my macbook air won't recognize my 4th generation ipod

Hey everyone-

My macbook air won't recognize my 4th generation shuffle. I can charge it and up under "Devices" it says "transfer purschases from my ipod" but the other stuff isn't highlighted. Annoying because it's too cheap to get repaired and this is what happened with my last one, which I still refuse to throw out. I'm convinced it's something easy. I've followed all the other Apple protocol in support to no avail. Any suggestions?