Background
As many people will know, it was some time ago that this website first started offering video-based resources to support language teaching. If you have not seen them before, click here.
Update: June 2007
David Seume gave a presentation on this project at the DIVERSE 2007 Conference in Lillehammer, Norway.
To read more, and see his interview on Norwegian TV, click here
The advent of the iPod as an educational tool
Fairly recent, but totally unrelated, developments elsewhere have included the use of podcasts, for example, to offer students the chance to download lectures to replay in their own time. For a Specialist Language College such as The Ashcombe, an obvious extension of this could be to offer audio versions of the bank of resources we have accumulated; however, the recent unearthing of a technical paper in the developer section of the Apple website suggested more exciting possibilities. The article actually relates to the use if the iPod as a tour guide in a museum or gallery (read it here), but the really exciting aspect for me was the realisation that one can use text files containing hyperlinks to create a basic navigation system.
Exploring the possibilities
Although the school uses PCs exclusively, I decided to purchase a MacBook at this stage in order to explore the potential of iTunes and QuickTime Pro, both of which I judged would be pivotal to the development of the type of material I had in mind. (The Mac version of QuickTime Pro offers more features than the Windows version.)
As I only had access to an iPod Nano to begin with, the first step was to extract the audio track from a sample Windows Media Video file and convert it into the mp3 format. This could then be transfered to the iPod via iTunes. Later, when the fifth-generation iPod was released, QuickTime Pro (with the 'Flip4mac' plugin installed) was used to convert WMV files fo the m4v versions for the iPod.
Making use of iPod Notes
Apple's plain text editor, TextEdit, was used to create a series of text files which were then loaded into the 'Notes' section of the iPod. These included:
- An introduction screen
- Instructions, with a link to start the video
- Sets of multiple-choice questions, with links to proceed to the next set or to replay the soundtrack
- A complete script in the native language and English
- A final screen, with a link back to the quiz selection screen
This last is a special file which overwrite the iPod's default Notes screen and substitutes a user-defined list of links to quiz exercises.
NB: iPods may not necessarily have 'Notes' appearing on the main menu by default. If this is the case, go to 'Settings' > 'Main Menu' and enable 'Notes'.
See it in action
Click image to watch demonstration (QuickTime)
Download as a podcast (ready to import to your iPod)
Resources required
Video file (m4v)
Audio file (mp3)
Text files (txt)
Optional file to define the 'Notes' menu (must be named 'Main.linx')
Now try it for yourself
To try the sample for yourself, download the files and 'unzip' them; you should have one m4v video file, one mp3 audio file and a folder called 'self_family' containing the text files.
Enable 'Disc mode' on your iPod, copy the 'self_family' folder into 'Notes'. Import the video and audio files into iTunes and drag them to your iPod. Access the sample by selecting 'Notes' and then choosing 'French Video Quizzes' from the menu offered.
NB The file, 'Main.linx', replaces the default Notes menu, but is optional here. To try it, open a plain text editor and type the following:
<title>French Video Quizzes</title>
Save the file as 'Main.linx' and copy into Notes on your iPod. Now when you select 'Notes', you will see a document titled 'French Video Quizzes'. The page displays a list of four links to the exercises and one to brief production notes.
<a href="/Self and Family/intro.txt">Self and Family</a>
<a href="/My Best Friend/intro.txt">My Best Friend</a>
<a href="/Self and Pets/intro.txt">Self and Pets</a>
<a href="/Helene Interview/intro.txt">Helene Interview</a>
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<a href="credits.txt">Production notes</a>NB: Although this project uses a Mac as a development tool, the resulting materials can be utilised via a Mac or a PC.
The final product
Although by no means polished, the outcome of this first foray is a working quiz supported by video and audio files. The current version enables the user to read some instructions, watch the video then answer a few simple questions based upon what has been heard. It also offers the opportunity to replay the soundtrack while reading and answering the questions, and the facility to read the script.
At the time of writing (July 2007) there are four related exercises each with nine sets of questions plus a transcript in French and English.
A version of this page is available on the Ashcombe Weblog and, if you have any comments or contributions to make in respect of this project, please do participate.
Thank you
David Seume