I’ve always thought that talking about numbers gets short shrift (not enough attention) in most language classes. People talk about numbers a lot in normal conversation, and we hardly ever practice them in class. I’d like to do a whole class about using numbers in English. I think it would be a blast.
I’d certainly use this site in that class, What Japan Thinks is a look at Japan through questionnaires and statistics. I think it is a great way to talk about Japan, and about people.
Like Wikipedia in Japanese? In English? Try it in simple English. Great for student research and other projects.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/
OK, these guys from MIT wanted to see what 80 million images looked like whent they were all squashed together. But the neat thing is that they took about 74,000 vocabulary words, and created an image out of other images to show what the meaning was. This is actually a project to get people to help computers recognize images. You can help by clicking on an image, and defining parts of it. A great way to get discussion going about almost anything. Read more aobut this at the ReadWriteWeb.
MIT Press has a recet book out on Augmented Learning. With e-learning and m-learning (mobile), and alternative reality games, there is a new movement to take the learning outside the classroom. This book provides research and suggestions on how to make that work in today’s educational situation.
Japan is the best place on earth to implement this kind of learning. Yet, it is almost unknown. I attended a Wireless Learning conference in Nagoya this weekend, and found that even pioneers are not using mobile learning. Asked by one of the keynote speakers from England, some replied that students were expected to sit at a desk to learn. With attendance requirements, I can understand this. It is almost impossible to take a field trip at my university. So sad, to be shuttered up in a closet-like room with nothing on the walls for input, one of the worst learning environments possible. Break free with this book.
Make up vocabulary and reading lessons in minutes from prepared texts. Lesson Writer. Here is something from their web page.