ChinesePod and SpanishSense Class of ‘08
For most university students, learning languages means attending lectures and reading textbooks, and trying to memorize different grammar points and tons of vocabulary. But here in Praxis Language, we believe that it can be so much more than that! Combined with our podcasts and myriad of study tools available on our websites (Cpod and SpanishSense), [...]
Praxis Language Office
With the launch of our new players to syndicated ChinesePod/SpanishSense lessons on your own blog, website, etc. (see SpanishSense now and ChinesePod on Thursday), it seemed appropriate to use Google Maps newly released embeddable map for ourselves. If you have ever wondered where the Praxis Language office is in Shanghai:
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Canto-mania!
In my last post here I talked about building language learning communities, and today I’m happy to announce the birth of ChinesePod Cantonese, a forum dedicated to learners of what may well be the coolest sounding of the Chinese dialects. It is being administered by AuntieSue, a familiar face in the ChinesePod community, and is [...]
Community Building
At Praxis Language, we realize that language learning is a social phenomenon, but when we look across the Internet there is a distinct lack of communities for most language learners. We’d like to help fill this gap by creating forums (much like our ChinesePod forum) for students of other languages.
This is where you come in! [...]
Praxis & Netvibes
Today with the help of Netvibes we are launching a ‘Netvibes Universe’ for both ChinesePod and SpanishSense. Netvibes is a leading provider of personalized homepages, along with iGoogle, Pageflakes, etc. We have been looking at a number of ways to customize the learning experience and using Netvibes is one good way to start along [...]
Other Praxis Languages?
With our feature in The Economist this week, we have been getting a lot of feedback asking us if we have plans for other language products. We thought this would be a good opportunity to put the polling plug-in back up on the blog and ask you:
{democracy:2}
If we neglected a language you are interested in, [...]
Who is behind Praxis Language?
You may have come across references to ‘Praxis Language’ in recent times, so let me give you some background to it.
In September 2005, myself, Hank Horkoff, and Steve Williams put together the resources to begin the ChinesePod project. The experience has been kind of like watching a child grow. Over time, we’ve come to believe [...]
The 21st Century Campus
While Blackboard created a lot of angst in the e-learning community last year when they tried to enforce their patent on learning management systems, they are the dominant e-learning provider (helped by their WebCT acquisition) in the United States with ~80% market share. While I personally disagree with their use of proprietary, closed systems, they [...]
The Praxis Pass
With the launch of our second learning service, SpanishSense, we have had a number of requests from the community to be able to pick and choose between ChinesePod and SpanishSense as they see fit. To address this need, we have created a new subscription level called the ‘Praxis Pass’, which is similar to a Premium [...]
Emergent strategies, emergent learning
Jay Cross sees the need for a fluid, dynamic approach to corporate training. The present day knowledge worker is having to learn more, and learn faster than ever before – a situation that will intensify over time. According to Cross, the old, static, one-size-fits-all, training programs are proving hoplessly inadequate in the face of [...]