Have Apple, Will Travel

Monday January 30, 2006

EF Educational Tours has two new tech trip helpers cooking for 2006, both aimed at integrating international experience, via student travel, and technology. If you're one of the many student travelers who'd rather carry earbuds than guidebooks, you'll find EF Educational Tours's new EF on iTunes, or TourCasts, handy personal trip guides via iPod. And EF is also introducing iStory™ Tours, a patrnership with Apple providing teachers and students on tour with an Apple tech expert who tags along to help the traveling gang create cool vids and multimedia presentations.

How TourCasts Work

Students signed up for an EF trip offering a TourCast can download accompanying podcasts from iTunes for pre-trip listening or tour enhancement; eventually, all destinations will have podcasts available. Six categories provide travel tips and the inside skinny on EF destinations:

Get Ready - how to pack, currency tips or a rundown of the destination's famous films, like "Films That Show Off Barcelona"
Facts and Figures - general population and culture info, like "Athens Central Market"
People - the skinny on famous citzen's lives, like "Einstein's Struggles in Munich"
Places - famous landmarks and should-see stuff, like "Venice's Regatta Storica"
Lingo - crucial communications in other languages, like "How to Say Goodbye in Paris"
Self-guided Tours - walking tours accompanied by an ipod-ed guide, like "London's South Banks"

Hear sample TourCast snippets at EF Educational Tours

How iStory™ Tours Work

Teachers who sign up specifically for an iStory™ Tour will be treated to a trip tailored to the the class's curriculum. An Apple tech expert accompanies the tour to tutor students in film making and editing skills; EF's Keri Baugh says the pro will work with the teacher prior to the tour to understand educational goals and tailor tech help accordingly.

iStory™ Tours are available for any EF destination; when researching or signing up for a trip, teachers will be creating a custom tour.

Educational Podcasts New Travel Tech Wave?

An ISTC student travel study found that culture exploration is student's main travel motivation, with "increasing knowledge" in third place. Travel podcasts are a way to get that.

EF's Baugh said of tour tidbits via earbud, "(iPods) are a tool that students have anyway, so this takes advantage of the optimal learning environment learning at a time that works for them." Podcasts as a travel aid are gaining in popularity as the productions become more professional; many are homemade, albeit enjoyable, affairs with too much cast and not enough pod, though (iToors' musical Glasgow walking tour podcast is a refreshingly professional exception). We look forward to hearing a well-done EF TourCast while strolling the Thames.

Student travel tour resources:

Podcast resources: