Modern Hebrew and iPads

April 3, 2013
Modern Hebrew and iPads

In the fall of 2012, students in second-year Modern Hebrew piloted an iPad project that combined all their handouts, worksheets, exercises, and review materials into a digital format. The goal was to allow students to review materials anywhere at any time, take self-correcting quizzes, review material that could be updated instantly by course staff, bring text files to life with native speakers and pop-up definitions, and make for a much more interactive and enriching experience.

ATG staff created an interactive iBook, an online flashcard interface, and an enhanced mobile-ready course website. They also oversaw the purchase and distribution of loaner iPads for this pilot.

Students reported the following benefits from this project:

  • Spent more time reviewing the documents then they have in the past with paper formats
  • Increased comprehension by listening to native speakers
  • Digital flashcards were used more often and with greater impact than the paper ones they would have had to create themselves
  • Greatly increased their typing proficiency, as the keyboard layout on the iPad can be instantly changed to Hebrew, something impossible on a laptop
  • Were able to take quizzes that self-corrected instantly
  • The organization of the materials is superior to what existed as paper handouts
  • Having the added advantage of being able to use the iPad in many other ways (for email, web browsing, installing other apps)
  • Liked the “green” aspect of the large amount of paper handouts that they now didn’t have to get

More on this project can be read about in this Harvard Crimson article.