My Cowon D2 mini-PMP has impacted my daily activities more than I was initially expecting. I already carry it around on me from room to room in the house, take it with me when I leave the house, and basically always use it when I have any free time commuting or between classes. Now I can even use it in class as well.

These days, I wear the device in class, sans ear buds. It functions as a portable Electronic dictionary. This has proved very useful for my new science lessons that I’ve started to teach. This means I’ve got access to instant vocabulary and definitions at any time. That saves so much time that I can explain lessons much more effectively. My students don’t know it can play videos or do other things. They just think it’s a cool looking electronic dictionary.

Today, in my Pre-Internet Based Testing Speaking Intensive class (I.B.T. should stand for Intensely Boring Textbook) I had to explain the whole idea behind the approach of "Integrated Material Testing". The book had a topic which they had to prepare a speech on. Then they had to respond within a small time limit with a coherent answer that was clearly spoken. This stuff is tough.

Since it was their first day, I gave them five minutes to prepare their response, then told them to speak for at least 30 seconds. Students never know how well they do. Usually they just mumble a little while until the foreign guy stops bothering them and forget about the lesson entirely. Since my mini-PMP features a microphone recorder, I used it to record their speeches. I collected their email addresses, then went about the recording. I wasn’t sure how well it was going to work, because I had never used the microphone before.

After the class, I told my director my idea. I told her I would email the students today, attach the file,  and tell them the mistakes they made and the ways they could have improved. This way they can hear their own voice, get a critique, and still not waste class time. This meant I’d also be doing work at home on my free time (for now). My director’s head just about popped out of her skull she was grinning so widely. She loves the idea of milking every single second of free time children have to study English in as many different ways as possible. Adding something using the computer has been her recent obsession, with self study programs that children do on computers when they are at home.

She acknowledged that this was far above and beyond the call of duty for me as a teacher. Showing initiative? Being willing to do work to improve the class on my own time? She was really happy about my idea. I told her this was a "trial run", but that I thought it could wield some good results right away. I won’t be doing this for any of my lower classes, because I don’t have the time or any motivation.

I spent about thirty minutes listening to the speeches an emailing the students. It’s surprising what you can catch when you hear a short clip many times. One of the longest speeches was by a mumbler who I still can’t understand. A lot of the students used verbal pauses, repeated expressions, and had some stranger grammar. I could tell that the recording would prove useful to keep in class. It’d also serve as a method for evaluation and grading, since the book itself is TERRIBLE.

I’m becoming a slave to my own good ideas. Had I just kept my mouth shut, I wouldn’t be doing more than I need to when I get home. I’ve already got piles of paperwork to do, and now I’m emailing students too. The class I chose for my experiment isn’t huge. Now that I have their email addresses and an email account I made for the school to send out the notices, it shouldn’t even take that long next time. If I can just use this as a way to negotiate a raise, or perhaps do less paper grading, the work will pay off. However, it’s all dependent on an device I had no intention of even using in school other than to waste time when I bought it. This has turned into a very useful little toy.