Five Star® Sound Binder

Hey, kids, aren’t you tired of paying attention to your teachers? Don’t you wish you could find a way to tune them out?

This is a quote from one of our high school student’s article in the school newspaper. This article is about the Five Star® Sound Binder, which allows students to listen to their favorite tunes. The Sound Binder is powered via the MP3 player and could be used not only for listening to music, but also for class presentations. However, according to the student, it’s difficult to take notes and study, if the binder is blaring music. Combination of a binder with an iPod makes learning difficult, "all for the sake of sales."

Can a Five Star® Sound Binder have any educational value in the classroom?

I think, it might be useful if students:

1. Listen for teachers’ podcasts while browsing notes
2. Listen for an audio book from Audible and prepare for a quiz based on this book
3. Have a light music on the background to boost creativity
4. Deliver a presentation in a classroom with no computers.

Overall, I agree with the student that “the Sound Binder only deters students from learning.”