In early October I attended Thomson NETg’s strategic customer council meeting. One of the guest presenters was John Havens from the New York Times’ About.Com web service. John has just finished a whitepaper titled: Sound Theory. The analysis is well thought out and presented. Here are the direct links:
This past March I turned 50 years old. What was my first half century like? Let’s see … grew up in the northwoods of Minnesota … learned how to program in the mid 70’s at an Ivy League school, while holding down a job as a teamster truck driver for Coca Cola … decided that my fellow mathematicians at Dartmouth were too nerdy and escaped to the real world! However, RCA decided a person with an economics MBA and a strong programming knowledge should come back into the technical world. Thus my nickname … "The Northstar Nerd"
Perhaps I should have labeled this post: Learning in Second Life. Obviously this would have been a double entendre. I’m starting out my next 50 years, and I realize I need to learn about the virtual social phenomenon / reality, Second Life. In short, I need to grok this. In the past few months Second Life has increasingly made its way into my conscious thoughts.
Here are some recent articles I’ve read which made me sit up and take notice:
One’s first step should be gaining a basic understanding of Second Life and virtual reality. Not to surprisingly Wikipedia has a good overview … along with some information about "firsts" happenings in their world (concerts, Fortune 100 companies, store front openings, TV reality theme shows, and much more). However, if Wikipedia is not your "cup of tea", perhaps you would prefer to watch a 20 minute screencast / tutorial on Second Life from Harvard? This tutorial / screencast will give you a basic understanding of Second Life, and how it works.
Now … there was a reason Harvard developed this tutorial. It is the first lecture from a course which is available for open free enrollment, not just Harvard students! The class focuses on the Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, social networking, etc.), and how they are used in learning. Here is the basic information:
Here are the primary course resources:
Now … what about my post title, "Blogs, Wikis, and Bears … Oh My!" While Dorothy and her friends were scared of the enchanted forest … we should not let Web 2.0 scare us! Thus, if you wish to gain a better understanding of the changes taking place in the online world, I recommend the Harvard course. You can even attend in real life, or via the Harvard campus in Second Life!
In summation, why worry about this stuff? Isn’t it just a bunch of nerds who want to brink the Star Trek Holodeck into real life? It would be a mistake to dismiss virtual reality as it relates to the world of learning. Corporate education departments have used simulations for years (market based simulation games). Thus here are a few links to help you further ponder this domain … I’ll be working my way through the Harvard course:
Remember, if you see me in real life, my name is Rich Hoeg. In Second Life, I’m Ole Northmead!
This past year, my travels (business and pleasure) have taken me to China, the Czech Republic, England, India, Poland, Switzerland… not to mention many cities throughout the USA. What universally impresses me on all of these travels is the number of languages my peers and friends know. I am personally limited to English, and some college French and German …. and a few words in Czech. By US standards even this amount of knowledge might seem admirable, but it is not. When one is doing business, or visiting friends in another country, the ability to converse in the local language and understand cultural norms is not only an advantage, rather if possible, it should be considered the expectation.
Okay … now that you’ve read my sermon, here are resources to assist in the task of learning another language. One neat smaller company out of the United Kingdom, Eurotalk. Although you will have to spend a few dollars to purchase their training, the number of languages upon which they provide instruction is amazing … and not just to and from English.
All right, I always seem to have suggestions for "free" content. Many public libraries provide free access to language learning, and other eContent. The most common eLearning provided free by libraries in the USA is Rosetta Stone. Here are some links to help you determine if your local library has access:
<Question: What if my library does not have Rosetta Stone?>
<Answer #1: See my Annenberg Language Learning Resources Post>
<Answer #2: Everyone should see my Language Learning eBooks Post>
This posting is a follow up to my original Language Learning Posting. The third posting in this series is Annenberg Language Learning Resources.
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Language Learning eBooks
Obviously one can purchase language manuals and dictionaries from Amazon or your local book store, however there are other free resources available on the web. Here are some I have noted that will support your language learning efforts:
It is often possible to use Google Book Search and WikiTexts to access or create your own eBooks. Some examples are provided, along with a tutorial explaining how to create and use your own Google eBooks.
Using Google Book Search to create your own eBooks:
Finally, it is one thing to learn the language. It’s also good to become familiar with a country’s norms and background. An excellent resource for this is the CIA World Fact Book.
This posting is a follow up to my original Language Learning Posting. The second posting in this series is Language Learning eBooks.
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Annenberg / Corporation for Public Broadcasting Language Learning
It is one thing to take lessons, or use eLearning to learn a language, but the best most optimal way to become fluent in any language is to visit a given country. However, since that is not always practical, Annenberg has a number of language learning video series which are streamed free via the net where you follow an story line acted our and presented by native speakers. If you are so inclined, there are manuals available for purchase that correspond to the series.
Important Notes: A free registration is required to view this content.