players, which were donated by Comcast, are specifically designed for educational use, said Kate Malone, a grant facilitator and special education teacher at High Plain.
Each MP3 player has two headphone jacks, which students plug in to when listening to audio books.
They can also record themselves while talking and play it back to judge the rate of their speech, as well as the accuracy of their phrasing and expression, Malone said.
"You can tell if it makes sense, whether you said something too fast or slow," said Andrew Soucy, 10, one of about 50 fifth-grade students to use the new equipment.
Because the MP3 players are smaller than cassette and compact disc players, Malone said, special needs students are less resistant to using them as a reading aid during the school day.
"They felt awkward, developmentally, at this age," said Malone of the older equipment. "They want to fit in. They're more willing to use this technology in the classroom."
By listening to audio versions of text books and literature, Malone said special needs students are able to participate in class discussions and work on high-level comprehension skills.
"Which you can do with a cassette player," said Malone. "But this is cool and very motivating to the students."
Andover Assistant Superintendent Susan Nicholson and state Rep. Barbara L'Italien, D-Andover, were present for a student demonstration of the MP3 players Nov. 13.
While High Plain students regularly write and perform their own raps based on what they learn in school, Malone said this is the first time the raps have been recorded and posted online.
Students' raps can be heard at http://www.aps1.net/HPE/5th_grade_raps.htm.
"I told my aunt and my cousin about it and they went on and listened to it," said Emma Horn, 10. "You can listen to it from around the world."
