iPod Poem- Life

I need to brag about my own sixteen year old daughter today. She surprised me … well… it was a school assignment… but she shared it with me. Her English teacher asked for a poem, comparing life to…

Life is an iPod, press shuffle
and see what you get.

Is it mellow, happy, upbeat
sing along.

Every beat has its own drum
many diverse tunes,
long or short, many hidden messages.

Boom, boom, my ears pounding with the loudness
and all you have to do is listen.

K-12 Online Conference 2006

for K-12 Online Conference to be held October 23rd through November 3rd, 2006

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iPods and other MP3 players have revolutionized the way kids listen to and purchase their music. They are quickly entering the classrooms as a teaching and learning tool as well. The foreign language classroom can especially benefit from the possibilities the iPod opens up, such as podcasting, video capabilities, and audio recordings. The popularity of such devices directly effects students’ engagement in the learning process.Teachers will learn about ideas and ways they can easily create and distribute pronunciation guides, audio books, lectures, notes, and much more for their students.

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WHAT ARE iPODS?

1. "iPod" is a brand name. They are MP3 players made by the Apple company. There are many different MP3 players on the market that have the same capabilities as the Apple brand.
2. Definition of an MP3 player
   1. An MP3 player is a digital music player
3. Cost
   1. iPod Shuffel (Apple)
      1. 512MB shuffle – discontinued
      2. 1GB shuffle- $79 (clip form)
   2. iPod Nano (Apple)
      1. 1GB nano has been discontinued
      2. 2GB nano – $149,
      3. 4GB nano – $199 (5 different colors)
      4. 8GB nano is $249 (black)
   3. iPod Video (Apple)
      1. 30GB iPod – $249
      2. 60GB iPod – discontinued
      3. 80GB iPod – $349
   4. iRiver
      1. T10 512MB (through ebay) about $30 (includes a built in microphone
      2. H10 -20 GB – $169.99
4. Accessories
   1. Cassette Adapter (listen through the cassette player in your car)
   2. Roadtrip from Griffin (transmission through Car radio)
   3. RCA Video/Audio Cable
   4. iTalk: attachment for iPod to record
   5. iPod Camera connector
5. You can use them for:

• Audio Files
• Photos
• Videos
• Storage

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USES IN THE CLASSROOM

1. Lectures
2. Photo Slideshows
3. Podcasts/ Vodcasts
4. Teacher created
5. Student created
6. Downloaded elsewhere
7. Music Archive
8. Movie Archive

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RECORDINGS What do you need?

• MP3 player with recording capabilities (iRiver or iPod with iTalk)
• Computer with internal or external microphone
• Cell phone calling in line . (K7.net )

If you would like to contribute to a future episode of Langwitches.org’s Podcast call the following number (USA) 206-984-0684

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TOOLS

• Sound editing software
  • Audacity (Windows)
  • Garageband (Mac)
• For Video:
  • • Video Converter ($24.95)
      WinAVI 3GP/MP4/PSP/iPod
    • Windows MovieMaker (Win) comes pre-installed with your Windows PC.
    • Microsoft Photostory (Win)
    • iMovie (Mac)

• Play Tagger
  Play Tagger allows you to easily play mp3 files directly on your website or blog. Simply include a tiny javascript, and your mp3 links will automatically become playable right on the page.
• Gabcast
  create podcasts, record via phone or VoIP, post audio to your blog, host conference calls

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PROJECTS & IDEAS

• Dictionary
• Class lectures
• Pronunciation guide and practice
• Record book talks/reports on the iPod and then keep an iTunes database in the library. When students want to check out a book, they can then listen to the book talk before hand to see if they think the book is for them.
• Podcasting in Target Language (listening to authentic podcasts and producing own podcasts)
• Podcasting
  • as cultural exchange
  • Pod Buddies
  • as resources
  • Where in the World…Talk about the country without specifying where
• Read-a-long
• Country (Study) Interviews
  • Where in the World Geography Quiz
    • Subscribe to Where in the World Podcast
    • Download detailed instructions on how to participate in creating an episode(.pdf )
• Current Events (Target Culture in the News)
• Cooking Lessons
• Word of the Week
• Mnemonic Devices (Donkey Bridges)
• Soundseeing Tours
• Reportage of a cultural event in your hometown
• Music
  • Sing-a-long
• Videos
  • Interview
  • Commercial in target language
    • Music Video
    • Language Lesson

  Video Examples

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  French Weather Video by Ryan Productions

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  9 de Julio; Widest Street in the World

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  Pepsi Commercial Germany WM 2006

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