Jenny Zhu Hank Horkoff

Jenny Zhu

Hank Horkoff

The Tablet Textbook & Language Graph

October 23, 2012

jenny.zhu@openlanguage.com

@jennyzq

hank.horkoff@openlanguage.com@hankfdh

• Founded 2005• World’s leading Chinese

training site• 800,000 users• 10,000+ students• 2500 lessons• Sold in January 2012

On LanguageAcquisition

• Globalization• Time•Motivations• How to learn• No magic solution

Shanghai, China

Key Problems for Language Students

Hard to Find Appropriate Input

• Level• Subject• Style

Shortage of Practice

Opportunities

Limited Time & Access

Motivation

Hard to Find Appropriate Input

• Level• Subject• Style

Hard to Find Appropriate Input

Conclusion

The Tablet Textbook

The Tablet Textbook

Structured Courses Lesson Review Study Tools

PlatformsThe Tablet Textbook is available for the iPad, iPhone and Android 4.0 devices.

‘Edutainment’ • Level-appropriate, natural input• Engaging delivery• Student empathy•Medium is the

message

Speech Validation

Validate

Dragon Mobile SDK

Intelligible? Yes/No

• Tell student• Store event data

Grammar

Spaced Repitition

Offline ModeThe “Offline Mode” of the Tablet Textbook allows students to study previously downloaded materials in places where there is no Internet access (e.g. on an airplane).

Green dots indicate if content is available offline for:• Course data• Lesson data• Media files• Term audio

Old & New Compared

Traditional Textbook Tablet Textbook

Lesson Input √ √

Multimedia With tape, CDROM or language lab

√

Review Activities (dialogue, vocabulary, expansion, grammar, exercises)

√ √

Re-mixable Courses √

Sentence Review Features (translate, breakdown, native speaker audio, audio recording, audio playback, speaking validation)

√

Ability to Save Vocabulary & Integrated Flashcards √

‘Intelligent Features’(cloud vocabulary, SRS flashcards, smart lesson recommendation engine) √

The Flipped Classroom

Source: Knewton

A Convenient Student Experience

1. Listen to a lecture on the morning commute. 2. Study the lesson for a few minutes at work.

3. Practice in class or over Skype (OPTIONAL). 4. Review vocabulary on the way home.

An Effective Way to Cut Costs

Lecture: Vocab Intro

Warm-up Practice with a Teacher

Lecture: Grammar & Structures

Review: Comprehension Questions

Review: Workbook Activities5 min 10 min 10 min 15 min 10 min 10 min

ClientCustomization

• Course materials•White-labeling• Case study

Language Learning Channels

The Language Graph

Lot’s of learning gets no credit

Tests - Static Snapshot, Pervert Motivations

The Language Graph

+

Mozilla Open Badges

Language Acquisition Event Tracking

<a href=“x” onclick=“_gaq.push([‘_trackEvent’, ‘Videos’, ‘Play’, ‘First Birthday’]);”>Play</a>

Similar to Google Analytics various language acquisition events can be tracked.

Sample Google Analytics Event Tracking Code:c

activity

category

action

label

value

Students Control Their ‘Backpack’

Backpack Event Data

API

Event Data

LearningPlatforms

(websites & mobile apps)

API

Event Data

Displayers(websites,

blogs, Facebook,

etc.)

Study Data Can Solve Problems

Alternative to Proficiency Exams?

‘Lean’ Language Acquisition?

4 Key Takeaways

1

2

3

4

Digital media is redefining the classroom experience enabling ‘flipped classroom’ models.

Industrial-era models for publishers and academic institutions will change.

Mobile is eliminating the ‘online’ & ‘offline’ differentiation.

Study data opens up the possibility of solving student problems in new ways.

Questions?

Jenny Zhu

Hank Horkoff

jenny.zhu@openlanguage.com

@jennyzq

hank.horkoff@openlanguage.com@hankfdh