One of the key components of learning another language is speaking in that target language. For students in Mrs. Rebecca Hill’s Spanish III classes, that task has gotten a lot easier and more enjoyable thanks to the high school’s new classroom set of iPod touches that she has started using with her students last spring. Being a Regents class, students need to be proficient and comfortable speaking in the target language for their exam at the end of the course. By having the iPod touches available, Mrs. Hill sees them as a way for student to practice their speaking skills more throughout the semester to help minimize the stress many of them feel about the speaking part of the exam. When asked about why she like using them in her classes, she stated “I like that the iPod touch gives my students instant feedback as they speak and record while it provides mobility for them as well. It's so great that they can use them at their desks, walk around the classroom, or even potentially take them home to make recordings as well.” Last spring, some of her students used a recording application called Voxie on the iPods as well as special external microphones to record comments in Spanish while working on an international Hispanic speaking countries project over the semester. The recordings were then emailed right from the devices to her for review and evaluation. Mrs. Hill can’t rave enough about how her students have really enjoyed using the iPods in class. She points out that since many of them already have iPods of their own, this is a great way to apply technology they are already familiar with in an academic-oriented way. She also noted that this make for a greater learning experience for many students are much more comfortable recording to a device rather than conversing with someone else in order to practice their speaking. For future projects, Mrs. Hill plans to use the iPod touches even more in her classes. For example, she plans to have her students go “live” to interview different sources outside of school using the iPods and then bringing them back to share their recordings. While it has been very rewarding so far to see them engaged and excited about learning, she is excited to see what lies ahead when the iPods are used even more in her classes this year. If you are interested in using the iPod touches at the High School, just contact the Tech team today. They would be glad to work with you on ideas you have to bring mobile learning to your classroom as well!