iPods music to faculty's ears

Like so many students who sport the trademark white earbuds walking to and from class, McHenry County College faculty members will soon be joining the iPod revolution.

After receiving a $12,600 AT&T Excelerator Grant, MCC will purchase 90 new 4-gigabyte iPod Nanos for use next semester. The iPods will serve as vehicles for communication in the classroom and will work as portable hard disks for transporting lecture materials to and from school.

"The faculty is really psyched about this," said Kathy Plinske, MCC's executive director of institutional effectiveness. "I've been approached by so many of them who want to know, 'How do I sign up?' "

With about 100 full-time and 250 adjunct college faculty members, one in four teachers will receive an iPod.

The iPods will be distributed to faculty on a first-come, first-serve basis.

"They have to complete a series of training workshops on educational technologies to receive one," Plinske said.

The first faculty workshop series will begin in November. Plinske hopes the iPods will serve as a sort of incentive to entice faculty to participate in more workshops and training.

The grant covers all but $273 of the total tab for the iPods, which cost $143 each. The remainder will be charged to MCC's faculty development account.

While MCC learned it was a grant recipient early this year, the college has waited to purchase iPods that would include video screens.

"We wanted to get the best use out of the grant," Plinske said.