English is the only language I speak and write fluently. It’s the result of growing up in an area and country where everyone around me spoke only English.
Sometimes, I feel being mono-lingual limits what I can learn.
On Twitter, in my personal account (not associated with eLearn Magazine), I follow a lot of chefs, restaurant critics, cook book authors, and food bloggers. As I expanded this network, I found more and more Twitter users who tweet predominantly in French.
At first, I struggled with it. Do I continue following them, even though I don’t know what they’re saying 85 percent of the time?
Sure enough, I started paying attention to the handful of French words that I already knew simply from being exposed to kitchen talk for many years, like bain-marie, buerre blanc, poulet, mise en place, vin rouge…
Little by little, I found links worth clicking through and discovered more and more recipes that I was motivated to translate. Now, I’m picking up a couple of new French words a month. True natural language learning is always need-based, and let me assure you, I needed to know how to make real pâte à choux!
This morning, while searching for Creative Commons-licensed artwork to use here at eLearn Magazine, I had a little stroke of inspiration. What if I tried keying in the same search words, but in a different language?
Sure enough, some amazing new images started cropping up!
In one search for computador, I fell onto these images, by Lizette Greco, related to the One Laptop Per Child program. I loved them so much, I just had to share them.
The point is, I might not have been prompted to expand my language skills–ever!–without all these interconnected and globally-spanning social media tools at my fingertips.
Polyglots Have an Edge in a Socially-Technologically Connected World
Teachers, Trainers, and the iPad
From the perspective of a teacher, trainer (or instructional designer for that matter) what’s your reaction to the iPad?
Does it make you curious about anything (e.g., “I wonder how students will…”)?
How can you envision it helping you educate?
Do you worry about any downsides of this technology pervading your learners?
Comment below, please!
Bogus Schools and Bogus Degrees
It’s surprising there are so many: 1,762 fake institutions worldwide with another 1,545 filed as “suspicious” according to Verifile. The US has the most – 810 – and the UK comes in second with 271.
One can only imagine the number of bogus degrees produced!
I will admit to be fascinated by prominent people buying online degrees, in much the same way others follow the latest romances of stars. In Degrees by Mail: Look what you can buy for only $499!!! I wrote about the US$499.00 purchase of an online degree by someone who should have known better and didn’t even seemingly need the degree. In The Stripper and the Bogus Online Degree I wrote about “A former stripper, known professionally as Princess Cheyenne, [who] was found guilty of 19 of 25 counts ‘of fraud and larceny for posing as a licensed psychologist for seven years and treating clients'” because her degree was not legitimate.
Moral here: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is – and it may be worth the effort of checking credentials before you hire or do business with anyone.
Debate about Roger Schank’s Prediction for 2010
I was part of an AACE executive board discussion, in which Saul Carliner said,
One of my favorites is Roger Schank’s prediction for 2010 in eLearn Magazine: “Bye bye phone,” predicting the demise of mobile learning citing the difficulty of reading a phone or even an iPod screen. Others are touting the same technology.
Curt Bonk immediately responded:
I thought Roger Schank’s prediction was the most ridiculous. He is not thinking outside the box – bendable and fold-out screens and electronically projected ones. Samsung is working on that. Mobile devices tomorrow are not what we see today. But bold predictions like Roger’s would get people to chat and interact.
And Saul came back:
My point. I said it was my favorite – but I didn’t say why or that I agreed with him.
Interestingly, the only comments that critiqued the Predictions for 2010 were about Roger’s prediction. One said,
How can you say its going to go away from the phone, especially with the iPhone and Android-based phones that allow for simulations and interactivity that couldn’t be done before?
Maybe it is just my age group (under 30), but I find that I’m constant using my iPhone for on-demand learning, whether it be to Google something, access a video tutorial (like Lynda.com), get my RSS feeds, etc… I think mLearning is just in its infancy and we will continue to see it grow.
Just my $0.02. Cheers!
Another person commented,
Dr. Schank – I have followed you and your career for years and I have immensely benefited from your body of knowledge. I am curious, however, about your bye, bye phone prediction for 2010. While I agree in someways (yet not in others) that a full blown training program may not best be delivered via mobile features or applications, I strongly feel that mobile devices hold incredible promise for learning and will only increase in the future. The traditional training paradigm of larger/longer scale design for learning has been engaged in a renaissance for sometime – in saying this I am thinking of re-useable learning objects, simulations, storytelling, game theory, virtual worlds, etc – major premises that can enable a strong mobile learning platform, paradigm, and adaptation.
One of the greatest benefits I see of mobile devices (and I hope there will be many) is the push of learning information as needed or the pull of information as wanted – not to mention the simultaneous usage of features on today’s equipment (think AT&T and Apple”s ability to talk and use apps at the same time). The connectedness to corporate systems/innovative design approaches and the creative implications of the larger learning outcome(s) to a mobile event is what will make this either a smooth learning experience or a disastrous one. I’m a bit more optimistic.
I can’t help but also think about how opinion was similar about CBT/WBT to what now is “eLearning” – once upon a time.
Is it time for a rebuttal from Roger?
Whaddya Call It?
I asked on Twitter yesterday, “What term do you use most? Learning 2.0, Blending Learning, Social Learning, Informal Learning, eLearning … something else?”
The responses, I hoped, would illuminate not only which words people use most, but also what practices or pedagogical philosophies are behind their instruction. Here’s the feedback:
antoesp: elearning (2.0) & blended learning: anyway it is always necessary what you are talking about…
vale24: I think I’m in “blended learning” category for when I use ICT with F2F groups in/outside class, otherwise it’s Online learning
_KirstenT: blended learning at Leeds – like most other UK higher education institutions
nhatipoglu: eLearning actually
minutebio: Informal Learning
arepeejee: eLearning & Technology Enhanced Learning
hopkinsdavid: Usually ‘eLearning’, but ‘blended’ making a big comeback in recent months
campusdirect: e-learning… with the hyphen
denniscallahan: It’s all “Learning”
What terms do you use, and what does it say about your teaching or instruction — or environment, or learners, or level of technology adoption (add a comment below)?