The Ashcombe School is well known for its innovative use of ICT in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning.The iPhone: a cool tool for learning?
The iPhone was always going to be the accessory of choice for the technorati and fashion-conscious but, as an educational establishment, we are keen to explore its potential as a learning tool.
Drawing on Apple's iPhone Developer resources, we were first able to prove the concept and have now begun to develop a selection of web-based interactive learning activities.
As can be seen from this screenshot, the home page offers links to sets of exercises in various languages. They are seen as an alternative/addition to those hosted on the school's main website. However, they also function as standalone exercises for anyone who wishes to practise their language skills. Each exercise comprises a video clip of a native speaker, followed by an online, self-checking quiz, together with transcripts in the target language and English.
To experience this on your iPhone or iPod Touch, go to http://tinyurl.com/iphone-ipod
Haven't got an iPhone? Get a feel for how it works by using Safari (Mac/PC) or Google Chrome (PC) but note that, as the videos are optimised for 3G and wi-fi for iPhone, they will not play on a desktop/laptop computer.
David Seume, the developer of this resource, delivered a paper to the DIVERSE 2009 Conference in Aberystwyth in June. Read the abstract here
This project stemmed from an earlier one presented at DIVERSE 2007 in Lillehammer
Supporting movie files from the 2009 conference:
A recording of the presentation can be viewed here (30')
If your network security settings do not permit viewing of the recording, a QuickTime movie of the PowerPoint used during the presentation is available here (42" - user-controllable)
A QuickTime movie demonstrating the MFL application in use can be seen here (3')