Babbel.com – Learn French, German, Italian, Spanish or English (ESL

Babbel.com is a great website and community that lets you learn French, German, Italian, Spanish or English. You can also use the site to find new online friends or language partners that speak the language you want to learn.

http://www.babbel.com

BE A DIGITAL HOT SHOT!

Tech & Learning invites K-12 students to participate in Portraits of Learning, the seventh annual digital photography contest. The competition, open to all K-12 students, challenges you to capture – and share – your unique vision of the world. If you have an artistic side, you also have the option to digitally enhance your photos with your favorite imaging software. The best digitally enhanced photo wins a special prize from Adobe. Other prizes include a digital camera, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and more! CLICK HERE TO ENTER! DEADLINE: OCT. 1 Students are encouraged to enter multiple photos!     Sponsored by: For more information, such as rules, guidelines, tips and to view last year’s winners visit: Portraits of Learning.

Economics & Entrepreneurship: 2nd Life, eBay, and Lulu

I’ve been thinking lately just how easy it is for students to create a business. Not just a business on paper or a simulated business game. I’m talking about a REAL business with REAL money. So I have to follow-up Grant’s blog with what I think are some intriguing possibilities…

There are three eCommerce venues for businesses that I think have some student potential. One caveat: I haven’t tried this with real students, yet, so take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt – or several grains, if needed. I’m sure there are a thousand and one details to consider before doing this with students under the age of 18 – but let’s imagine someone has figured this out. The three venues are:

• eBay (http://www.ebay.com) Auctions or “sell now” storefronts
• Lulu (http://www.lulu.com) Print on demand books
• 2^nd Life (http://www.secondlife.com) Virtual World

 

The most obvious platform is eBay. There are a lot of tools for small businesses, and the learning curve is low. But even with something as simple as selling something for the first time through an auction, the learning experience would be terrific. Unless you pay for a “pro store” (http://www.prostores.com/ecommerce_eBay.html?referral_code=2587), you don’t need to pay for the experience until you sell something.

 

Similarly, the ability to create and sell custom, self-published books is EASY, and there’s no up-front commitment to buy any inventory. With print-on-demand services like Lulu, you can upload a book (or use their design templates), and they’ll set up a storefront for you. Because they use print-on-demand digital presses, they don’t make a book until one is ordered. You keep the net profit. The cost for a perfect bound, black and white paperback with color cover is surprisingly inexpensive. What a great way to create a fund-raiser for your school – wouldn’t every parent and grandparent want to buy a copy of “Our Class Poetry”?

 

The third (and strangest) venue is the Virtual World “Second Life”, where people interact in a 3D world as avatars. There’s a growing interest among educators in using 2nd Life as a “learning environment”, collaboration space, or professional development venue – but I’m curious if anyone is introducing their students to the entrepreneurship opportunities there. Second Life has its own currency, and people are creating virtual stuff (clothing for avatars, furniture, houses, buildings…) and selling them for virtual money (Linden Dollars). The virtual money can be exchanged for real money. I’m told that some people actually make a living there. Yikes!