You wouldn’t normally think of MP3 players as something that could be purchased with a grant to a school, but High Plain Elementary School in the USA is benefiting from a $3,000 grant for 12 MP3 players.

The MP3 players aren’t for students to listen to music and sit quietly in the corner though, they’re for aids to reading and speech for special needs students. Some students have even gone as far as recording raps with the MP3 players, and have posted them on the Internet.

Ten-year-old Ben Purten stated:

I never thought I’d do something like this in school.

The MP3 players aren’t just regular MP3 players, they’re designed for educational use and have been donated by Comcast. Each player comes with two headphone sockets, allowing two students to use them at the same time to listen to audio books.

The players also allow the students to record their own voices, enabling them to improve their speech.

Ten-year-old Andrew Soucy said the MP3 players were really helpful for him:

You can tell if it makes sense, whether you said something too fast or slow.

MP3 players aren’t just for entertainment!