iPod Emerges as Best Choice
Hull’s group looked at several MP3 players as well as the iPod 20GB. But the Apple product emerged as the device of choice, for several reasons. “The iPod is portable; it offers wonderful clarity of sound. And there are accessories like the Griffin iTalk that allow students to have the speaking as well as the listening function,” says Hull. “The speaking function is what really takes language learning to the next level.
“There is also incredible storage space on the iPod,” Hull continues. “A student can listen to a lesson, record a response, upload it to the server, and have the teacher listen and comment on it, which helps tremendously with the assessment part of the process. Then the teacher can record a comment, and send it back so the student can listen to it. With other MP3 players, that’s just not very easy to do.”
Pilot Project Leads to iPod for Every Student
Brearley piloted the use of iPod in two sections of modern language classes in the spring of 2004. Teachers sought out curricular content that would be useful and interesting to students. Students explored the use of iPod in their language classes. Staff members refined the technology training and support to be provided. Brearley’s faculty and staff also developed guidelines for iPod use in the building, and researched copyright and fair-use laws.
The overwhelming success of that pilot project led to an extension of Brearley’s home computer requirement: Now every language student in grades seven through twelve who does not already own an iPod must either purchase or rent one from the school (Brearley offers financial assistance for those who cannot afford the cost). Students are free to use any remaining space on their iPod to store music or any other content desired, as long as it does not violate copyright laws.
Says Hull, “The amount of storage space on the iPod is substantial; it’s a very powerful machine. And it’s already obvious in a number of classes that the students who are working with an iPod and iTalk — who are actually speaking as well as listening — have a higher level of comfort with the language they’re studying than if they were just listening.”
The great thing about the iPod is that it lets students have more contact with a language than they’ve ever had before.
— Roberto Lazo, Head, Modern Languages Department
iPod Mobility Extends Learning
Roberto Lazo is head of Brearley’s Modern Languages Department, which offers classes in Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Using the CDs containing their course materials, Lazo and his colleagues place the language lessons on the school’s academic file server, which is powered by an Xserve. When available, teachers include foreign language video clips and music tracks as well. Students then connect an iPod to a desktop Mac in the computer classroom, download the audio files, and complete their assignments anywhere desired, be it bedroom or bus.
“Quite often we’ll ask students to pretend they’re telling a foreigner how to get from point A to point B in New York,” Lazo explains. “Using the iTalk they’ll record their speech into their iPod, and then we’ll play them back the next day. The great thing about the iPod is that it lets students have more contact with a language than they’ve ever had before.”