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With the kind permission of Leigh Williams of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) and The Middle Years of Schooling Association (MYSA) , we are delighted to share with you an article recently published in the MYSA Journal.

The article examines the increased use of technology in learning and the emergence of new patterns of Internet usage amongst students.

The author urges educators to capitalise on the interest in technology in order to motivate and engage students. Williams goes on to describe the ongoing ISQ ESL iPod project which uses Learnosity Voice on the iPod Touch. Major benefits have already been discovered by the project team. These include dramatically increased student retention rates, increased confidence and engagement, with students keen to use the devices in and out of school.

The project has yet to conclude but already the schools involved are looking to the future and the further possibilities for the Learnosity iPods.

With the kind permission of QATESOL and Leigh Williams, Independent Schools Queensland, we are delighted to share this paper as published in the QATESOL Newsletter, October 2010.

The article discusses education in the 21st century, the availability of mobile devices and the changing attitudes of teachers to the use of these devices for learning.

Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) have partnered with Learnosity on a 12 month trial using iPod devices with ESL learners. The use of these devices addresses the issue of ensuring adequate student practice coupled with one-to-one teacher guidance. The article tells us how the program has extended learning beyond the classroom in a way that is very engaging to students.

The devices allow students to be part of a supportive framework that allows them to take responsibility for their own learning with the constant and timely guidance of their teacher.

Increased motivation amongst students has been reported, a key factor in the success of any learning experience. Teachers can enjoy improved one-to-one time with students as they can better hear the spoken work of the students outside of a noisy classroom. Personalised feedback is a feature that benefits shy students who may be less confident speaking in front of the class.

The article explains that as the trial continues, the benefits and relevance of these devices are being recognised, not only in the ESL classroom but also across the mainstream curriculum.

QATESOL Article October 2010

The Queensland Times newspaper recently featured the students of Ipswich Girls Grammar School and their success in using the Learnosity Voice app for the iPod Touch.

The school has provided sixteen students who are learning English with iPod Touch devices so that they can access specially designed English speaking and listening exercises. Teacher Justine Bomm explains in the article how she has a website where she can monitor the work and feedback to students. Bomm went on to say how the lessons can be played back to the students during class.

The project which kicked off in April has already had positive affects, the paper reports.

Yasmine Wilson a year 9 student spoken to the Queensland Times about her personal experiences on the project.

Janelle Wills, Independent Schools Queensland Assistant Director, explained the unique benefits of the Learnosity Voice app as it gives 24-hour access to learning materials, results and teacher feedback.

The Queensland Times newspaper reported last week on the Learnosity Voice iPod app that has been so popular with English learners in Independent Schools Queensland.

Learnosity and Independent Schools Queensland have partnered to deliver this exciting project that started in April 2010 and will run for 12 months. Initial results from the trial are showing that the initiative is already a success.

The article tells us that the app is crossing social, cultural and language boundaries to inspire great results in and out of the classroom.

Executive Director of Independent Schools Queensland, David Robertson, says,

The article echoes findings from other Learnosity Voice projects, students are more motivated and both listening and speaking skills have clearly improved.

Janelle Wills, the Assistant Director (Teaching and Learning) with Independent Schools Queensland spoke of the advantages the app provided in terms of allowing students 24-hour access to learning materials as well as teacher feedback and the opportunity to access results or submit work outside of the classroom.

Queensland Times: 'Cool' iPod gets students' approval

Independent Schools of Queensland recently unveiled a video featuring their ESL programme that uses the Learnosity Voice iPod app.

In the programme students use a combination of an iPod Touch device and a Learnosity online workspace. Teachers set speaking and listening tasks from a computer using this online space. These tasks are automatically sent to the students devices. The students complete their tasks, listen to them and, with a push of a button, synch them back up to the teacher’s online space.

The teacher can see and hear the students completed work on line with any feedback automatically synched back down to the student. The result is a constant, seamless, automated flow of communication between teacher and student that can happen at anytime, anywhere.

The video tells us how this partnership with Learnosity has been beneficial for both teachers and students.

Here is the video, just click to play.

iPod Touch ESL Project from Independent Schools Queensland on Vimeo.