Homeschool Spanish Lessons - Online Learning

I’ve discovered some pretty cool technology lately, mainly how to create SWFs from .bat files using the Flex mxmlc compiler. I have a slew of great .bat files that also create XML from glossary word lists that I make for lesson units, so this has been awesome for creating Spanish words with embedded audio. I haven’t gotten to the really cool stuff yet like doing verb conjugation animations, adding images, including flipcard translations, etc, but none of that would be too hard. I do already have flashcard application, but having swfs that I could embed in other apps with a flip-able translation, audio toggle button, etc would be very cool. The most important thing is that I’m able to create this stuff rapidly and with few errors, since the computer is doing it all based on my Spanish – English wordlist.  One thing I did this weekend was to create a new numbers audio tool, since numbers can be a very tricky thing for people to really learn to manipulate well. You can know the patterns for numbers, have spent time practicing them, etc – but when you are faced with something like a ticket counter in a foreign country where they are throwing big numbers at you in rapid sequence, even the best studied person can freeze up a bit!

We’ve finally sorted out the problems with the singing animals and the animated storybooks  - I should have those changes uploaded today!

As a web developer I’m always looking for better ways to do things. More often than not, I have to use a combination of applications to achieve something – like using Crazytalk for animated videos; then Swish Video to convert them to .swf. And now I’m facing the same problem with Powerpoint, which won’t natively output a .swf file. You have to install any one of a number of plugins in order to achieve that. Most didn’t work at all with 64 bit Vista and Office 2007, and a couple work ok with Office Beta 2010, but don’t seem to be exporting the imported swfs properly. ¡Caramba!

For our new interface for the upcoming new Spanish e-learning system for my sites (including this one), I realized from the get go that a fantastic design was essential. Easier navigation, lessons that are laid out on a weekly basis, and easy access to all features the system has to offer are all key.  Since I’m no real designer, I knew I had to find somebody a lot more talented to help build this vision of form and function! Well for function you have programmers. I probably think a little more like a programmer. I’m fascinated by what stuff can DO. I don’t like to hear the phrase “can’t be done” when it comes to programming, because in fact almost anything within the laws of nature CAN be done, it just takes time!

I’ve gotten a bit sidetracked in the last couple of weeks with a new project that has shown me a whole new side to Flash and RIA programming. In a word: FLEX!

I’m not sure how it is that I was unaware at how much better a tool Flex is for interface and program development than flash. I’ve always used flash, and didn’t think to go looking for anything else. But as I’ve been planning for the restructuring of my lesson plans by weeks in order to make them more effective. People don’t seem to know what to do with the programs they way they are structured now – they see “Learn Spanish Verbs Fast”, “Musical Spanish” “FSI Interactive”, etc., and don’t even know where to begin. Well now they will now exactly where to begin, as I’m restructuring into 3 levels:

1. Clase de Niños – 10 Units
2. Beginning Spanish – Level 1 – 18 Weeks
3. Intermediate Spanish – Level 2 – 18 Weeks

I’ve used various stats programs since I put my first site online in 1999 – and Woopra blows me away. It’s obvious this thing was built from the ground up with CMS sites in mind, in stark contrast to the old style systems, even Google Analytics included.

I’ve hired people from various freelancer websites over the years – Guru, Getacoder, Elance, etc.  But the one I keep coming back to over and over again is Getafreelancer.com.

These guys out of Sweden I believe have built what has to be the largest network of talent in developing countries, with a lot of 1st worlders offering their services as well. You put up a project for bidding and within a day you’ll usually have at least 15 or 20 bids, many of them from people with extensive feedback/ratings.