I just received an $800.00 grant from my school district to purchase a class set of mp3 players (20) for my first grade students. I would use the mp3 players
to replace portable CD players/cassette players/outdated listening centers. I will have my students read/record books from our classroom library using my ipod and
audacity software. I also plan on purchasing some books on line. Would the Sandisk Clip be appropriate for young children and still accomplish my objective of
giving students an opportunity to read newor challenging material independently? I like the idea of rechargeable batteries (saves me the cost of replacing them) and the 15
hours of recording time would be great. Do you think these particular models would be easy enough for young children to manipulate them independently? Any advice
The Clip should be a relatively good investment for what you’re planning on using it for. I’m assuming that you’re going to try and go for the 1GB version?
Other then the possibility of the student accidentally dropping the Clip, there shouldn’t be many other problems besides teaching them on how to use the Clip itself.
You may have to take a few minutes to show the students on how to use the Clip, and to answer individual questions. But after allowing the student to use and adjust the Clip a little bit, they should be able to learn it in about 10 or so minutes due to the many options of the clip.
I would also recommend stressing the fact that these should be treated as if it was their own, as well as pointing out the fact that nothing is truely indestructable. I have given my little Clip a tad bit of a beating, and it’s taken it well, but I may have gotten an unusually strong one for all I know.
You may also want to consider the Sansa Shaker, which is designed to be very easy for young children to use.
It includes a (small) built-in speaker; but the Shaker does require a AAA battery, and is only available in blue or pink (which could cause class-room squabbles).
My grandaughter is 6 and she has no problems with the clip. She learned to use it in about 10 minutes and loves it. Right now she uses mine when she is here, but I have a pink one on order for her for Christmas. She likes the way it clips to her clothes and the small form. Very light, very legible display and she knows how to load it with books from Audible.com and NetLibrary. The clip has been dropped on the carpet, and the garage floor and shows no wear on the outside. I have had several players from different companies and the clip is by far the easiest to use. It is wonderful that the school is giving the kids another way to access knowledge and I think the kids would be fine with them.
The Sansa Clip is the perfect choice for the first graders. Although the Sansa Shaker is easy to use, it only supports MP3 files. It also doesn’t show the title of the books/songs since it doesn’t have an LCD screen. Since you also want to load some books, which may either be on MP3, WMA or .AA, the Sansa Clip supports them. There is no worry of dropping them cause like the name indicates, it has a clip at the back in where they can just clip it on their shirts,jackets or bags. Here is link for more information about the Sansa Clip. Choose Sansa Clip on http://www.sandisk.com/sansa/#/support-0/
I hope your students would enjoy it cause of all the players I have, I like the clip the most…
Thank you all so much for your advice! I went ahead and placed an order for 20 1 GB Sansa Clips. I have many English language learners at my school and they need plenty of practice and exposure to listening to text. I also ordered five wall chargers since I only have 4 computers in my classroom and protective coverings for all Sansa Clips. I’m very excited to see how using these tools will enhance and support the learning in first grade. Again, thank you to everyone who replied!
You’ll find that the players are tougher than the earbuds. For the children, you can set the maximum volume to “low” on the devices too, if you run into high volume issues.
I will predict that you may run into damaged earbuds over time. I’ve found that these little guys (spare earbuds) are available locally at places like Target (Magnavox branded, $4.99). The Clips should work out wonderfully for you- just be sure to round them up after the children listen to them , as they’re small, and you know how wee toys + temptation + children can add up.
You could fabricate a sort of tag for them, making them easier to track.
