The Best Free Training

Topic: Haitian Creole, (basic, practical language skills for travelers)
Format: Audio CD or download — 5 hours total, 30 minute lessons
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

If you’re going to be involved with any of the Haitian humanitarian efforts, you need to know about this great free resource from LearnOutLoud and Dr. Paul Pimsleur.   From the LearnOutLoud website (my bold added for skimming):

Compact Haitian Creole, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs, plus an introduction to reading…  What is the Pimsleur difference? The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Haitian Creole structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Haitian Creole can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.

Disclaimer:  I have not personally reviewed this product, but I know that LearnOutLoud regularly provides great quality stuff!

URL, Haitian Creole – http://www.learnoutloud.com/Product/H017755/81719

====== Related Reviews from The Best Free Training =======

Elementary French 1 (Carnegie Mellon) – http://www.bestfreetraining.net//?p=155

Spanish Steps [Beginner’s Course in Practical Spoken Spanish] — http://www.bestfreetraining.net//?p=265

Learn Spanish: A Free Online Tutorial – http://www.bestfreetraining.net//?p=75

BBC Skillswise: Basic Adult Reading, Writing & Math Skills [English] — http://www.bestfreetraining.net//?p=244

Kids complaining about nothing to do this summer? Then this collection of posts from The Best Free Training (originally published last December) may be worth a second look:

The First Annual Kid Stuff Collection

This is a PDF file containing 62 reviews and articles (more than 140 pages!) focusing on free training and educational resources for kids of all ages, from pre-school through college. Reviews include “hot links” so you can click & go directly to the resource’s website. Categories in this collection include:

• Fine Arts – 10
• Basic Computer Skills – 9
• Research Skills – 4
• General Learning Tools – 8
• Science – 6
• Math & Accounting – 4
• Writing & Languages – 7
• Brain Games & Challenges – 4
• Total Number of Reviews: 62 !!
• See full Table of Contents.
• Download Free Gift: First Annual Kid Stuff Collection (Approx. 1.5 MB PDF File*)
• * Requires free Adobe Reader… Click to download free Adobe Reader.

ENJOY!!

Topic:  Languages, exam preparation, cooking, and many more topics added all the time
Format: Live video classes, tutors, online community, and more
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

On this blog, we showcase great free training resources. In most of my posts, I use the word “free” to mean “at no cost.” However, when writing about eduFire I’m forced to expand my definition of “free” to include: “unencumbered… unrestrained.”  That’s because eduFire has set loose the power of teachers and learners from all over the planet to connect directly… with no institutional middle-man!

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Hurry! These gifts will be gone by the end of the 2008 Holiday Season!

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Topic: Basic, practical, spoken Spanish language training for people who speak English
Format: Interactive website with slide shows and many, many fun and challenging activities
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

This beautifully-produced, fun, and highly engaging course is part of a whole collection of resources from the BBC that will help you learn to speak Spanish as spoken in Spain. From the website: “Spanish Steps will introduce you to simple, spoken Spanish language. The language you’ll learn will help you to find your way, order meals, introduce yourself, etc and to understand predictable things that people will say to you.”

(Continued in Comment.)

FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence) is a new website devoted to making it easier to find teaching and learning resources from the United States federal government. Whether you are teaching yourself or teaching a classroom full of students, you can use this website to search “… more than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources … from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly.” (Continued in Comment.)

Topic: introductory (conversational) French
Format: video; audio; drag & drop activities; multiple-choice, matching, & completion exercises
Reviewer/email: Mike G – greers_pm@yahoo.com

French Online is a highly interactive video-based course that is “intended for use by university students and independent learners on the Internet.” Part of Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI), it is well-designed, engaging, and will help you learn to converse in French. (Continued in Comment.)