[EDLING:1726] EducationGuardian.co.uk: Pupils given iPods as language learning aid

[fmhult at DOLPHIN.UPENN.EDU]

Francis Hult spotted this on the EducationGuardian.co.uk site and thought you should see it.

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Note from Francis Hult:

Pupils given iPods as language learning aid
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To see this story with its related links on the EducationGuardian.co.uk site, go to http://education.guardian.co.uk

Pupils given iPods as language learning aid
Helen Mooney 
Thursday July 20 2006
The Guardian


A secondary school in Northumberland is to give pupils their own iPods in a bid to help them learn foreign languages.

Twenty-three pupils at Astley Community high school in Seaton Delaval will be given iPods in September at the start of their GCSE year in an attempt to encourage them to practice foreign languages outside the classroom.

The pupils, who are studying French and Spanish, will be able to download tailormade study material to their iPods from the school's website.

They will be able to use the iPods for the duration of their two-year modern language GCSE course.

One Year 11 pupil at the school said that the scheme was a great idea. "I will listen to my podcasts on the school bus. You can look cool and revise at the same time. I'd never get a book out on the bus."

The programme has been developed by the school and is being funded Northumberland county council in an attempt to encourage more pupils to take up modern languages.

Astley's assistant headteacher, Nigel Carrick, said that the school was keen to harness new technology.

"Instead of banning technology, we wanted to harness it. Not only are the pupils familiar with technology such as podcasting, they are also very comfortable using it."

Mr Carrick said hoped the iPods would be used as "a fun, interactive learning tool".

"iPods give pupils the capacity and encouragement to study outside of school," he said.

The scheme was successfully piloted among Year 11 pupils at the school earlier this year and pupils have helped to design the study material.

The school has introduced safeguards, however, to ensure that the iPods are not used for the wrong reasons. The iPods will be brought into class, so that teachers can check what has been loaded onto them. 

The school emphasises responsible use of the iPods rather than prescribing rules. "Astley high encourages pupils to use the iPod for music as well as learning tools," Mr Carrick continued. "It's about blending the boundaries between leisure and learning".

Parental responsibility for use of the iPods is also emphasised through a "contract" between the school and parents, where parents agree that if their child receives use of an iPod, the pupil will attend a weekly after-school club.

This after-school club is where the pupils discuss how the iPods can be best used to further their learning, and decide what to include in the podcasts.

Jim Wright, a councillor at Northumberland county council who helped with the pilot, said the scheme was an innovative one.

"Northumberland schools have a reputation for innovation...it's great to see devices such as iPods, which as parents we worry about interfering with our children's education, being used to support learning," he said.

A spokewoman for the council said that if the scheme was successful it would be rolled out across the county.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited