Post XX. Lynda.com

I decided to do a brief review of Lynda.com in case if there are people in our class who are not familiar with this wonderful learning tool yet.

Lynda.com offers a collection of learning materials related to different topics, from Instructional Design to Photography. Usually, you get access to a set of video-lectures that are often accompanied by exercises to assist you in processing the new information. The quality of lectures is very high; they represent short videos, no more than 10 minutes long. What is important for me as an international student, the lecturers speak clearly and slowly (in a normal way), which helps me follow them with no additional effort involved.

There is a wide range of learning activities available on Lynda.com, and, what is more, this web portal is absolutely free for FSU students. This is great news because the regular monthly price is $20 minimum, depending on the chosen plan. In the Secure Apps folder on my.fsu.edu, there is a direct link to the Lynda.com website that enables you to get your free access. 

Lynda.com also has an iPad application for those people who prefer being mobile.

Watch a short video about Lynda.com below. What courses would you like take (or are taking) on this eLearning portal?

Post XIX. Memrise

Memrise is a beautifully designed web-based technology for memorizing things. It allows you to create your own sets of flashcards to be remembered or use the sets developed by other users.

What differs Memrise from services like Quizlet is that the study and self-assessment processes happen simultaneously. For example, you created a list of 10 new words to remember in the word-and-its-definition format. When you start a learning session, the software introduces you to the words from the list and then alternate the blocks containing the assessment items about the words you study with the blocks stating the words and their definitions. The idea behind Memrise technology is you better remember new words when you continuously repeat those words and solve problems related to them. The assessment items include matching a word with the correct definition option, typing in the word appropriate to the displayed definition, and answering multiple-choice questions.

At the end of the session, you get statistics demonstrating your progress through the session and the amount of points received for correct and quick answers. You can see the words you mastered and the words you need to work on more. 

I am learning HTML 5 vocabulary now via the flashcard set somebody developed. The results of one of my learning sessions are showed in the picture below. The flower image means I have mastered the word.

I really like Memrise for its pretty design. In addition, the software developers assure it is research-based. So, I believe Memrise deserves a tryout.

Do you use any memorization apps to enhance your learning activities?

Post XIII. Language Learning Resources

Greg’s vlog post about a crowdsourcing translation web-tool, Duolingo, gave me an idea for my Knowledge Sharing project (thanks Greg!).
I attempted to create a collection of web-based learning resources for the people who, like me, are interested in languages. Below, you will find the list of the open-access websites I find to be helpful in learning German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese.

Languages Online

German, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin

This website offers lessons for language learners at all levels of proficiency. The utilized teaching methodology is quite simple. You will be asked to match pictures and English phrases with the ones in the language you study.

Mein Weg nach Deutschland

German

This web-portal was developed by Goethe-Institut - Germany's worldwide cultural institute. It contains a lot of engaging activities for practicing your German. For example, you can play a hidden objects game or watch an educative TV show about a Turkish girl immigrated to Germany.

One World Italiano

Italian

This website includes a variety of classic language activities, such as video courses, grammar explanations, and dictations. In addition, there is a set of entertaining exercises enabling you to explore Italian via movie trailers or interactive mini-games. 

Digital Dialects

Spanish

This is an example of how game-based approach can be used in language learning. The website represents an assortment of games of varying levels of language difficulty.

Master Russian

Russian

If you wish to make yourself familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet or are interested in understanding the Russian culture, this website would be of great help. It has different learning materials, including the dual-language translations of Russian greatest novels and folk music videos.

Melnyks Chinese

Chinese

This is a collection of podcasts for the learners of Chinese aiming to master their speaking skills. You can get access to 267 audio lessons with word-for-word PDF transcripts and worksheets for self-assessment.

Kids Web Japan

Japanese

This website declares being a portal for kids, but any adult interested in learning Japanese can find it to be useful. There is a course of animated lessons to introduce you to the language, and the Quick Japanese section enables you to increase your colloquial vocabulary. 

I would be happy to hear from language learning fans. What languages do you speak? Which language would you like to learn next?