The Blog

To learn effectively, revision is essential. You need to look back on what you have studied because in order to retain new information, you need to review it. Phased learning is built into Learn10.

It would be impossible for us to function if we could recall every piece of information that we came across. Therefore, our brains have great strategies for assessing what information is important, and should be easily accessible in the future. Scientists suggest that those effected by Autism struggle with this very problem. One way we can train our brains is by reusing information, which signals that it is of higher importance. Phased learning is a way of working with the brain to aid prioritisation.

Premium members of Learn10 can review their learning at key points in time after the initial exposure. The points we pre-select are 2,10,30 and 60 days after initial learning. Revising at these key points makes a huge difference to the efficacy of learning activities. We have a free one week trial available on Learn10 if you would like to try out the system for yourself.

Enjoy your learning!

If you would like some help with how to use Learn10, we have produced some (rough) how-to videos which are available on YouTube:
Introduction

Do we have your language?

How to register

How to use Learn10

How we use Twitter

These videos are aimed at complete beginners and will help learners understand the different features available in the Learn10 system.

Learn10 uses Twitter and the Twitter API in a variety of ways, from  the more complex - sourcing examples of phases used by native speakers -  to simply chatting with members, listening to the conversation about Learn10 and participating where appropriate.

You can find me here; @learn10,  Mike is @widgetyegg and Jan is @janhorna.  We also have a blog account if you just want to keep informed of more official announcements, rather than our general chatter: @learn10blog. We keep our ear to the ground using an RSS feed from a search for Learn10 - which means that we can see when anyone mentions Learn10 on Twitter.

Each language on Learn10 has it’s own Twitter feed - so that members can get regular tweets containing their words.  We really do want our content to be everywhere!

In order to give learners example of the words in use by native speakers, we use content from Twitter. To see this, visit the Learn10 widget and click on the magnifying glass symbol on the right hand side of the word pair. This is one of the features of Learn10 I use every day because it helps me understand the language in a meaningful way.

Finally, we organise a word competition on Twitter called TweetCompete! Simply write a tweet including the hashtag #L10en including all 10 words for that day in their grammatically correct form. This exercise helps the brain process the learning task a little more and will aid your memory in future. You can visit our Facebook page to read more about it.

A quick video presentation about Learn10 on Twitter:

“No matter which service you go for, Learn 10 is a practical solution that deals with a traditionally difficult issue in a smooth way.”

“I was seriously impressed by what the people behind online language training service Learn10 are up to”

Apart from the shiny new logo, what else have we added to the user experience? The 10 second version:

“Learn10 gives you a learning habit that’s hard to kick. 10 new words; everywhere, every day. Power up your new language now.”

Why it’s new:

The problem we address is the high drop-out rate among adult language learners. We have created a system which enables members to quickly develop a durable learning habit. We create fresh, new content every day, limited to the length of a text message. We distribute this  across the web and beyond via a widget, iPhone webapp, Facebook, Twitter, RSS, affiliate ‘adverts’, email,  competitions, a windows screensaver & Seesmic videos.

We create user engagement in learning by encouraging cooperation and competition between learners. You can make and comment on recordings, publish your test results to Facebook, there’s a high score board as well as games such as Tweet Compete! via the hashtag #L10en. Our API allows other programmers to use the data in yet more creative ways. We have proved that limited, “perishable” content and human creativity combine to form formidable learning output.

What’s new:

• Daily email – your daily words delivered straight to your in-box.
• Learn – every day 10 new words to learn - now with live examples of the word in common use from Twitter.
• Test – with multiple choice answers you can now try to beat the clock, and other learners. Make this quick daily test part of your daily routine.
• Compete – test results appear on the scoreboard and you can post your score to your Facebook profile page to show off to your friends.
• Speak – can you pronounce your words? find out. Or record your words in your native language to help other learners. You can now make recordings using our built in Seesmic video recorder (& you can still make recordings using a phone if you don’t have a web cam).
• Listen – listen to videos and recordings from other learners, now you can see real native speakers with our daily word list videos.
• Directory – are you ready for more? Interesting tools & sites filtered by the language you are learning. You don’t need to search around for sites that teach your language because we’ve done this for you.
• Themes – give Learn10 a look to suit you, or your iPhone or iGoogle homepage.
• Hashtags – anyone can add daily content with the #L10 hashtag. Do you teach a language? If you use our daily word list you can tell Learn10 members to  check out your online materials.
• Tweet Compete! our competition for advanced learners -create a short message containing all ten of the daily words from Learn10 - fantastic prizes coming soon.
• IPhone – our free web app with learn, test, compete and translate functions. We’ll be adding more as soon as they add Flash.
• Translate – a handy translate function for words and common phrases (okay, this bit isn’t new - but now you can use it to back translate your word lists to check you can type them correctly).
• Speaking Teacher – with a premium subscriptions you get unlimited repeats, without a subscription you can use this function once a day.
• $ Screensaver – a windows screensaver with your daily word list to reinforce your learning when your computer is idle.
• $ Revise – your word history with phased learning. This function opens up the complete 1500 word list immediately for more ambitious learners. Premium members can choose to revise content from any day - but we select four key dates which will help you create long term memories.
• $* Daily SMS – *pre-register for this great new feature.

Learn10 was built using the feedback from our prototype: LearnItLists, combined with our experience of teaching & learning languages, programming, training and conducting advertising research.

Contact Nicola for more info.

There’s more information, screenshots, team photos etc  in the media pack:

http://www.learn10.com/media

Including these page links:

Company profile: http://www.crunchbase.com/company/learnit-lists
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolarobinsonova
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/learn10