Making Media Handy
by Beth Kautz
On their first day of class, students in this semester’s German Media course were surprised to learn that they would each get to borrow an iPod Touch for the semester. Thanks to a CLA Info-Tech Fees grant, instructor Rebecca Raham and her students are “making media handy” – literally. Through the German iTunes store, students can subscribe to and download a variety of German news podcasts to their iPod Touch. As they watch and listen to the podcasts at home and in the classroom, they can review clips as desired, fast-forwarding to the important parts and practicing their listening skills. With multiple screens and clips displayed side-by-side, small groups can discuss and anyalize the linguistic, cultural and political differences of various broadcasts and news agencies. Through the Safari browser on the iPod Touch, students can also bookmark online newspapers for a quick comparison of the day’s headlines. After weeks of consuming German media, students also produce their own German-language podcasts. Uploaded to the iTunes U site, these student projects become more relevant as students communicate with a larger audience.
While students could access much of this information in a computer lab, the iPod Touch puts it in the hands of students to take with them to the gym, on the bus, or in the dorm. They can personalize where, when and what they watch, and then bring the content back into the classroom to share with their classmates.
Other features on the iPod Touch provide applications for a variety of activities in a communicative classroom. Students can discuss time and weather, maps, stocks, webcam images, and performance schedules from around the world. With students uploading their own choice of songs, images or video for use in partner-work or small groups, activities can become even more student-centered. Rebecca and her students are just beginning to explore all the ways in which hand-held devices can be used in language learning. While CLA can’t offer every student an iPod Touch, the number of students with their own similar devices continues to grow. As educational possibilites become ever greater in a technology-filled campus, adapting to the demands of students means, more than ever, getting that technology into student hands and making media “handy.”