iPod Classes To Help Servicemen
01.31.07 - 04:43pm
Being in the armed forces and trying to complete college courses can be a rather hard thing to accomplish due to the war in Iraq. Servicemen have no control over when they are deployed and if it is in the middle of a semester…
Airmen at Holloman Air Force Base are now being given the opportunity to complete their classes from wherever they may
be and without having to have access to the internet. The classes are being nicknamed “sack classes” as they come enclosed in a ziploc bag complete with an iPod, instructions on how to use the iPod, classes via iPod podcasts on the iPod, and sample quizzes - one for each chapter so students can gauge their progress.
The first class being offered is sociology. “In fact, the name of the class is Å’Sociology in a Sack,‘” said Venegas, a NMSU spokesperson.
The classes were the idea of Dr. Rodger Bates, special assistant to the vice provost for outreach services at NMSU and then-Colonel Goldfein. “This was Gen. Goldfein’s idea,” Bates said. “Really, I think he wants to help his troops and help the Air Force. He’s very big on taking care of his people, and I think that shows. Plus he has a lot of good ideas. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time with the right question, and he had the right request.”
Bates put together the sociology class working through November and December recording lectures and editing them over Christmas break. The pilot program has started with 20 iPods that became available to Holloman Air Force personnel last week.
More courses are currently being developed and Goldfien has expressed interest in promoting the iPod class idea throughout the Air Force and other military branches.
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