Duolingo App Review III – It works extremely well

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I have been using the Duolingo app for three weeks now and know how to say more in Spanish than I ever thought was possible. The best part is that I do not sound like a complete idiot and my pronunciation is not too shabby at all. It is as easy as creating an account and advancing step by step through the language skills system. You progress through the different levels from basic language to tense and verb phrases. It can all be done at your own pace which makes it even better.

The true testament to this apps success is how extremely fun it is and how learning eventually feels like you are playing a game. In essence you actually are playing a game. You get three hearts to start with on each level. Each time you answer a question incorrectly, you lose a heart. If you get the answer wrong four times then you need to repeat the level.

Duolingo is a highly motivational app as it allows you to earn points that can be spent on making your own character owl look really cool. You can even get your friends to join you on your quest for knowledge and end up making really great challenges to help you learn. Making the learning experience fun and interactive whether on your own or in a group.

It is designed to teach you from the basics in the beginning to the more advanced in the end. No being thrown in the deep end and forced to swim. The lessons start with basics like male/female and move on to food and phrases. Once the easy part is over you move on to sentence structure and more challenging tasks. What I personally enjoyed was that it not only asked you to translate from Spanish to English but from English to Spanish as well. This really helped me grasp the language as I was now forced to write in it, not just merely guess the words.

My favourite and hands down best attribute to this app is the daily reminders that I receive reminding me of the winning streak I am on and why I should continue with my awesome progress. There is just no beating cheap compliments and a good nudge to keep you motivated. It is either you feel this way or extreme amounts of guilt for having ignored the message.

Duolingo is an entirely free application that can be downloaded onto your smartphone or ipad. It is structured in the best way that I have seen a language course layout. I am a walking and Spanish talking testament to how good this app works. I now feel confident and am determine to follow my three week not one day missed streak of language success. This app will continue to grow into an even more popular sensation once it adds more languages. Duolingo is the best language platform out there and everyone should be using it.

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Udacity App Review II – Not the best MOOC available

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I was born with a natural thirst for knowledge and have spent as much time as I can on consistently developing myself and learning new things. I know that I am most certainly not a minority and that there are many, who like myself, do not have enough time or finance to get another degree. The great thing about living in this day and age is that information is at our fingertips. There are so many different online qualifications you have to choose from.

Information is the one thing that has become more freely available. I have registered for my fair share of online courses before so I decided to give the Udacity app a try. I wanted to see if it was any better or worse than the ones out there already.

Udacity is what is referred to as a MOOC, this is the name given to any online institution that offers a study course to large groups. There are no admission requirements for such institutions and the student is getting a free certification. It is this factor that draws people into an app such as Udacity. It is designed in such a way that you can do the course at your own pace which is very important when we live such busy lives.

As impersonal as it may seem, there is actually a better level of feeling more involved with such courses. The lecturer is often available to answer questions or assist when possible. You do not feel as overwhelmed as what you would in a lecture hall of two hundred students. It does require however that you are self disciplined and motivated to work on your own. You can do anything from a beginners course to advanced and in a variety of different fields.

Once complete with your course you get what is known as a Statement Of Achievement which is a verified certificate. These can really boost your resume when looking for jobs in specific industries. It should be noted that these are considered a course experience when using the free version. When they say free it is limited to only certain available free courses. You can pay anything from $100 plus a month to buy access to a course, this in turn forces you to finish the course faster to avoid having to pay even more. In my opinion it is taking away from doing it at your own pace as now you rush to save money and understand less of the course work.

The Udacity app is growing in success each day and attracting more and more people. There are features I wish were available such as the ability to download the videos and watch them offline. The speed control would be great as well. Other than these tiny little issues, it is overall a pleasure to use and I really enjoy what I am learning. I just wish that when something said it was free that every part of it was. Some more categories of courses would be great as well.

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Duolingo App Review – The fun way to learn language

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I do not consider myself much of a linguist and that is surely not for lack of trying. I have on more than one occasion attempted the Pimsleur Language Guides or found myself buying phrase books only for them to collect dust on my bookshelves. My best friend, who is a linguist, spent hours torturing me with language CD’s in her car on the way out to a party. So far I can say only one sentence in 5 languages. Great help that does for when I actually need to say something it will be ‘Hi my name is’ or ‘Where is the bathroom?’.

I was a bit reluctant to now have to attempt another language learning programme. Duolingo is an application for your phone that you can sync to an account you create with them to track your progress. You can learn English, Spanish, French, Italian, German or Portuguese. The course is designed to be fun and let me tell you that from someone with my language history, this app is Awesome! The course work is designed in such a way that each phase you do only takes a few minutes at most.

I decided to tackle Spanish and found myself really entertained and absorbed for about 20 minutes just trying to get past phase 1. You get little hearts that accumulate at the top for each question you get right. If you do not get enough then you do not advance. The course has a really incredible layout with such stunning graphics.

Phase 1 takes you through pictures where you select the correct words, every click on the answer will say the word out in that language. You can also have an opportunity to translate the sentence and it all is really easy. There is a section where you select the missing word from multiple choice answers or translate the sentence. If you do not get enough hearts then a very sad owl tells you that you did not make it.

By simply just scrolling through the course material you will be so excited to see how they have laid everything out. The course starts with basics and divides all the material into such interesting sub categories. If you feel you know the work there is even an option to take a shortcut and advance to the level that is best suited to your language experience.

I am now for the first time really excited to learn a new language and not feel like a complete moron repeating phrases over and over again. Duolingo is designed with such great imagery and an extremely fun way of learning. It has now become a game to advance to the next level in each language and I am so entertained doing it.

This app should be commended for making such a useful way of learning and for making it so much easier to understand. I look forward to the hours of fun I am about to have learning a language that seemed so difficult before.

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Udacity App Review – Online education just got better

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I could not have been happier when I heard that Udacity became available for android. Now I have access to courses at my fingertips wherever I go, could it get better? Udacity is an app that is a testament to online learning and definitely one of the forerunners. This app is there for anyone who has a thirst for knowledge no matter what your interests may be.

I would especially consider forcing kids about to go to college to do some of their courses and get a taste for what they are in for.

You create an account and then read through the different courses available until you stumble across one that peaks your interest. You can find a detailed description of the course materials and the lecturer. The course material is also made up of videos of lectures and course material. Once you have made your choice, it is as easy as simply starting your course.

A huge benefit is that you can do these courses at your own pace and time. No stressful deadlines or teachers breathing down your necks. This is great as you can take your time and really ensure you grasp the course material. You choose the time in your day, whether you have 15min or an hour, it is all your choice. There is no age limit or credit restriction, the world of knowledge is available to you for a more affordable price than some of your other options.

The concept was that this style of learning would appeal to your more ambitious students who are self disciplined. Your options are endless, from how to design an app to the beginner basics of psychology. Your thirst for knowledge can be satisfied right in the palm of your hand. You even get a verified certificate upon completion that you can attach when applying for jobs to show you have the required skills. Udacity allows you to do the courses on a beginner, intermediate or advanced level.

The courses are more affordable than a college education would be. They even offer you the option of earning credits towards your fees. What a great way to motivate the world into learning without restrictions.

You can do some free courses and track your progress as you go. The videos auto-forwards once you have completed each one without you having to open them one at a time. There are many discussions you can join to communicate with others who are also taking advantage of this great learning experience.

The only downside that I can seem to point out is the fact that the app does not have an offline function. This would be really helpful for those situations when you do not have Wifi access. Not the end of the world though as most coffee shops these days have free Wifi anyway. So all you have to do is take a seat, have a cup of coffee and learn something you did not know before.

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