An tÚll Mhór - Learning Irish in New York

I'm in New York from tomorrow for 8 days. I'm there to talk to Irish language learners and teachers about what they use to learn Irish outside of Ireland. I've been working really hard to get the podcasts, flashcards and quizzes ready for launch on www.talkirish.com - I haven't got an official launch date just yet, but I'll email everyone who's already signed up and post here as soon as I do!

Seems like Irish is a hot topic now, and Des Bishop, the Irish-American comedian, has a great show called 'In the name of the Fada' which tackles the national problem with the national language. Catch up with the show online at RTE.

Des's website, www.desbishop.com, has a link to some interactive Irish learning materials. The materials certainly look good, but I haven't had a chance to test the content out yet, and I'm not sure at what level it's aimed at. If anyone else has tried it out, let me know!

LexDex - online and mobile flashcards

LexDex is a new mobile and online language learning tool I found recently. It's pretty simple to use (though a bit buggy at the moment).

LexDex is a website with a database specialising in language textbooks. You can browse the database, select a textbook and use LexDex to output the content to flashcard for online or mobile study.

First you have to create a profile (which refreshingly just requires your email address and mobile/cell phone number). In order to output to mobile, you have to choose your phone make and model.

After that, I found it quite easy to search for a textbook, and to select a chapter, then select the words I needed to learn. LexDex does output them to online flashcards,mobile flashcards or as a study guide.

The online flashcards are quick to generate and are pretty standard, although I couldn't get the audio file to work. Maybe this is coming soon?
The study guide is just a HTML page with the words you're trying to learn in table format - you can also output to PDF, although I imagine have an editable doc is more important.

I found I could output a limited number of flashcards to my mobile. The process worked - I got an sms with a link to my flashcards, and I downloaded and installed the java app. Pretty soon I could view my cards on a clean, easy to use GUI. There was no audio. But when I decided to download a second set of cards, I got into trouble. Both files seemed to have the same name, so I couldn't get the second set of cards to work. LexDex still feels like a beta product.

LexDex was designed specifically to produce mobile flashcards for foreign languages. But now the team are expanding towards other subjects and are developing games. The tool was created by 3 Americans - Edward Kim, Joseph Constanty and David Pauker. They recently graduated from university and are now living in Shanghai, China. To date, LexDex has not been used by any universities or businesses, although the team are working on developing partnerships with local schools in Shanghai.

I've mentioned that LexDex use a team of databasers to input all the information from text books for use on the site. The input is checked before publication to the site. I'll admit my main concern about this website and tool is the copyright issues behind behind this.

When I asked LexDex for more info on their relationship with publishers, I was assured that publishers have been 'pretty receptive' to the idea of LexDex using their books to create flashcards, as they see LexDex as a complementary tool rather than a supplementary one. LexDex openly states it does not intend to replace the teacher, class or even the textbook, but to help students study.

I imagine the idea of generating more sales of a textbook through LexDex does appeal to publishers. However, LexDex does not actively promote the sale of any of the textbooks from its site. I imagine it would be easy to hook up to the Amazon book store, so users can purchase the textbook they aim to study, if they don't already have it. LexDex haven't (yet?) implemented this step.

And what will happen if any of the publishers decide that they want in on the revenue stream from the flashcard sales? LexDex will soon be charging a very reasonable $7 per book for the ability to access and create flashcards for 6 months. Although it's early days, and there can't be a huge revenue stream in this tool alone, I can see publishers in a tightly-squeezed publishing industry eventually demanding their slice of this pie.

Lingro launches new free language learning tools

Lingro have translated their site into French, Spanish, German, Italian and Polish, so massively expanding their targe user base.

And they've launched some brand new FREE language learning tools (again I ask, HOW are they doing it???). I've not had a chance to play properly with everything, but I've grabbed two of their widgets to help ESL readers of my blog.

The first of these is a badge that enables users to open my page in Lingro. This means they can then translate it to the language of their choice. If this is helpful for any of my readers who have English as a second language, please please let me know! It's near the bottom of the right-hand column - try it out now.

The second widget for your blog or website displays a real depth of thought from the Lingro team. When users find a translation missing in Lingro, they can use the widget to contribute a translation for the missing word. This is clever because although the Lingro team have put a huge up-front effort into creating their tools and resources before launching, the Web 2.0 model of their ongoing project requires user-generated content to continually add value. Disseminating widgets to where their people might need them most is a great idea.

I haven't had time to check out the other tools, so if anyone has a go and wants to feedback here, they're more than welcome!

New FREE Lingro language learning tools include:

- a "sentence history" page that lets you see the sites you've visited through Lingro, the words you clicked on and the sentences they were in.
- A new dictionary building tool that lets people enter translations of missing words.
- A Swedish dictionary which translates back and forth between all the other languages on Lingro (Lingro say they've had loads of requests for it from users).

I'm a fan of Lingro...but I'd love to know what other people think! Post a comment with what you think of Lingro's new tools.

Check out my previous post on Lingro for more info on the website and tools.

Talk Irish - new website

I've been really busy this week, trying to launch my new website, www.talkirish.com. I've finally got it up - although I'm still tweaking it - so make sure you go and check it out.

So what's www.talkirish.com all about? Well, it's an Irish language learning website, aimed at adult learners who have a cúpla focal or or no Irish. Right now, we're working hard to publish lots of free Irish language learning materials - such as podcasts, flashcards and language learning games. They're not live yet, but we're going to launch these as soon as we can.

If you're trying to learn Irish, or if you know someone who's trying to learn Irish, go to www.talkirish.com or sign up now for our podcasts. The more people I can sign up in advance, the more free learning materials I can provide on www.talkirish.com!

Learn about ancient Celtic Law...and how to make money on a leap day

I didn't know that St Patrick and St Brigid were the two who started the whole tradition of enabling women to propose marriage on a leap day.

Apparently St Brigid had a chat with St Patrick about letting women have the right to propose to a man. And the cautious St Patrick ruled that woman could certainly propose to a man. But only on a leap day, which falls once every 4 years.

In Scotland, the tradition developed that if a man rejected a lady's proposal on a leap day, he had to pay a fine, ranging from a kiss to a new silk dress.

And did you know that if you're proposing to a man, all you need is a football, not a diamond ring. Are men really so easily pleased?

Anyway. I'd advise anyone to have an enlightening 3 minutes with this videojug.com production, and then to spend the next 12 hours either hiding from ladies, or stalking gentlemen.

What is non-linear video?

When I first worked for the BBC in 2002, I'd come from a corporate e-learning background, where I learned how to write a non-linear video simulation. These simulations enabled a learner to watch an opening clip, then choose from a number of options. Each option led the learner to another video clip.

These non-linear video simulations reminded me a lot of those Choose Your Own Adventure novels I used to read as a kid - you read a chapter, then got to choose an action at the end. Then you'd turn to the right page to see what happens.

I didn't live long in these adventures. Mostly I got ate by a Dragon or fell down a well (much more interesting than the e-learning equivalent, where you could make your boss look disappointed or perhaps fail to sell a printer).

So when I joined the BBC, I talked about potential of a non-linear approach to using video. But I found it very hard to get people from traditional media to understand the concept. Five years on at the crea8ivity.com event in January this year, I was surprised to hear how little things have changed.

The phrase non-linear video was bandied about during the event by a few different people - Emma Somerville - BBC Head of Interactive TV in particular used it - but nobody seemed to have a clear idea of what non-linear video is. There seemed to be an impression that simply by allowing viewers to choose which video clip they wanted to watch, you were creating a non-linear video experience.

Well not really.

A video clip played out on the web or any other platform are still 'linear video'. For me, a true non-linear video experience is about scripting and providing content that doesn't have to be played out in a straight line - content that plays out in response to user choice.

NON-LINEAR VIDEO LEARNING EXPERIENCE EXAMPLE
On a freelance project, I once got to script, shoot and build a really interesting non-linear flash-based video quiz. It used a pool of video clips in conjunction with a database of thousands of questions and images.

The design meant the learner could play the game millions of times, without ever getting the same questions. The video clips slotted together in response to the user's actions.

The game was a hit with our testers and the ROI on the game was massive. For a small investment, we ended up with a fun quiz game that could be used again and again. And we could update the quiz database whenever we wanted, providing fresh content.

LINEAR VIDEO LEARNING EXPERIENCE EXAMPLE
For the same project, I also wrote a soap opera. It consisted of 5 short episodes that had to be watched in order. The learners couldn't interact with it. It couldn't be updated. And it cost a lot more to produce.

I didn't feel that many content producers at the crea8ivity event were clear on the distinction between delivering linear video online and creating a non-linear video experience. I got the impression that people thought that once you put a documentary or short film or video clip online, it somehow stops being 'linear video'.

It doesn't. Non-linear video content needs to be carefully scripted from scratch - check out those old adventure novels! You can't take a Barbara Cartland novel, cut it up into 10 chapter, then upload it as 10 word documents and call it interactive. Sure I can choose chapter 7 instead of chapter 1 first, but the content isn't designed to be experienced that way.

I didn't think that the BBC presentations did anything to enlighten the content producers about creating non-linear video. We were bombarded with 'exciting new formats' like

- made for mobile Tardisodes
- Minisodes from archive material
- web-only programming experiences

It struck me that what the BBC are doing at the moment is creating fancy names for video content, instead of actually looking at how to create interesting video experiences.

And instead of the BBC working with the content producers to create interesting new video content, they're bamboozling them (and their audience) with fancy new names for what is essentially always always the same thing - a 5 minute linear video clip...

This is an old link...but still interesting...check out samsung's interactive film showcase. There's 10 characters. 1 event. 10 possible endings. And 11,000 ways for the story to play out.

iPhone as an e-learning device

A pretty interesting discussion has sparked off at my post about Smartphones vs Stupid Operators...worth checking out - I've certainly learned loads!

Slovoed - mobile language learning

Language learning in real-life situations is both important and effective.

But when I'm on holidays, I'm not into carrying bulky phrase books or dictionaries around all day. And I hate not having audio files for pronunciation. The solution? An audio and text dictionary on my mobile.

slovoed.com are a Russian software team who provide great mobile dictionaries in over 130 languages. I've been using Slovoed's French-English dictionary to:

1 pick a word and listen to an audio file for pronunciation guidance
2 read example phrases of the word being used in different contexts
3 create flash cards
4 review flash cards with a quiz
5 personalise the dictionary with your own vocab
6 explore hot links in every entry, so you can easily jump from word to word

That's just a list of the features I find useful - you can see a full list of OS-specific features here.

With slovoed mobile dictionaries, you can get a dictionary on your mobile from just $15 (price for the Simbian OS English-French dictionary - different language partners have different prices - the Spanish-Catalan dictionary is about $60).

I've been using various ipod packages for language learning, but haven't found anything that works. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has found an effective way of learning a language on the go?

PS...My favourite French phrase on my slovoed dictionary is under Drink/Boire:

"Elle l'a fait boire pour qu'il avoue."

Translation

"She got him drunk so that he'd confess."

A useful phrase for a very specific situation...

A Model explains how to Use a Mobile phone

This is an old video on mobile technology, but it's quite interesting. It features American model, Anina, who has been named Nokia Champion the last two years in a row for her innovation in the mobile space.

The interview was NERDTV's first interview with a woman. And it shows. The interviewer, Robert Cringly, seems mostly pleased that he is interviewing a model, rather than being engaged in Anina's talk. But the video's well worth the watch.

Couldn't find it on youtube to embed here, so you'll have to visit PBS.

Smartphones vs Stupid Operators

Up until May 2007, I was a very basic mobile user. I had an old Sony Ericsson that I used mostly for texting. I didn't ring on it much because after a few minutes, the phone hurt my head. I didn't use the built-in camera as my digital camera was much better.

I didn't invest money in a new phone because I never really knew what a phone could do for me. I knew what my needs were, but the ads and shops were just plain confusing. And even though mobile operators only had to provide text and talk packages that made them loads of money, the packages were always so convoluted that I only ever felt like I was signing up to be ripped off. So I just stuck to my old O2 pay as you go, 200 free texts a month sim.

Buying a new phone always seemed to be about how it looked. How pretty it was. The ringtone. And for some people, the camera. I'm not big into brands or the latest gizmo, and couldn’t care less about what my phone looks like.

But then my boyfriend introduced me to the world of smartphones. He explained what the different phones and operating systems could do. And with his advice, I quickly bought a nokia n73 and changed from O2 to T-mobile to get a decent data plan, although I got ripped off on T-mobile's roaming charges (not cost effective if you live between Derry and Donegal).

But with the dataplan, I could access the web all day for the flat rate of £1. So suddenly I was able to check gmail through the gmail app, check google maps, browse the web etc.

Of course, checking mail meant needing to reply to mail...needing to reply to mail meant a data input problem, so I bought a bluetooth igo Stowaway fold-out keyboard for £40.

Having solved my data input problem, I installed quickoffice - so now I can view and edit word docs, excel sheets and powerpoint presentations. I've got the 85,000 words of my unfinished novel on my phone. That's where I edit it these days.

When I wake with great blog or game ideas in the middle of the night, I input them into my phone. It's where I do my shopping list. My expenses. I use the calcium calculator app.

I've stored music and podcasts on my phone. I've used the camera instead of my usual camera. I've taken pictures and videos of the neices and nephews. And pictures of the wine labels I've enjoyed so next time I'm in the offie, I can browse my wine label collection for one I liked.

And for learning French, I use my slovoed French dictionary - with thousands of text and audio entries, I can translate and learn on the go.

When the iphone arrived, I couldn't understand the fuss to be honest. Yes it is soooooo pretty. And touchscreens are where it's at (no more figuring out what buttons to put where – just produce one really nicely designed device and let the software do the work. When you've figured out how to do something better, you just upgrade the software).

But I'd been using my phone to do pretty much anything the iPhone can do, and maybe a bit more. So when I read in this Guardian article yesterday that 'The launch last year of Apple's iPhone proved that people will use the internet on a mobile phone' I got a bit annoyed.

The iPhone did not prove that people will use the Internet on a mobile phone. However, the iPhone ad campaign was the first mobile campaign that took time to teach people how they could use their phone.

The iPhone, ironically, is the first phone that I can think of that wasn't sold on its looks. No sexy models caressing the casing. No hot young dudes connecting with their equally hot friends on the latest must-have phone.

Apple didn’t have to sell the phone on how sexy it looked. It was an Apple product. Looking sexy was a given.

What they did instead was use their 30 second ad to give the consumer a brief tutorial in how to use your mobile. They showed us how to send an email. How to browse the web. How to check the weather on your phone.

Irritatingly, this does mean that proud new iphone owners spend their time giving me tutorials in how to send an email or browse the web. I have to say, Apple do it better. And quicker - check out their ads here.

The same Guardian article has quoted Scott Horn, general manager of Microsoft's mobile communications business group as saying "Our goal is to put a smartphone in every person's pocket."

First things first, for advertising, communications and learning, mobile technology's where it's at. More people have mobiles than have PCS. Smartphones are a stepping stone. Google and Microsoft are both throwing lots of time and money at the mobile market.

But the big problem I find here is not the phone or the software. It's the data plans. Scott Horn can put a smartphone in everyone's pocket, but what's he going to do about the rip-off data plans?

The mobile phone operators have realised that consumers want more than just text and talk. And that if we want to talk, we might want to use VoiP. Instead of texting, we want IM. And they don't want that.

I’ve got an O2 web bolt-on on my phone. O2 describe this as being ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.

What it really means is that I can browse the web and get email. I can use no more than 200MB of data per month. I can’t use internet radio, audio streaming, video streaming, skype, msn or any other instant messaging, no VoIP, no P2P, no FTP, no remote desktop, no remote access of any sort, no modem use.

And this wonderful deal only applies to UK usage…if I go abroad (which for a Northern Irish consumer means if I visit sunny sunny Cavan) I’ll be charged £8/MB.

Mobile operators used to only have to figure out ways of selling incredibly lucrative talk and text packages to consumers. Now they have to deal with all the different types of demands that mobile web brings with it.

And I get the feeling that until the mobile operators can figure out a way to truly fleece me on each individual mobile need I have (which might take them years), or until Google become a network provider, I’ll have the endure the joys of ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.