I went to the presentation What can I do with an iPod in the classroom? in Fukuoka Saturday. It was one of the monthly presentations held for the Fukuoka JALT chapter. The speaker was Robert Chartrand, from the Institute of Foreign Language Education at Kurume University.
Robert began with an introduction to the iPod, its history and some of its features. I think the links to Apple’s iPod education site and some tips and tricks from the about.com site should be of use to anyone wanting to see what’s out there.
The second half of the presentation was on some classroom activities which Robert put together. Rather than take the steam out of his talk, I recommend going to see his talk or contacting him directly. He and his friend Bill Pellowe are putting together a podcast for learners of English. You can send your students to: http://www.eltpodcast.com. Check it out.
I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and learned many things from it. If you can catch his talk somewhere, it’s worth the time. My only criticism would be to cut down the first part a bit and add some learning/teaching theory. I think a balance of the ‘Why?’ with the ‘What?’ can go a long way to ensure technology is being put to good use.
Nice job, Robert!
Tags: CALL, ipod, learning, listening, materials, Research, teaching, tool