Equipment – EFL Notes

PirateBox is dead! Long live PirateBox!

Posted on December 28, 2019November 13, 2021 by eflnotes

The main developer of PirateBox (Matthias Strubel) announced the shutting down of the PirateBox forums recently. Fortunately PirateBox is still being developed for t he wrong router. This is great news. I believe the wrong router uses a GL.iNet Mango GL-MT300N-V2 which connects at 300Mbs (3 times as fast as the TP-Link MR3020 router) and so means video sharing is very fast now.

Note: please do order a wrong router (and support development of PirateBox) if you are not comfortable with digging into router specifics.

One of the advantages of the wrong router mod of PirateBox is the use of html pages to serve files. Even though this was possible with the original PirateBox several other steps had to be taken to disable features that were not needed (e.g. I rarely used the upload or chat facility). And with html5 one can now share videos with subtitles (in .vtt form), something that is very useful when sharing videos in a language learning class.

In order to get the wrong router version working one needs to flash a PirateBox image first so that the auto-install function can work (for the Mango router the image to use is found here http://development.piratebox.de/target_thewrong_ramips-mt76x8/). Use the router’s original web UI to install the firmware image (on a slow USB stick this could take up to 45mins). Once done you can then follow the wrong router instructions to install the full wrong router modification of PirateBox.

Below are some screen shots of connecting to the router using my phone. Note the screen shot showing a video playing with subtitles. Nice!

Thanks for reading and here’s to 2020.

Is one Ipad worth it? No!

Posted on February 12, 2012February 9, 2019 by eflnotes

Subtitle: If you want a gadget in class look for open-source alternatives.

This post has been in the making for a while but until recently it was pretty formless. Thanks to a post Only one iPad in the classroom I was prompted to write it at last. Also full disclosure, I wanted to update my equipment post! 😉

The trouble with iProducts	The good with iProducts
1. Rapid evolution in system versions	1. Amount of software
2. Closed system	2. Standard UI experience

Essentially what is good about iProducts is what makes it bad for teachers – (in)flexibility. Because iProducts is a closed system it makes the UI (User Interface) experience good. But technology has to be malleable enough for teachers to be able to adapt it and not for teachers to have to adapt to it. I would argue that iProducts restrict this aspect much more so than equivalents, namely open-sourced ones.

Since a lot of very useful teacher material can be accessed via a browser one can argue that if you have a cheap handheld that can browse the internet efficiently then that is sufficient. And there are plethora of cheap Android tablets out there.

However this post will not cover Android tablets but will mention the current device I use in class if no computer is available.

OpenPandora Handheld

The OpenPandora handheld was devised by a small group of open-source handheld enthusiasts.

I use it mainly for playing video and displaying text/images. As far as language education-related software available there is only really one, Anki, a flashcard program. But if you peruse the software repository you may find something useful.

(photo: OpenPandora plus accessories)

1.OpenPandora running a version of Linux, can get 10 hours runtime before recharge

2.Case with room to store two SD cards, USB-SDcard adapter, 4-port mini USB hub, a USB-miniUSB cable

3. Flat portable speaker (excellent battery life using 2 rechargeable AAs)

4. Cable case (stores TV-out cable plus USB-microUSB cable to charge my phone from Pandora handheld)

(photo: Pandora plus accessories in bag)

Whew! I don’t think I did much Apple bashing in this post although I still feel this was a somewhat rambling addition to the blog. I guess the sentiment that was bubbling away underneath may be captured somewhat by this post On Short-Term Ed-Tech Memory by Audrey Watters.

Video in the classroom – equipment

Posted on June 15, 2008March 19, 2012 by eflnotes

This post is about the player that I use to show video. Please note that this is not the most ideal player – an ideal one would play any and all video formats and be very easy to use for the average person.

The GP2X (model F100)

This is a handheld from Korea, it is able to play DivX/Xvid video files. I use a video convertor to convert files to the DivX format. It crucially also has a TV out port (S-Video) so that you can hook it up to a TV or a projector. The first picture shows the player in a case.

The following pictures show it with the case closed and a mobile phone next to it for a size comparison; the player in my bag along with a portable speaker (the blue object) and a see through case containing the power adapter and video cable; and finally a shot of my bag when closed.