Language Learning with Lego

When I was playing around in Scratch yesterday, I couldn't help but think (again) that it's possible to develop a visual approach to learning a second language. When working on BBC Jam Irish, I developed a visual sentence builder to help a learner build he/she/me/they sentences that involved like/love/hate and an object (pizza/school/hairy caterpillar). Using lego people and objects (what else?) the learner could select any subject, object and emotion and then generate a text and audio sentence.

But this was a Flash-based game with a limited number of objects and possible sentences. What would be really interesting is taking a language and categorising its components much like Scratch has done, so that a learner can snap together blocks of language to create sentences that are visually rendered. If I've created a sentence that says I am riding a bike in the rain, then a visual animation of me, riding a bike in the rain, is played out.

A site called lingualgamers.com briefly touches upon the idea of language learning using blocks in this article, having taken inspiration from MIT's StarLogo TNG - another visual programming application.

I've another, stranger idea for visual language learning that's currently bubbling away in my head...I'll try and get around to it next week.

Got a Programming Itch? Scratch it...

Need to introduce kids to concept of programming? Then check out MIT's Scratch - a free programming tool that doesn't require users to have any knowledge of code.

Instead Scratch uses a simple graphical interface which enables users to create programs by assembling them - much like Lego blocks.

Users can select objects and characters from the scratch menu, or create their own in a paint program or even cut and paste items from the web. Movement is added by snapping "action" blocks into stacks.

Scratch is currently being used by kids to create animated stories, interactive art and video games. You can check out MIT's introduction to Scratch here:



I have to say, Scratch reminds me of Douglas Coupland's novel Microserfs, where the characters are developing OOP! - what appears to be a software version of Lego. Lego is often discussed, and the characters sometimes try to analyse the influence of Lego on their coding skills...

"When I was young, if I built a house out of Lego, the house had to be all in one color. I used to play Lego with Ian Ball who lived up the street, back in Bellingham. He used to make his house out of whatever color brick he happened to grab. Can you imagine the sort of code someone like that would write?"

Learning First in Second Life

So universities are moving into Second Life. Up to 15 UK universities are known to have purchased land there. Why?

There are advantages to studying in a virtual world. For one, interaction in Second Life gets beyond the stale and limited 'communication technologies' of chat rooms, message boards and texts. Which is why Harvard has set up a Second Life courtroom where law students can practice their advocacy skills.

And you get to look how you want - because when you create your Second Life avatar, you can choose your gender, age, race and shape. Handicaps in real life - whether real or imagined - do not show on Second Life. It's your mind that matters.

Physical space doesn't matter - you can visit anywhere anytime. You can build 3-d structures to explore architectural or engineering features. And if you're interested in a niche subject that has limited face-to-face learning opportunities, you can connect online with other learners scattered across the First Life globe.

Lecturers like the fact they can actually 'see' who's involved in the learning, and who's snoozing at the back of the class (although the idea of recreating the not awfully successful lecturing model in Second Life wouldn't be the first learning model I'd choose).

Of course it's not all straightfoward - there are the usual technological constraints at the moment (you'll have get yourself some powerful computer kit and a whole lot of bandwidth).

Under current thinking, it's probable that universities will create their own worlds, where learning can happen under their control (just what are the copyright laws in Second Life?). And I think that this will negate one of the most important aspects of Second Life - sheer scale of people from all across the world sharing one space.

And of course we have to wonder will we end up with a group of Second Lifers whose social skills in the virtual world are impeccable, but who can't remember how to shake someone's hand in real life?

Find out more at this Guardian article.

Buzzmarketing + e-learning = BuzzLearning?

I'm reading Mark Hughes' Buzzmarketing right now. He's the guy who took the number of Half.com users from zero to eight million in just three years, without a huge marketing budget. The secret? Make your company a magnet for media attention and word of mouth, by any means necessary.

I began reading the book out of interest - how do people create massively successful websites? How do producers generate the 'buzz' that gets people talking about their content or product?

Then I started wondering how we can create e-learning with buzz.

Education isn't a field that's expert at marketing. Based on our Industrial model of education, students have to go to school. It's the law. We don't bother 'selling' the idea of school or education to them - we force them to do it. Kids spend an average of 7 hours a day in the classroom, 'learning'.

So what do they talk about in the playground or at home? What's got them buzzing? Strangely enough, it's not the curriculum. It's new music. New games. New technologies. New news. The things they're finding out for themselves in their own time. They're teaching each other how to do stuff. They're trying new things out. They're deciding what's got buzz, and what doesn't.

Ok. So subjects like Irish language or Victorian history just aren't as sexy as Paris Hilton's Jail Saga. But it's not just the content that keeps learning from being as buzzworthy as possible - it's also how it's presented.

In a traditional online learning experience, the learner is asked to log-in. They're either given a linear path to follow through set content, or they can select which modules of content they want to learn. The learning experience can range from the passive consumption of text, graphics, audio and video to truly interactive games that surprise and engage.

At the end, achievement is usually scored, and the learner congratulated. Some websites even personalise a little certificate you can print out and stick up on your fridge.

No-one's buzzing...because not only is there no opportunity to share knowledge or achievement in the ways they share informal knowledge or achievement, the stuff they're studying isn't what they see as relevant to their lives.

We all need to show off a bit. To explore or make things. Try things out and comment. Sure we have learning supported message boards and chatrooms, but I've not seen an e-learning shared space buzz the way youtube does. And we're not giving learners the choice of exploring what they want to learn, when they want to learn it.

Virtual Worlds, Real Learning?

I just got an email from the Eduserv Foundation about their third annual symposium “Virtual worlds, real learning”. This event takes place 10 May at the Congress Centre in London.

The Eduserve Foundation aim to look past the hype surrounding virtual worlds such as Second Life and evaluate whether they offer real opportunities for learners at UK educational institutions.

The 'real' venue is booked out, but all the presentations will be streamed live into Second Life and on the Web. Check out the content in Second Life here:

- The Virtual Congress Centre on Eduserv Island.
- The auditorium on Cybrary City.
- The outdoor teaching space on NMC's Teaching 2 Island.

I'm not sure about how we can use Virtual Worlds for Real Learning. I think we often struggle hard enough to impart Real Learning in our Real World...what makes it easier to teach virtually?

However, I do think Virtual Worlds offer interesting ways to teach language. But more on that next week. My Second Life tan needs topping up.