Some say the first human resources (HR)/ L&D guru was the Roman, Lucius Iunius Moderatus Columella. His tract on agriculture, ‘De re rustica’, written in the first century, could also be the world’s first management book.

Realising that effective people management was essential to make a farm productive, Columella recommended ‘family-friendly’ measures. He argued that happy workers give you a better performance. Unhappy workers might not walk away – not if they were slaves – but they could kill you.

Columella said that people respond best if they’re looked after and promised some reward. Sick workers need care. Cells, he said, should have natural light and workers needed durable, good quality, work clothes in which to perform their duties. He even suggested regular consultations between master and slaves.

His proposals focused on increasing productivity, especially via fostering worker loyalty and obedience. Importantly – when the prevailing approach was to manage by fear – ‘De re rustica’ recognised that people respond well to empathy, encouragement and empowerment.

Some 20 centuries later, similarly enlightened management practices still appear far from widespread. Workers continue to fear – failure, demotion, losing their competitive edge through failing to keep their knowledge and skill levels up-to-date and, ultimately, losing their jobs.

Yet we know that happier workers tend to be more productive and engaged – and you can make workers happier by investing in them by offering them L&D opportunities. They may stay longer with your team or organisation because they feel you value them by investing in their development. That reduces your organisation’s recruitment, selection and induction (onboarding) costs and can improve your organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness. ‘De re rustica’ may be the first management book but there are even older books on leadership – notably ‘Tao Te Ching’ by Lao-Tzu, along with Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’. Both books – written over 2,000 years ago – outline the principles of leadership, influence, negotiation skills and so on. All these books illustrate that there’s nothing new – and, if today’s leaders could apply just ten per cent of this wisdom, the world would be a better place.

Knowledge transfer

Humans had been using printing skills – in China – for 600 years before the 15^th century saw the invention of the printing press, in Germany. These skills – and subsequent refinements to ‘knowledge transfer technology’ – have helped to make knowledge increasingly widely available. But others have used these same skills and technologies to spread disinformation as propaganda or ‘fake news’. This counteracts or, at least confounds, some of the benefits of spreading the lessons of history.

Outsourcing

In a further dip into business-related history, the book, ‘A Distant Mirror’, by Barbara Tuchmann, which draws heavily on ‘Froissart’s Chronicles’, offers HR and L&D-related business truths from the 14^th century. Among these is that the 14^th century embraced – unconvincingly – the case for outsourcing.

At that time, the Italian city states decided that fighting wasn’t their core business. So, they outsourced this activity to groups of redundant knights and other disbanded professional soldiers, known as condottiere. The results weren’t encouraging.

The English condottiero, Sir John Hawkwood, appears to have been unusual in keeping to his agreement with whoever had hired him for the duration of the contract. Others, however, changed allegiance at the drop of a ducat – and even Hawkwood stated that, if the money wasn’t good enough, he was ready to turn out for the enemy in the next fighting season.

Dealing with these outsourced, freelance fighters required both considerable negotiating skills and a large budget. Some employers then – as is increasingly the case now, too – must have wondered whether all this outsourcing was worth the money and effort.

So, outsourcing – a popular option for the L&D function today – isn’t new. It appears a cheap option for something that’s not an organisation’s core business but, as the Italian city states discovered, outsourcing brings its own challenges and costs – and these can become troublesome and unacceptable. If so, it makes the process inefficient and uneconomic.

Downsizing

The 14^th century included widespread outbreaks of the Black Death – an ultimate downsizing exercise. Survivors benefitted because the reduction in the labour supply drove up wages. These surviving workers also began demanding other things – such as increased information. The subsequent invention of the printing press increased the supply of information and prompted challenging the authorities’ long-espoused views on ‘the way things are’. People questioned whether – and how – life could be made better. This led to the Renaissance and the Reformation which, in turn, prompted new technologies and, thus, industries, jobs and skills. The lesson is that, initially, downsizing may seem an unwelcome idea – particularly if you’re part of the downsizing exercise. Yet it can prompt new initiatives, technologies, skills and career opportunities.

Dress Codes

There were even laws about what people could wear in the 14^th century. These ‘sumptuary laws’ were, first, challenged and then ignored, as social change progressed.

So, ‘Dressing Down’ opportunities to be more relaxed in terms of business attire are far from modern inventions. Moreover, for many reasons – avoiding sexism among them – acceptable business dress codes are being increasingly challenged in this century in a similar way to the challenges to the 14^th century’s fashion laws.

History has lots to teach us – so why aren’t we learning these lessons?

We all know 15 minutes of exercise each day keeps us healthier but we don’t do it – because it’s easier not to. It’s the same with learning the lessons of history.

As an L&D professional, it’s easy to get distracted by new models and technologies – but we should ensure we understand and apply the basics.

About Bob Little

Having graduated from the University of Wales with a BSc in economics, Bob Little became a journalist and editor specialising in the corporate training/ learning sector. In May 1990, having founded his own public relations business, he was introduced to what became the corporate online learning technologies industry and has worked in this sector – worldwide – ever since as a writer, commentator and publicist.

Bob has advised many organisations around the world – ranging from niche companies to large, multi-national enterprises, including BBC Worldwide (UK), the Tata Group (India) and Lattanzio Group (Italy). He has spoken at conferences on corporate learning in the UK, the USA, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Germany. He has also chaired corporate learning related conferences in the UK, the USA, Croatia, Germany and Australia.

Where it achieves these things, performance improves and the organisation gains a competitive advantage.

Operational perspective

From an operational point of view, managers want to do and achieve more with less – working faster, better and/or quicker. They want to retain and develop their employees as well as address any regulatory requirements. This should result in increasing efficiency and productivity, reduced risk and increased customer satisfaction.

Chief executive officers want:

•             Revenue generation

•             Customer retention

•             Increasing market share

•             Competitive advantage

•             Reduced time to market

•             A lower number of ‘product recalls’

•             Reduced risk

•             Reduced costs

It’s helpful to align the organisation’s learning management system (LMS) to one or more of these factors. For example, you could show that ‘doing things better’ because workers are better trained will help retain customers and, by spending less time away from their desks doing training/ learning, the workers can serve more customers and increase their satisfaction with the organisation and its products.

The key is to align the learning business plan to the business’ goals – otherwise the business won’t put any money into an LMS.

But which comes first: the system or the content? Any system – such as an LMS, learning content management system (LCMS) or learning experience platform (LXP) – without learning content is like having air traffic control without aeroplanes, filing cabinets without paper, bookshelves without books or a fully fitted kitchen without any knowledge of how to cook.

Until you have learning content and people using it to learn things, there’s no point in trying to manage it.

LMS return on investment

Agreeing an accurate return on investment (ROI) from an LMS is difficult, principally because it’s impossible to measure the LMS’s ROI in isolation from every other factor.

There are only three ways to make money – and realise a positive ROI. You can buy things for less; sell them for more – or steal them. So, is learning content ever going to produce an ROI? Is ‘management’ going to bring an ROI? Is there even a breakeven point for ‘management’? Management is indivisible and, like premises, is a fixed cost of operating. Its costs can’t be apportioned fairly to different aspects of the business, such as learning.

An LMS is only ever part of making your organisation operate efficiently and effectively. It is not the entire solution. However, if you take any one of the seven factors that impact on a business – sales force productivity; customer and partner training; developing and retaining employees; regulatory compliance; enterprise software implementations; quality initiatives, and strategic communications – an LMS should be shown to pay for itself within a year.

Moreover, having bought an LMS, how do you decide whether it was money well spent? Do you evaluate this in terms of the cost per user or the cost per lesson? How do you measure the ROI? And do you merely want the system to ‘break even’ in terms of an ROI or to do more? Maybe you should look at the number of learning events in the system rather than the number of users?

If you have, say, 500 users doing ten learning events a day, you can manage this without having recourse to a ‘system’ – but 500 users doing thousands of learning events each day will be unmanageable without a system.

Acquiring a ‘system’

A typical decision process to acquire a management system involves having the evaluation of the requirement, a request for information (RFI) and a request for a quotation (RFQ). You go to shows, get brochures and, mainly, do research via the internet, reading articles such as this one.

If you ask vendors – and every one of them is always a ‘leader in the field’ – they’ll say that you should buy their product. But vendors are really saying, ‘buy my product because it’s the only one I have’, rather than ‘buy my product because it’s the best’. Of course, any system is the best there is if it fits exactly with what you want it to do.

You should go to the market with an RFI; yet many buyers make the mistake of going for an RFQ first. Once you have the information, you need to match it to your requirements and then – once you’ve found a product that matches your requirements – go for an RFQ.

The question is, which vendor do you trust?

There are four types of vendor in this market: those which are product-led; consultancy-led; ‘manufacturer-offered’ and ‘independent-offered’. Each will have a different ‘angle’ and it’s worth bearing that angle in mind when dealing with each of them.

You could make your buying decision on how many industry awards these vendors have won. However, you need to remember that, in this field, industry awards go to those who propose themselves for them – and other ‘league tables’ are based on revenue. This means that the most expensive companies are at the top!

You need to decide whether the most expensive companies are the best and whether the best instructional designer is the one with ‘the most colours in the box’.

Top ten purchasing mistakes

The top ten purchasing mistakes in the learning sector are:

• Skirting senior management until it’s too late (and so failing to get management ‘buy in’ to the project)
• Failing to spell out exactly what you need the management system to do.
• Comparing ‘apples’ and ‘oranges’.
• Excluding the in-house IT department until it’s too late.
• Focusing on price rather than value – the ROI focuses on price, whereas you should be asking what value is attached to the project and, so, assess the ‘value return’, not the return on price.
• Overlooking scalability.
• Ignoring LMS interoperability – in other words, falling into the trap of having more than one LMS in your organisation and the systems not communicating with each other, thus reducing the value of having these LMSs.
• The vendor’s track record – you should ask to speak to a vendor’s dissatisfied customers as well as their satisfied ones.
• Automating dated business processes – you need to understand whether you’re merely automating what already exists or are introducing a system that will enable the organisation to make progress.

A checklist

A checklist for getting the ‘right’ management system for your organisation is:

• Decide what’s available to you.
• Involve everyone.
• Learn the industry jargon.
• Speak to those who’ve implemented other systems and find out what benefit they expected – and what they actually received.
• Design your own RFI. Ask yourself: ‘does this system already do what I want or does it have to be created? If it has to be created, you’re at ‘version 1.0’ again and you would be right to become cautious.
• Compare like with like.
• Create your own RFQ.
• Speak to the clients (those who’ll actually be using the system).
• Re-evaluate from the top down – then ask yourself, ‘is this the right thing for us?’ If it is, sign the cheque.

About Bob Little

Having graduated from the University of Wales with a BSc in economics, Bob Little became a journalist and editor specialising in the corporate training/ learning sector. In May 1990, having founded his own public relations business, he was introduced to what became the corporate online learning technologies industry and has worked in this sector – worldwide – ever since as a writer, commentator and publicist.

Bob has advised many organisations around the world – ranging from niche companies to large, multi-national enterprises, including BBC Worldwide (UK), the Tata Group (India) and Lattanzio Group (Italy). He has spoken at conferences on corporate learning in the UK, the USA, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Germany. He has also chaired corporate learning-related conferences in the UK, the USA, Croatia, Germany and Australia. His current clients include eCom Learning Solutions (https://ecomlearningsolutions.com/). eCom, which produces the eNetLearn LMS, creates innovative learning solutions – aimed at increasing learning engagement and driving productivity – to help organisations achieve their goals.

Building a culture of compliance is a core part of any modern learning and development (L&D) strategy but, believes Linda Steedman, Chair of eCom Learning Solutions, one of the UK’s leading digital learning and assessment specialists, it’s important to agree the terminology – and its meaning – that your organisation will use.

Linda explained, “Many words – such as ‘attainment’, or even ‘competence’ and ‘competent’ – have similar meanings but can be construed differently. Using different terms across systems, processes, teams, and departments can cause confusion. Understanding what you deem to be the minimum level of evidence your organisation is willing to accept to have a person identified as competent is key to ensuring that your competency definitions and resulting framework will be successful.”

Linda advises that, when writing competency definitions, first determine the evidence required. Create a list of the evidence that will determine if a person meets the requirements that someone in their role/learning needs to achieve. Then figure out how they’ll acquire this evidence by identifying tasks, activities, and sets of knowledge in their day-to-day activities. Ask:

•   How would a person practice these activities to
improve their performance?

•    What programs, policies, and procedures are involved
in generating evidence?

•    Are there any pre-determined standards or
accreditation body, legal or government regulations
that apply?

Understanding how to measure 21^st century skills performance has become a hot topic since we now understand how important psychological safety is for hybrid working and collaborating with others.  As technology takes on repetitive tasks, people are more likely to work in teams requiring 21^st century skills such as cooperation, collaboration, communications, and so on. These are becoming known as transferable skills as they can be used in most job roles.

“It’s not unusual these days for people to work on projects in small teams,” said Linda. “In these cases, individual measures are important to quantify because each person makes a big difference to how the project progresses. Evidence is required for two types of measures to get a full picture of the person’s contribution: functional skills and transferable skills. Functional skills are where knowledge and technical skills are assessed by collecting evidence of an individual’s level of capability. Transferable skills are where behaviors and attitudes are evident. This can be more complex – as people have good days and bad days – so using evidence from a single instance might be unfair. As with all competencies, working out what’s expected is key to understanding what type of evidence you’re willing to accept.” 

According to Linda, one way to assess these factors is by using the Talent Transformation Pyramid. This holistic model offers a shared vocabulary for discussing the 12 factors that support competencies. It provides a means of evaluating individuals, teams, and organizations to assess their current performance, identify appropriate interventions and determine their readiness for the world of work. Working with this model offers clarity and direction for diagnosing skills deficits, harvesting actionable evidence, improving performance, and optimising organisational effectiveness.



In Linda’s view, the main questions to consider for a job role are:

•       What learning experiences are, or need to be made, available?

•       Have you expressed the set of values you expect the person to aim to meet?

•       Are your processes of review or feedback open and transparent?

•       Are individuals prepared to accept and understand expressed emotions?

•       Do your support structures underpin your workplace culture?

•       Do your support structures support psychological safety?

•       Do your reviews identify where complex ideas, planning, reasoning, problem solving and abstract thinking are taking place?

Answering these questions helps identify when and how evidence can be gathered. Focusing on the evidence to be collected can help you discard old practices that don’t provide value and will encourage new, simpler methods that focus on getting results.

Credentials – usually offered by an accrediting body – provide formal recognition of evidence for completing a set of tasks relating to knowledge, skills, abilities and/or behaviours. Informal and formal micro-credentials are becoming popular and can be taken as evidence that a person has met an agreed and approved standard. This might be recognized by a digital badge or in-house certificate for completing a course, or passing a test, signed-off by a qualified individual.

Linda explained that, during the process of tracking individuals’ competence, multiple pieces of evidence will be collected to establish and demonstrate performance. One piece of evidence may be mapped to many competency definitions or their associated individual tasks. Types of evidence are:

•       Observations

•       Witness testimony

•       Certifications

•       Credentials

•       Performance tests

•       Reports

•       Publications

•       Feedback

•       Self-generated notes, blog posts.

•       Customer and employee satisfaction surveys,
360 questionnaires

•       Financial and production data

•       Safety records

“It’s important to create competency definitions and competency frameworks that give reliable results every time,” said Linda. “Your organisation must be confident that using the framework is not just a ‘tick-box’ exercise that brings no value to anyone.”

Once you’ve established a reliable process to gather evidence of competency, you can turn to the rest of the competency framework. This is covered in the next article (“Making a Framework for Competency”).

Author biography

Bob Little PR’s Specialist Re-imaginer, Bob Little is a UK-based writer, commentator and publicist, specializing in the corporate learning industry. Introduced to the corporate online learning technologies industry in May 1990, Bob now works globally. He advises organizations including the digital learning and assessment specialist, eCom Learning Solutions, which creates solutions aimed at increasing learning engagement and driving productivity to help organizations achieve their goals.

In particular, technology-delivered assessment – eAssessment – offers organisations cost savings, greater convenience and ease of marking compared with a traditional paper-based assessments. Moreover, in addition to speeding up qualification-awarding process, eAssessment can be less open to manipulation – making it more reliable and trustworthy in terms of regulatory and compliance issues.

According to Linda Steedman, CEO of the digital learning and assessment specialist, eCom Scotland, organisations that use eAssessment can benefit in ten ways:

1. Administration is reduced. Before the exam, eAssessment saves time on printing and distributing exam documentation. Relevant information can be sent via email and, depending on the question types used, L&D professionals don’t need to spend hours marking papers and coordinating the delivery of results. Furthermore, an eAssessment solution which includes digital micro-credentialing – where digital ‘badges’ are issued to recognise skills and knowledge gained – avoids logistical challenges involved with issuing paper certificates. For security, micro-credentials include a unique code and meta-data allowing accredited centres, potential employers, organisations and individuals to confirm the credentials are valid and identify the credential-issuing organisation.
2. Trainers can develop candidates’ competency. With eAssessment, L&D professionals can spend longer developing a candidate’s future skills because they spend less time preparing and marking exams. Most modern assessment systems – including eCom Scotland’s eNetAssess – allow developers to create a large question bank which can be set so every candidate gets a random selection of questions. This helps minimise question order bias and improve the assessment’s overall quality. Question bank compilers can work collaboratively, regardless of where they are in the world, to update or add questions to keep the question bank fresh and relevant.
3. Tools to create accessible assessments. Using eAssessments, L&D professionals can make assessments accessible – for example, by changing background color or font size. The platform can be programmed to allocate extra time to specific candidates, if required. Tools such as navigation features and screen readers can be used to aid understanding along with other tools, such as voice recognition, that help with question answering. Not limited to the assessment stage, these tools can be applied to the digital learning materials made available before the eAssessment is taken. These changes in tutor practice and IT infrastructure can enhance – and transform – the way a person learns.
4. Reporting. Using eAssessment gives organisations access to quick, clear reports on each candidate’s progress, identifying areas of strength and areas for further learning. L&D professionals can generate reports on how questions are being answered – to spot questions that may need changing, because they are too easy or difficult. Reports can be generated on assessment completion rates across the organisation and by department – to provide accurate, up-to-date reports for compliance/ regulatory purposes.
5. Assessment becomes eco-friendly. Going paperless – via eAssessment – eliminates printing and transporting exam-related papers. There’s less need to travel to and from exam locations – so organisations’ and candidates’ carbon footprints are greatly reduced.
6. Candidates get direct, immediate feedback. Many professionals believe that feedback is most effective when delivered as soon as possible after both formative and summative assessments. Automatic marking reduces marking time. In some cases, results can be delivered to candidates on the day of the assessment. This helps L&D professionals assess large numbers of candidates more easily. It also allows candidates to re-book immediately any tests they haven’t passed. This can be particularly helpful where compliance/regulatory issues are concerned.
7. Taking exams digitally is now preferred. Globally, people are increasingly accustomed to using technology. Using technological devices as part of our daily lives, both at work and leisure, means we’re familiar with this way of working and are, arguably, now more comfortable interacting via technology than with paper and pen. eAssessments could even make candidates more relaxed and engaged when taking exams.
8. Increased security. While managing and maintaining the security and safety of traditional exam paperwork can be stressful, many L&D professionals are sceptical about ensuring security with eAssessments. The best of todays’ eAssessment platforms – including eNetAssess – store all data safely and securely. For example, eNetAssess prevents candidates navigating to other websites, closing down the browser or opening any applications. It uses the latest encryption techniques and employs new security tools as they become available.
9. Offering flexibility, scalability and worldwide reach. Easily scaled to meet the needs of any size of organisation, eAssessments enable candidates, regardless of location, to take exams via mobile phone, tablet or PC. So, candidates can use the most convenient device for them or one that best suits the assessment type. Moreover, some eAssessment platforms, including eNetAssess, offer a secure offline option, enabling testing centres with internet connectivity issues to offer the same eAssessment experience as those using online assessment.
10. Notable cost savings. According to eCom Scotland’s calculations, switching to eAssessment can reduce costs by up to 43 per cent. Traditionally, key areas of assessment that incur cost are:
    • Creation -Test design, item development and subject matter experts’ travel expenses.
    • Production –Printing, collating, posting papers and handling these papers at the testing centre.
    • Delivery -Venue and equipment hire, security, special needs adaptation, and posting papers to the test administrators’ headquarters.
    • Invigilator and Administration –Invigilators’ and test administrators’ costs.
    • Travel for quality assurance/site audit -Hotel costs, subsistence and travel.
    • Marking and scoring -Posting papers to the markers; marking assessments; posting papers from markers to administration centres, and post-marking moderation activity.
    • Certification -Certificate creation and posting.

“In addition,” believes Linda Steedman, “eAssessment can encourage active learning, especially when the assessment delivery is innovative and engaging. Using visuals and audio can help candidates focus on the exam subject matter, rather than looking at a long string of words, page after page – which can strain the brain. Content can have a variety of question types, making it easier to suit all types of assessment needs.”

By Bob Little

Author biography
Bob Little is a UK-based writer, commentator and publicist, specialising in the corporate learning industry. Introduced to the corporate online learning technologies industry in May 1990, Bob now works globally, advising and helping promote organisations including the digital learning and assessment specialist, eCom Scotland, which creates solutions aimed at increasing learning engagement and driving productivity to help organisations achieve their goals.

Nejen streamované video, ale i podcast

Jako pedagogové čelíme různým výzvám spojených s digitalizací výuky. Učíme se postupně bravurně ovládat aplikace pro online výuku a online konzultace se studenty (MS Teams, ZOOM, SKYPE, Whatsapp apod.) Prostředí streamované (přímo přenášené) online výuky však může být poněkud stresové, což může např. vést i k tomu, že si studenti instrukce pedagoga k domácí přípravě nezapamatují zcela přesně. Řešením může být audio nahrávka s hlasem učitele. Můžeme ji využít jak pro zadání domácího úkolu, tak i pro instrukce ke cvičením či výkladu samotné látky.

Pro audio nahrávku v českém prostředí pomalu zdomácňuje pojem „podcast“. Je to akronym[1] a skládá se z názvu iPod, tedy legendárního přehrávače hudby od firmy Apple, a anglického slovesa „broadcast“, což znamená vysílat. Audio soubory převážně ve formátu MP3 (ale i M4a, WAV či jiné) jsou umísťovány do příslušného prostředí na internetu.

Podcasting ve výuce

Podcasting s nejrůznějším tematickým zaměřením připravují lektoři kurzů, ale např. i univerzity v rámci neformální výuky. Mnohé z univerzitních podcastů zahraničních univerzit je možné sledovat např. v App Store či Google Play v příslušné aplikaci, a to zcela zdarma. Ani některé české univerzity nejsou v tomto ohledu pozadu a poskytují svým studentům přednášky v audio formě. Někteří pedagogové mají dokonce svůj vlastní audio blog.

Proč bychom podcasting nezačali využívat i na základních a středních školách a ve zvýšené míře i na univerzitách? Audio soubor můžeme nahrát na příslušné místo ve školní aplikaci či do LMS[2] systému (např. ve školách hojně rozšířený Moodle). Další možností je odeslat audio nahrávku do určitého objemu dat jako přílohu e-mailu.

Příprava audio nahrávky pro výuku

Existuje velké množství amatérských i profesionálních, bezplatných i placených softwarových aplikací pro přípravu nahrávky. Zde je informativní výčet několika z nich:

• Audacity (bezplatné open-source řešení)

Popis: velmi praktický audio editor s řadou funkcionalit ke stažení zde.

• Skype recorder

Popis: automaticky nahrává Skype hovory

• mobilní aplikace ve vašem telefonu typu „Diktafon“

Popis: bývá již předinstalován s koupí telefonu, další aplikace pro nahrávání zvuku je možné stáhnout na App Store či Google Play.

• Audition (profesionální program od společnosti Adobe)

Popis: profesionální audio výstup, široké možnosti editace, možnost předplatného v rámci Adobe Creative Cloud, školy mají speciální slevy.

• Free M4a to MP3 Converter X

Popis: jednoduchý a intuitivní software pro převod formátu M4a na MP3 (a WAW); možno bezplatně získat zde.

Jednoduché řešení pro pedagoga

Pedagog pro účely podcastingu ve školní výuce potřebuje něco jednoduchého a ideálně finančně nenáročného. Intuitivní ovládání je samozřejmostí. Zde je jedno velmi jednoduché řešení.

Co k tomu potřebujeme?

• chytrý telefon
• aplikaci Dropbox (nebo jiné úložiště dat)
• software na převod M4a na MP3

Do předinstalované aplikace „Diktafon“ v mobilním telefonu namluvíme text. Používáme-li mobilní telefon iPhone, vznikne soubor ve formátu M4a, který je obvykle velmi čistá nahrávka s malým objemem dat výsledného souboru. Avšak většina přehrávačů, které mají příjemci audia běžně k dispozici ve svém počítači, přehrává soubory ve formátu MP3. A tak výsledný soubor pomocí funkce „sdílet“ odešleme ze svého mobilního telefonu do počítače do aplikace Dropbox, kde jsem si předem připravili složku „Audio“.

Následně otevřeme program Free M4a to MP3 Converter X, převedeme nahrávku do formátu MP3 a nahrajeme do školního systému či odešleme jako přílohu e-mailem. Běžná velikost přílohy e-mailu bývá obvykle limitována velikostí souboru 10 MB. Potřebujeme-li větší soubor, můžeme využít bezplatné aplikace www.uschovna.cz . Ta generuje odkaz na stažení, který můžeme zaslat celé třídě/skupině studentů. Soubor je archivován běžně 30 dnů, což znamená, že nahrávku si studenti mohou stáhnout kdykoliv v průběhu jednoho měsíce.

Samozřejmě, je možné pořídit zvukový záznam v některém z jiných softwarových programů (např. Audacity), která má přímý výstup ve formátu MP3. Potřebujeme k tomu pouze počítač s připojeným mikrofonem.

Několik tipů na závěr

Je samozřejmé, že nahrávku pořizujeme v nerušeném prostředí. Třešničkou na dortu je například krátká znělka na začátku každého podcastu. A rada na závěr? Usmívejte se na mikrofon. Váš hlas bude příjemný a bude z něj vyzařovat optimismus a pohoda.

Pokud podcasting v rámci výuky již využíváte, podělte se o své zkušenosti na našem profilu na Facebooku. Těšíme se na vaše postřehy a komentáře.

[1] Zkratkové, ale zároveň svébytné slovo, které lze jako jedno slovo vyslovit.

[2] LMS = Learning Management System, tj. systém řízení studia. Na školách a univerzitách je velmi rozšířená bezplatná aplikace MOODLE.

Znalost angličtiny a dalších jazyků – tím míníme tu opravdovou, poctivou znalost – je vstupenkou do zcela jiného života. Jaký je to život? Sami to zajisté tušíte…

Především je to život zajímavý: mohu si přečíst nejnovější informace ze všech oborů v angličtině neprodleně po jejich zveřejnění.

Dále je to život plný příležitostí: mohu reagovat na jakoukoliv pracovní nabídku. Pouhé porovnání pracovních pozic s angličtinou a bez angličtiny poskytuje okamžitý přehled o tom, jaká bude vaše životní úroveň.

Chcete se vydat na vědeckou dráhu? Bez angličtiny se členem mezinárodního vědeckého týmu nestanete, bez angličtiny asi jen těžko něco vynaleznete, neboť nejnovější informace ze všech oborů jsou publikovány v angličtině.

Chcete cestovat? Znalost angličtiny vám to velmi usnadní. Nebudete se bát cestovat sami, všechny nápisy pro vás budou srozumitelné, ale především si budete moci skutečně popovídat s lidmi v dané destinaci, což může být nejen zajímavé, obohacující, ale může to být zdrojem nových příležitostí.

Chcete si založit strojírenskou firmu? Ano, velmi potřebné, ale vaši nejlukrativnější zákazníci vám budou zasílat poptávky i výkresy v angličtině. Chcete si pořídit moderní strojní vybavení? Software bude většinou pouze v angličtině. Znalost angličtiny bude vaší velkou konkurenční výhodou.

…a tak bychom mohli pokračovat, neboť každé povolání od diplomata po kadeřnici je plné zajímavých příležitostí, pokud dobře zvládáte angličtinu a ideálně ještě minimálně jeden cizí jazyk.

A jak se angličtinu učíme v současnosti?

Představy většiny lidí o studiu cizího jazyka je plné zastaralých představ a mýtů, které dnes již nemají své opodstatnění. Dnešní zajímavá doba plná technologických vychytávek nám poskytuje celou škálu možností, jak se učit efektivně. Odborníci na výuku jazyků uplatňují celou řadu nových metodických postupů, které studujícího dovedou k cíli mnohem rychleji, než tomu bylo dříve.

Bez slovíček to nepůjde

Na běžnou domluvu s cizincem toho nepotřebujeme moc a vystačíme si s některou chytrou mobilní aplikací. Ale na uskutečnění některého z vysněných cílů to bez studia slovíček skutečně nepůjde. Jejich znalost, automatické vybavování v momentě, kdy je potřebuji, a schopnost přesně vyjádřit svou myšlenku nám dává určitý druh svobody v našem vyjadřování a minimálně skvělý pocit.

Seznamte se s novými studijními pomůckami

Jednou z nich je software na testování slovní zásoby DRILL s automatických vyhodnocením úspěšnosti. Stačí být dobře vybaven a můžete efektivně využívat čas potřebný ke studiu. Všechno půjde tak rychle, že budete sami překvapeni svými skvělými výsledky.

Je to opravdu jednoduché…stačí si nainstalovat program na testování slovíček

https://www.educationshop.cz/41-program-na-testovani-slovni…

a vybrat slovíčka pro malé i velké ve formě připravených databází pro program DRILL.

https://www.educationshop.cz/8-databaze-slovicek-pro-drill

A jak na to? Podívejte se, jak se učí celá rodina a ještě u toho mají zábavu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URj8nOHrFUY&t=17s

A máme pro vás tip: pokud jste nenašli mezi nabízenými databázemi právě tu vaši učebnici, máte dvě možnosti: buď si databázi se slovíčky vyrobíte sami (program je dostatečně flexibilní), nebo nám napište, o kterou učebnici se přesně jedná. Víme, že to je někdy obtížné, mnoho zahraničních učebnic používaných na našich školách a jazykových kurzech nedisponuje anglicko-českým slovníčkem. Stále pracujeme na dalších databázích, abychom mohli uspokojit co největší počet našich klientů.

A možná ještě jeden tip pro rodiče: až přijdete domů z práce, vaše ratolesti se mohou hned pochlubit „print screenem“ (fotografie obrazovky) s výsledkem jejich práce na nové lekci (na kolik % byli úspěšní), což může být velmi zajímavý výchovný motivační nástroj.

Máte další otázku? Neváhejte a napište na drillotazka@educationonline.cz  .

Za tým spolupracovníků Education online vám přeje hodně úspěchů v efektivním studiu

Ladislava Knihová

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O vývojových poruchách učení bylo napsáno již hodně odborných i populárně-naučných článků. Často v nich najdeme doporučení navštívit speciálního pedagoga, což může zásadním způsobem pomoci v prvotní orientaci rodičů, co pro svou ratolest mohou udělat. Najít však metodu učení, jak vašemu dítěti pomoci tak, aby pro něj učení bylo stále spíše hrou a nikoliv nepříjemnou povinností, není tak docela jednoduché. Obzvláště angličtina bývá kámen úrazu. Jedno účinné řešení bychom však rodičům chtěli nabídnout.

Dysgrafik a cizí jazyk na prvním stupni

Znalost angličtiny má v očích rodičů vysokou prioritu, avšak o metodách, jak se cizí jazyk efektivně naučit není obecně mezi laiky příliš mnoho známo, obzvláště pak o moderních metodách. Soustřeďme se však jen na to, jak pomoci dítěti, které bylo diagnostikováno jako dysgrafik. Jak už to často bývá, mnoho užitečných metod, postupů, ale i vědeckých objevů bylo učiněno náhodou. Náhoda sehrála svou roli i v našem případě.

Paní Jana pracuje v exportní firmě a zcela cíleně se sama stále vzdělává v angličtině. Bez ohledu na to, zda její zaměstnavatel momentálně poskytuje či neposkytuje zaměstnancům možnost jazykových kurzů na pracovišti, paní Jana zcela systematicky věnuje svůj čas i finanční prostředky soukromému studiu angličtiny. Protože se jedná o individuální kurz, je možné se na vše detailně zeptat. Jednou si paní Jana postěžovala, že její – v té době přibližně desetiletý – syn, má potíže s angličtinou. Doporučila jsem jí „terapii“ pomocí jednoduchého softwarového programu DRILL, který mnoho mých studentů využívá ke studiu slovní zásoby. Paní Jana, která sama využívá tento program pro zvládnutí své obchodní angličtiny, se skutečně touto radou inspirovala a začala sama vytvářet databáze „na míru“ svému synovi, tedy přesně ta slovíčka a krátké fráze, které probírali v jeho hodinách angličtiny ve škole. Jednoduchost a intuitivnost ovládání výukového programu a postupné stoupání zátěže přineslo své ovoce. Malý Pavel přinesl výborné vysvědčení, které mu známka z angličtiny již nekazila. Navíc si angličtinu oblíbil a dokonce s maminkou v roli kouče stále objevuje nová a nová anglická slovíčka a jednoduché fráze.

Jak s programem DRILL pracovat

Postup je zcela jednoduchý a video návod si můžete prohlédnout zde.

Detailní informace jsou součástí popisu produktu a můžete si je přečíst zde.

Metodický návod, jak postupovat krok za krokem, je potřeba dodržet a občas malého studenta zkontrolovat, zda vše dělá správně.

Funkce Print Screen, aneb vyfoť obrazovku

Naši malí studenti často již od předškolního věku umějí pracovat s programem Malování a znají funkci Print Screen, což je název klávesy a zároveň i její funkce, která zjednodušeně řečeno vyfotí aktuálně zobrazený obsah na obrazovce počítače. Této funkce využívá řada rodičů, kteří takto „kontrolují“ pokroky svého potomka. Po návratu z práce domů si prohlédnou print screen obrazovky, a hned vědí, jak jejich malý student pokračuje ve studiu. Obrazovku student vyfotí v momentě, kdy program nabídne automatické vyhodnocení úspěšnosti práce s danou lekcí slovíček, které je uvedeno v procentech. Stejně dobře nám poslouží i funkce „Výstřižky“, která nabízí ještě jednoduší způsob získání obsahu obrazovky.

Krasopis vás nenaučíme, ale angličtinu ano

Malý Pavel není zdaleka naším jediným studentem s dysgrafií, je však vzorovým příkladem situace, že i původně diagnostikovaný dysgrafik může mít úspěchy v angličtině. Vzhledem k tomu, že se jedná o jednoduchý softwarový výukový program, tento program vaše dítě nenaučí úhlednému krasopisu, ale bude umět velmi brzy s přehledem a rychle psát na klávesnici počítače a písmenka ve slovech bude vždy psát na správném místě.

Program DRILL pro výuku jazyků   

Vzhledem k tomu, že se profesně věnuji výuce odborné angličtiny, jejíž zvládnutí bývá pro studenty poměrně tvrdý oříšek, program DRILL využívám jako metodickou pomůcku mnoho let a pro studenty připravuji hotové databáze odborné slovní zásoby. Mají to jako „naservírováno na stříbrném tácku“ a výsledky jsou obdivuhodné.

Nové databáze slovíček a frází stále připravujeme.

Výukový softwarový program DRILL je určen nejen pro angličtinu, ale můžete jej s úspěchem využít pro jakýkoliv jazyk, jehož písmo zvládne vaše klávesnice.

Program DRILL nabízíme ve dvou variantách: jako produkt určený ke stažení do vašeho počítače a jako produkt na flash disku, který Vám rádi zašleme. Navštivte příslušnou kategorii v našem e-shopu na adrese www.educationshop.cz

Přednášky pro rodiče

Vzhledem k velkému zájmu o tuto problematiku připravujeme sérii přednášek pro rodiče, které budou tematicky zaměřeny na výukové metody vhodné pro studium angličtiny.

Individuální konzultace pro studenty angličtiny

Individuální konzultace pro studující angličtiny již probíhají. Dokážeme nabídnout řešení i pro „věčné začátečníky“, popř. orientaci ve výběru vhodné učebnice nebo mobilní aplikace pro individuální studium.

PhDr. Ladislava Knihová, MBA

lektorka angličtiny a metodický poradce výuky cizích jazyků

Abstract:

Multimedia is a reality of today’s media world. It makes our life more exciting and media messages more attractive and memorable. There is no need for expensive technical equipment. With a smartphone and a few mobile applications, we can get our creative juices flowing. The aim of this paper is to identify and explore existing mobile applications suitable for implementation into Media Studies, including teaching methods and activities helping to meet learning goals. Media Studies is an intellectually challenging contemporary study programme. Its graduates influence our socio-cultural reality to a large extent. Therefore partial innovations of its syllabus in harmony with the latest trends can significantly contribute to a higher quality of media outputs at all levels. The author carried out detailed research into a number of mobile applications, with regards to their strengths and potential weaknesses. Not only awareness of their existence but, mainly, the possibility of their active use in seminars is the goal of this paper. Mobile applications examined in this study evenly cover areas such as news, story building, photo editing, audio/video editing, and, last but not least, blogging. The author is fully convinced that the specifics of smartphone-mediated interactions versus face-to-face learning require further research that will shed light on these issues as the picture is still incomplete.

Key words:

Blogging, learning goals, media studies, mobile application, multimedia, socio-cultural reality, story building, video/audio editing.

1           Digital skills for 21^st century and a human being

The nature of socio-cultural reality around us is directly influenced by technological innovations to a large extent. However, in the middle of this happening, there is an imperfect man with all his emotions, hopes and fears for whom the speed of technological progress represents a huge challenge. The impact of new technology on people and the society as a whole is being researched from many aspects. Among many researchers specializing in digital technologies and new communication platforms, Javier Serrano-Puche,   Assistant   Professor   at   the   School   of Communication of the University of Navarra (Spain) and visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science in his research explores the nature and importance of social impact of digital technologies on people. In his paper “Emotions and Digital Technologies: Mapping the Field of Research in Media Studies” he comes to the conclusion that:

 “The everyday use of digital technology clearly reveals the dominant role of emotions in our time, and how these – by using such technologies – influence the way in which the identity of their users is configured and expressed.”[1] Since there are two sides to every coin, the consequences of mutual interaction between people and technology may be positive or negative, emotional or rational. Consequently, insightful monitoring is pertinent and any potential warning signals should not be neglected.

The graduates of Media Studies – disregarding their actual roles, ranging from media experts, (data) journalists or spokespersons to directors of photography or movie directors, just to name a few, are those who undoubtedly shape the world around us which, in turn, shapes all of us. Similarly to the jobs of marketing experts, media-related jobs are becoming rather technological, too. Consequently, there is a new responsibility lying on the shoulders of educators. It consists in the necessity to prepare Media Studies‘ students for their future jobs by enhancing their technical and technological skills hand-in-hand with theoretical and conceptual frameworks underpinning their knowledge. As the world ‚goes mobile‘, so university educators should challenge the status quo and make the necessary changes to the syllabuses of tertiary instruction. Within Media Studies, they should follow current trends and offer students opportunities to master new important media skills.

The author is fully aware of the lack of a large number of scientific studies and research projects relevant to the topic. However, reality is inexorable and the need to modify and complement the Media Studies‘ curriculum allows no delay. Acquiring new, mostly technological skills will not only help to bridge theory and practice in a way that doesn’t require massive investments, but easily accessible mobile applications will make the transition between formal schooling and experiential learning much easier.

Mobile learning can improve students’ digital literacy in a number of ways. Shaun Wilden believes that “Mobile technologies can be used to enhance 21^st century skills in the classroom. These skills, often known as the four Cs (creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration), call all be developed in student-centred, dynamic, and motivating ways.”[2]

In the course of their studies, students engaged in user-friendly designed mobile apps‘ environment while creating different kinds of interesting media outputs are, again, a step closer to real world practice. Simultaneously, enhanced employability is just a logical consequence of the efforts put into learning. The role of higher education teachers and administrators is critically important as they are facing non-stop paradigm change, as it was already highlighted at the Bucharest Communiqué in 2012: “Today’s graduates need to combine transversal, multidisciplinary and innovation skills and competences with up-to-date subject-specific knowledge so as to be able to contribute to the wider needs of society and the labour market.”[3] This statement is still valid.

Furthermore, the OECD has prioritised skills on its agenda and, so, has developed a Skills Strategy. According to the OECD, “Developing relevant skills: Ensuring that the supply of skills is sufficient in both quantity and quality to meet current and emerging needs is a central goal of skills policies. Supply can be ensured by developing the right mix of skills through education and training, and influencing the flow of skills by attracting and retaining talent. Supply is not only responsive to demand, it can also have an important influence on demand.”[4] Along with the authors of the above-mentioned Skills Strategy, the author of this paper believes that efficient policies can be developed to transform better skills into better jobs and economic growth.

1.1    Mobile world’s statistics and predictions for 2018

There is no doubt that the smartphone is not only used by more and more people with higher and higher frequency – globally, adults check their mobile devices on average once every six minutes[5] – but also for more and more activities. A wider scope of activities goes hand-in-hand with technological features and applications embodied in today’s smartphones. These activities are related to informational, educational, entertainment and/or practical needs. Focusing on the needs of Media Studies, latest statistics prove the ever-increasing popularity of photographs and videos.[6] Not only YouTube and Facebook but also social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest largely benefit from this trend.

There is an apt idea expressed in the Infographics Bulletin from February 27, 2018, which is worth quoting: “The award-winning photographer Chase Jarvis once coined the phrase “the best camera is the one that’s with you”, and right he is. According to InfoTrends’ estimates, 85 percent of all pictures taken this year will be captured on smartphones.”[7]– see Chart 1 below

Chart 1    Smartphones Cause Photography Boom

Source:     Smartphones Cause Photography Boom | Statista.  [online]. [2018-02-27]. Available at:
<https://www.statista.com/chart/10913/number-of-photos-taken-worldwide/>.

In view of these numbers, it is obvious that smartphones caused a photography boom – not only in terms of the numbers of photographs but also the frequency of taking photographs and shooting videos are quite significant.

Chart 2 below brings some recent data compiled by Deloitte Global.

Question: Please state how often you do each of these (take photographs/record video).

Chart 2     Frequence of taking photos and recording videos (developed markets average)

Source:     TMT Predictions 2018: Overview | Technology, Media, and
Telecommunications. [online]. [2018-02-27]. Available at:
<https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-
telecommunications/articles/tmt-predictions.html>.

In the same report, Deloitte Global predicts that “the caliber of photos and videos captured on a smartphone should steadily improve through 2023 and [..] a principal factor in choice of phone, whether premium or budget, new or used, is likely to be the quality of its photo app and hardware.”[8]

The increasing popularity of multimedia formats lies in the foundation of another emerging trend, i.e. multimedia news. Traditional inverted pyramid writing style is embodied into multimedia formats among which the video format takes the lead. Watching a short video with the latest news is undoubtedly much more engaging than having to read an article. The video format makes the story interesting, memorable and, last but not least, easily sharable.

Before the author focuses her attention on the examination of mobile apps carefully chosen for Media Studies‘ programmes, a few facts dealing with mobile learning are worth mentioning.

1.2    Mobile learning as a challenge to formal learning

Already in 2005, as a result of their research, in their article Sharples et al. predicted that mobile learning would represent a challenge to formal schooling. “This [i.e. Mobile learning] can be seen as a challenge to formal schooling, to the autonomy of the classroom and to the curriculum as the means to impart the knowledge and skills needed for adulthood. But it can also be an opportunity to bridge the gulf between formal and experiential learning, opening new possibilities for personal fulfilment and lifelong learning.”[9] Today, in 2018, we can experience the realisation of their prediction.

One of the most revealing pieces of evidence of this can be seen in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) delivered predominantly in the form of mobile apps. In spite of the fact that many enrollees don’t finish their course, in absolute numbers the success is huge. There are over 2.1 million course completions, as of April 2015, among courses offered by Coursera, which is only one of the MOOC providers.[10]

Different benefits are associated with the completion of MOOCs, e.g. Coursera courses‘ completers report both career and educational benefits. The survey was sent by Coursera in December 2014 to 780,000 people from 212 countries and territories, who had completed a Coursera course prior to September 1, 2014. Fifty-two percent of the following Coursera survey respondents reported
a primary goal of improving their current job (or finding a new one).  Specific career benefits are mentioned in Chart 3.[11]

Chart 3     The Career Benefits of Moocs (Coursera Survey Data)

Source:      Who’s Benefiting from MOOCs, and Why. [online]. [2018-02- 25].
Available at: <https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why>.

Apart from career benefits, also educational benefits of MOOCs identified the Coursera survey findings are quite significant and useful for tertiary educators and managers – see Chart 4.

Chart 4     The Educational Benefits of Moocs (Coursera Survey Data)

Source:      Who’s Benefiting from MOOCs, and Why. [online]. [2018-02-25].
Available at: <https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why>.

With reference to the above chart, e.g. a mobile course as a helping hand in the decision-making process of what to study, or help in identifying specific universities to which to apply – these are benefits of extraordinary value for any type of tertiary level educational institution.

Not only MOOCs but also any other educational courses delivered in the format of mobile apps and, above all, open access to these mobile courses are changing the educational landscape. It is a completely new learning experience which undoubtedly proves beneficial to learners. Simultaneously, it is worth incorporating into the syllabuses of different university study programmes.

There is one more important fact to consider as far as formal and informal learning is concerned. The author of this paper is fully convinced that it is much more far-sighted to take a pro-active approach and convert the MOOCs and other high-quality informal learning resources into allies than to have to compete with them for students’ favour in the not-too-distant future.

1.3    User perception of mobile learning effectiveness

In order to gain fresh and relevant data on the situation with mobile learning and its perception at Czech universities, the author replicated a recent global survey on “User Perception of Mobile Learning Effectiveness”. (User Perception of Mobile Learning Effectiveness – A Survey Report, 2017) The scale of the survey is minor (21 respondents). The data was collected from March 6 to March 14, 2018. The respondents were exclusively university teachers from several universities (The University of Finance and Administration, The Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, The University of Economics, The University of West Bohemia, and The University of Pardubice).

The following table compares the most significant findings from both the Czech and global research projects.

Table 1      User perception of mobile learning effectiveness – survey

Source:                  Czech Republic survey – author’s own elaboration

Global survey – User Perception of Mobile Learning Effectiveness – A Survey Report.
[online]. [2018-03-13]. Available at: <https://www.commlabindia.com/resources/survey-
report/user-perceptions-of-mobile-learning.php>.

Unsurprisingly, there are significant differences between the results of the user perception of mobile learning effectiveness globally and in the Czech Republic. Judging from the feedback provided by the Czech respondents, it can be inferred that there is not such a wide penetration and hands-on experience with the use of mobile learning and, generally speaking, mobile learning has not  become deeply rooted yet. However, far more qualified insight might be available within
a relatively short period. Nevertheless, we can already spot a few interesting moments: 75% of the Czech respondents believe that mobile learning can improve their knowledge (globally 79%), however only 30% of them believe that mobile learning can be useful in acquiring new skills (skills = globally 79%). Peer-to-peer/social learning allowing collaboration among learners was denoted by a mere 37% of the Czech respondents (globally 71%). The main obstacle to adopt mobile learning consisting in psychological resistance of stakeholders was chosen by 65% of Czech respondents (it is also perceived as a big problem globally – 68%). Internet bandwidth issues are not felt to be an obstable by many respondents in the Czech Republic, i.e. only 35% in comparison with the global number reaching 74%. Worldwide statistics showed respondents were more critical to the possibility of teaching/delivering any subject effectively (the Czechs were more optimistic – 56%).

However, given the small sample size, caution must be used when interpreting the results.

1.4    Multimedia journalism

Rapidly changing world and disruptive technological innovations have changed the world of journalism as a whole and, specifically, the work of journalists in an unprecedented way: audio, video, moving charts and even elements of augmented reality – all this is a part of readers’/viewers’ expectations today. Journalism, as well as many other disciplines, is becoming rather technological. The good news is that there are numerous sophisticated mobile applications which fully fit into the typical lifestyle of journalists and help them fulfil their daily duties.

It is the eleventh hour to start the process of implementation of these new IT skills into Media Studies. They predominantly consist in mastering various functions/features of carefully selected mobile apps which make the work of journalists not only easier and efficient and also more enjoyable. The process of seamless integration of new mobile apps into the classical syllabus of Media Studies is a new challenge for university educators.

1.5    Mobile learning apps for multimedia journalists

Disruptive innovations introduced into the media industry may be perceived as a merciless process. Janet Balis, strategy sector leader for Media & Entertainment and a Principal with Ernst & Young LLP, in her article for Harvard Business Review, poses the question on the right balance between humans and technology across the full media while thinking, simultaneously, about creativity maximization and the shift towards operating models that better reflect the future. She believes that “The future requires change on a massive scale for most organizations, and the best approach involves leadership’s embracing the complexity, not only of developing the right strategy but executing it with deep attention to the details that matter.”[12]

The author of this paper believes that ‘the change’ should start already at the level of university education. It is the top priority of universities to contribute to it by their research embodied in an attempted merger of the ‘legacy operating models’ and the ‘innovative operating models’ within the tertiary study programme of Media Studies.

Following a careful selection process, the author of this paper divided the mobile applications suitable for Media Studies into five groups: (1) news apps, (2) photo/image editing apps, (3) video editing apps, (4) audio editing apps, and (5) blogging apps. A lesson plan demonstrating possible use of these apps in Media Studies‘ seminars can be considered as added value of this treatise and it can help educators to take their first steps in this direction with greater confidence.

1.5.1        News apps

First, it is important to solve the problem of how to stay informed on 24/7 basis and be notified on important issues at the moment of their happening. The second step is to stay informed on the topic of a journalist’s preference as it is currently common practice that journalists tend to specialize in a particular area of interest or, perhaps, industries.

The selections of individual apps mentioned further on in the text is purely the author’s decision and the author claims that she has no business relations to any of the apps‘ developers and/or providers/sellers. The apps described in this chapter are mostly for iOS. However, very often, the same or a similar app also exists for the Android operating system.

BBC News App (incoming multimedia news) is the basic mobile app to reside in a smartphone of Media Studies‘ students. There are a few reasons for that: it is a source of information which is reputable and reliable; all important news from all over the world can be found there as well as interesting stories. International news is updated 24 hours a day. There is a section of ‘One-minute World News’ which is the latest news summary from BBC World News and is intended for busy people. The video section brings/archives live stories usually in the length from 30 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes sharing the atmosphere of a particular event. BBC News App – section Live offers online mobile broadcasting of international news, analyses and features from the BBC World Service with the highest levels of expertise and insight from the global network of correspondents. The BBC News App is a smart tool enabling its user to organize the news of interest in the section ‘My topics’ for easy access. Push notifications for breaking news (incl. the alert sound option) or text size setting are practical features which are welcome by the BBC News App’s users.

BBC iPlayer Radio (incoming audio news) is an app allowing free access to several digital radio stations with the possibility of downloading programmes of your choice to your device and listen to them offline. Radio programmes and different podcasts represent a great way of listening to digital content while doing manual work or while e.g. commuting to work.

ČTK mobile application is the very first Czech Infobank provided by Czech News Agency (ČTK). The app offers a comfortable access to the selection from the currently updated ČTK news service. According to the provider, it covers about 12% of the total amount of news. Messages contain photos which can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter. It also allows you to read messages in offline mode, too.

The ČT24 mobile app with a 24/7 access to news either in an audio or a video format is an excellent companion for people ‚on the go‘. Well-structured content in several categories, streaming audio/video news, download of articles to one’s own device, landscape mode for video watching, bookmarking and sharing options and other features make this app very popular.

Having access to the most prestige news apps will serve students as an inspiration with numerous examples of news coverage at a professional level. Educators are expected to help students understand various formats of news coverage and get acquainted with professional level reporting skills.

Learning goals – Skills/techniques: creativity, critical thinking, project work, critical analysis, communication, collaboration.

1.5.2        Photo/image editing apps

“A picture tells a thousand words.” is a famous phrase adopted by many. Only Dan Pink, author of 6 New York Times bestselling books, in his famous TED talk challenged this phrase by saying:  “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures”. It is no secret that, for journalists, the importance of both is beyond all doubt.[13]

Owing to the fact that there are literally hundreds of photo/image editing apps, it is important to concentrate on the practice of journalists. What do they really need? Let’s start with the frequented need to blur the photo background (for any reason) and blur the face (for legal/security reasons). There are four apps to choose from.

Blur Photo Effect Background apps offers high resolution editing with zoom so that you can see the finest details, soft and hard brushes, 13 filter effects. Also, you can create your own blurred wallpapers using your own photos. The app has the feature of rotating image without having to rotate the device and allows export in 14 different ratio sizes. Current rating from users reaches 4,5.

Blur Photo Background for iOS helps to blur the background of any picture of yours with just few taps. You can blur unwanted objects, faces or, indeed, anything.

There are many apps that help you to add textures and various lighting effects. Lens distortions can enhance your photos with various light effects, sun flares, and fog. Adding these elements is intuitive. The basic version comes with a basic collection of effects (free of charge). Additional effects, e.g. 230 additional filters, are definitely worth buying.

TouchRetouch is another app for removing unwanted blemishes and objects from images. It offers also a clone tool to duplicate objects.

In order to conclude this section, there are professional photo editors available, e.g. Snapseed developed by Google, Inc. or Camera+ by LateNiteSoft that will solve majority of your photo editing requirements and special wishes. If you need to correct horizontal and vertical perspective distortion, use the SKRWT app by Mathaeus Jagielski; and finally, if you long for some creative and artistic tools, then the app Englight by Lightrics Ltd. will definitely help you.

           Figure 1                Enlight Mobile App

Source:                  Apple App Store. [online]. [2018-03-05]. Available at:

<https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/enlight/id930026670?mt=8>.

Among hundreds of photo editing applications, this was just a handful of the best ones. Everyone can master these apps quickly and easily. It will be the university teachers of Media Studies who may encourage students to learn how to use them. As a rule, students are very creative and they will soon use this type of apps to their full potential.

Learning goals – Skills/techniques: specific photo editing skills: blurring photo background, blurring face, photo lightning effects, removing unwanted objects, perspective distortion, and artistic touch.

1.5.3        Video editing apps

A very popular mobile app for iPhone users for video editing is iMovie developed by Apple. It is a free-of-charge, advertising-free mobile app to create beautiful movies. There are 14 templates with stunning graphics, built-in music and sound effects. There is a handy feature: you can easily transfer projects between different Apple devices using AirDrop or iCloud Drive. It means you can start your video editing on your iPhone and finish it later at home using your iMac. Numerous options for sharing a finished video are available, too.

A sophisticated mobile app for video editing for mobile journalists is Luma Fusion by Luma Touch LLC. It is a powerful multi-track professional video editor and a tool for numerous amazing video effects for compelling video stories. There are video tutorials and forums for enthusiasts and professionals. The price of this app is 499,– Czech Crowns.

Learning goals – Skills/techniques: specific video editing skills: video scripting, video editing, captions, subtitles, soundtrack, sharing video projects.

1.5.4        Audio editing apps

A mic and a voice recorder have been used by journalists for decades to record precious audio moments. However, any audio recording needs editing and there are few apps which can offer a solution easily and quickly. One of the most frequently used among them is Hokusai Audio Editor by Wooji Juice Ltd. Hokusai is a multitrack audio editor. It records or imports a track and offers a full range of features one can imagine for audio editing, including filters and special effects. The sound is natural and clean. It is in English and it is free of charge.

Lexis Audio Editor is an analogy for Android operating system and it is a big help to journalists who look for a simple-to-use audio editing app. Among other features, this app will allow you to record your voice and insert it to the already existing audio file.

Learning goals – Skills/techniques: specific audio editing skills: audio interviewing, scripts, editing and mixing tracks, sound filters, special effects, sharing audio projects.

1.5.5        Blogging apps

There are many of popular blogging apps. Just to name a few blogging apps which are free of charge can be sufficient to give a basic idea about the available options. They are the following:

• BlogTouch is the most powerful WordPress mobile editor. It is very popular and comfortable to use.
• Tumblr – an easy to use and enjoyable blogging platform.

With all of these platforms you will be able to create a new post, edit the already existing post and upload media.

Learning goals – Skills/techniques: working in a mobile blogging platform, creating / editing / uploading new posts, dealing with commentaries.

1.6    Integration of mobile apps into Media Studies‘ Instruction

Subchapter 1.5 identified five areas of tasks and activities which are typical for the practice of contemporary multimedia journalism where news content is disseminated via multiple media platforms. The job of a multimedia journalist has become rather technological. It is not exceptional that today’s journalists are expected to be familiar with skills encompassing photo/video/audio editing, and blogging at – at least – a rudimentary level.

University teachers specializing in Media Studies appreciate and understand the need to prepare their students for the new requirements of media industry. They are the only experts who can adopt
a cautious approach to the sensitive combination of the scientific content of Media Studies and digital communication technologies used in the media world. Teacher training with focus on new media competencies is a precondition for success.

To help teachers be more confident in their new roles, the author of this paper presents a sample lesson plan demonstrating a possible use of multiple apps.

Table 2           Lesson Plan: Should teachers carry a gun to protect students? 

Source:                        author’s own elaboration

Conclusion

The aim of this paper was to identify and explore existing mobile applications suitable for implementation into Media Studies programmes, including teaching methods and activities helping to meet specific learning goals. Based on literature review and equipped with the findings of an extensive research in specific purpose mobile applications, both in Apple and Google Play app stores, the author challenged the status quo of Media Studies‘ syllabuses and suggested their modification – and complementation with the aim of bringing the study programme closer to the multimedia journalists‘ current practice requirements. Strict selection criteria were set focusing mainly on the functions critically needed in a multimedia journalist profession. In total, eighteen smart mobile applications in five categories were identified and analysed from the viewpoint of their benefits for Media Studies‘ students.

However, pure awareness of the existence of mobile applications with functions pertinent to journalists‘ and digital communication experts‘ daily routine is a long way short of reaching the stipulated specific learning goals. In order to gain fresh and relevant data on the situation with mobile learning at Czech universities, the author replicated a recent global research on user perception of mobile learning effectiveness. The main objective was to establish the facts on mobile learning and its perception in tertiary education in the Czech Republic. Therefore, respondents were recruited exclusively among university teachers. The results were presented in a well-arranged manner in the format of a table comparing the most important findings from both the Czech survey and the global research.

The author of this paper is fully convinced that the specifics of smartphone-mediated interactions versus face-to-face learning still require further research that will shed light on these issues as both the face-to-face and digital realms are predestined to merge more and more as the learning technologies evolve. A further discussion of deeper integration of mobile technologies into instruction at university level falls outside the scope of this paper. However, disruptive changes may occur suddenly in the world of tertiary education. Therefore, it is much better to adopt a pro-active approach immediately.

Literature and sources:

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• Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education: Bucharest, 26-27 April 2012. [online]. [2018-02-25]. Available at: <http://media.ehea.info/file/2012_Bucharest/67/3/Bucharest_Communique_2012_610673.pdf>.

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[1] SERRANO-PUCHE, J.:  Emotions and Digital Technologies: Mapping the Field of Research in Media Studies. [online]. [2018-02-25]. Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309668268_Emotions_and_Digital_Technologies_Mapping_the_Field_of_Research_in_Media_Studies/overview>.

[2] WILDEN, S.: Mobile Learning into the Classroom. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017,  p. 14.

[3] Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education: Bucharest, 26-27 April 2012. [online]. [2018-02-25]. Available at: <http://media.ehea.info/file/2012_Bucharest/67/3/Bucharest_Communique_2012_610673.pdf>.

[4] Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives: A Strategic Approach to Skills Policies. [online].
[2018-04-02]. Available at: <https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/better-skills-better-jobs-better-lives_9789264177338-en>.

[5] WILDEN, S.: Mobile Learning into the Classroom. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017. p. 14.

[6] Smartphones Cause Photography Boom | Statista.  [online]. [2018-02-27]. Available at:

<https://www.statista.com/chart/10913/number-of-photos-taken-worldwide/>.

[7] Smartphones Cause Photography Boom | Statista. [online]. [2018-02-27]. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/chart/10913/number-of-photos-taken-worldwide/>.

[8] TMT Predictions 2018: Overview | Technology, Media, and Telecommunications. [online].
[2018-02-27]. Available at: <https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-predictions.html>.

[9] SHARPLES, M., Taylor, J.,Vavoula, G.:  A theory of learning for the mobile age. [online]. [2018-03-03] Available at: <http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-531-92133-4_6>.

[10] Who’s Benefiting from MOOCs, and Why. [online]. [2018-03-04]. Available at: <https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why>.

[11] Who’s Benefiting from MOOCs, and Why. [online]. [2018-03-04]. Available at: <https://hbr.org/2015/09/whos-benefiting-from-moocs-and-why>.

[12] 3 Strategic Questions the Media Industry’s Future Depends On. 2015. [online]. [2018-03-05]. Available at: <https://hbr.org/2015/10/3-strategic-questions-the-media-industrys-future-depends-on?autocomplete=true>.

[13] Compilation Daniel Pink: A Whole New mind – YouTube (Full Video.) [online].

[2018-02-25]. Available at: < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFL30u5BdLc&t=92s>.

Pokud patříte k těm, kteří touží po studiu u nejlepších profesorů světa, pak je tento článek určen právě vám. Bylo to vizí i Steva Jobse, zakladatele společnosti Apple, který měl v úmyslu zcela změnit podobu školství. Plánoval totiž oslovit nejlepší odborníky v každém oboru, kteří připraví obsahovou náplň e-learningových kurzů. Studující je budou mít na svém iPadu kdykoliv k dispozici. Tito odborníci – autoři vzdělávacích programů – budou „své“ vzdělávací programy stále inovovat v souladu s technologickým pokrokem daného odvětví. Steve Jobs, bohužel, tuto myšlenku již nestihl zrealizovat a od základu tak změnit další odvětví. Technologický pokrok nám však přinesl kvalitnější připojení k internetu a ještě chytřejší chytré telefony, což bylo výchozím předpokladem pro bezproblémový přenos videa. Milióny lidí tak denně sledují své oblíbené video kanály na YouTube. Současně máme nyní na dosah ruky mobilní video kurzy od nejlepších odborníků světa, a to doslova za pár korun. Díky mobilnímu učení (m-learning) celoživotní vzdělávání nabralo druhý dech.

Co je to mobilní učení?

Mobilní učení (angl. m-learning) je často popisováno jako studium či školení za pomoci přenosných počítačových zařízení, ať již jsou to chytré telefony, tablety či notebooky. Do učebnic angličtiny se již dostala věta: „Employees who travel frequently can benefit from mobile learning“. Ano, HR odborníci a odborníci na firemní vzdělávání, slyšíte dobře:-). Využití chytrého telefonu pro systematické vzdělávání, ať již v rámci sebe-řízeného vzdělávání či firemního vzdělávání, v České republice rozhodně nepatří k prioritám, a to navzdory nepopiratelným výhodám, které přináší.

Jaké jsou hlavní výhody mobilního vzdělávání?

Výhoda č. 1: kdykoliv a kdekoliv

Jako studující mohu studovat kdykoliv a kdekoliv, kde je k dispozici kvalitní internetové připojení. Toto však neplatí zcela absolutně, protože většina kurzů umožňuje download jednotlivých lekcí kurzů do vašeho mobilního zařízení a studium off-line. Máme-li tedy svůj kurz, svůj „vzdělávací obsah“ či svou audio knihu stále na dosah ruky, k překvapení většiny z nás ve svém denním programu náhle nacházíme množství časových rezerv, které můžeme smysluplně vyplnit. Z vlastní praxe vím, že to zpočátku chvilku trvá, než člověk změní zaběhané stereotypy, ale velmi brzy zjistíte, že každodenní dojíždění dopravním prostředkem do školy či zaměstnání vám náhle skýtá dříve netušený (a jen sporadicky využívaný) potřebný časový prostor. Nevím jak vás, ale mě toto zjištění naplnilo pocitem radosti a dříve nenáviděné dojíždění se stalo činností, na kterou jsem se začala dokonce těšit! Shrnuto a podtrženo, díky mobilním technologiím se můžeme učit kdykoliv je to pro nás praktické, příhodné a pohodlné.

Výhoda č. 2: audio či video

Nejoblíbenějším formátem jsou video kurzy. Zapojení více smyslů (zvuk, zrak) současně napomáhá zapamatování výukového obsahu a – konec konců – většina lidí má tzv. vizuální paměť. (Také víte, že to bylo „vpravo dole „, jen si jaksi nevybavujete, co to bylo?:-)). Nicméně, já osobně jsem velkým fanouškem audia a audioknih. Zcela zodpovědně na tomto místě prohlašuji, že jako nositelka jména Knihová:-) bych nepřečetla zhola nic, nebýt audioknih. Jejich velká výhoda spočívá v tom, že vás vzdělávání ve formě audia může doprovázet při jakékoliv manuální činnosti, na kterou se není potřeba příliš soustředit. Mě osobně audio doprovází při žehlení či vaření – jde jen o to, abychom si na to zvykli. Garantuji vám, že i žehlení se stane příjemně stráveným časem.

Výhoda č. 3: optimalizace videa pro jakoukoliv velikost obrazovky

Odborně se tomu říká tzv. responzivní design. Systém během několika milisekund rozpozná velikost vaší obrazovky a „skokem“ přizpůsobí video obsah tak, aby optimálně vyhovoval právě vašemu zařízení. Uživatel téměř nic nepozná, ale poznal by, kdyby tvůrce kurzu na responzivní design zapomněl. Nemusíte tedy rolovat text na vašem monitoru ani v případě, že používáte docela maličký mobil.

Výhoda č. 4: automatická synchronizace, aneb pokračujte tam, kde jste přestali

Většina moderně připravených kurzů synchronizuje činnost studenta v kurzu napříč všemi jeho elektronickými zařízeními, které používá. Existuje totiž jak mobilní, tak i PC platforma pro tentýž kurz. Můžete tedy například začít na počítači, odhlásit se a později se znovu přihlásit na vašem smartphonu či tabletu. Systém si váš pokrok „pamatuje“ a automaticky vám nabídne tu část kurzu, kde jste přestali. Je to velmi pohodlné a praktické – jako byste si založili záložku do knihy, jen v tomto případě je vaše „záložka“ digitální:-).

Výhoda č. 5: vzdělávací nugetky, aneb učení po lžičkách

Tvůrci mobilních vzdělávacích kurzů pracují s celým rejstříkem vzdělávacích metod a doporučení, včetně např. křivky učení či Ebbinghausovy křivky zapomínání. Zpětná vazba od studentů a také obecně kritizované vysoké procento nedokončení kurzů vede architekty kurzů k novým formám organizace vzdělávacího obsahu. Jednou z úspěšných metod jsou tzv. vzdělávací nugetky (learning nuggets či bite-sized learning). Moderní kurzy současnosti jsou strukturovány do jednotlivých okruhů a podokruhů, z nichž každý může obsahovat rozčlenění tématu např. jen do několikaminutových videií. Při svém studiu jsem to mnohokrát ocenila: podívám se na délku trvání videa a odhadnu své časové možnosti. S pocitem uklidnění si pustím další část – další nugetku zajímavých a nových informací. V hektických dnech mi tento systém organizace studia poskytuje dobrý pocit, že postupuji vpřed – byť po malých krůčcích, ale přesto.

Výhoda č. 5: studium angličtiny v rámci studia zvoleného oboru

Odborníci na výuku jazyků znají metodu CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) – tedy metoda, kdy je vzdělávací program postaven tak, aby např. studující angličtiny mohli současně studovat i některé další předměty v jazyce (zeměpis, historii apod.). V České republice se metoda CLIL realizuje na řadě základních a středních škol. Osobně, jako specialista na výuku odborné angličtiny, spatřuji přínos MOOC a dalších online vzdělávacích kurzů ve dvou směrech: seznamujeme se s vysoce aktuálními poznatky daného oboru či odvětví a současně si osvojujeme „jaksi mimochodem“ i odborně správnou anglickou terminologii.

Kde a jak najít kvalitní mobilní vzdělávací video kurzy?

Článek pojednává o mobilních vzdělávacích kurzech, nebude tedy pro nikoho překvapením, že je budeme hledat v podobě mobilních aplikací (vybíráme na App Store – iOS či Google Play – Android). Univerzitní kurzy budeme hledat prostřednictvím tzv. MOOC kurzů (Massive Online Open Courses) a vyzkoušet si tak z pohodlí svého domova, jak by se vám studovalo např. na Harvardu či Stanfordu. Osobně oceňuji vysokou aktuálnost výukového obsahu, např. Google změnil svou reklamní platformu Google Adwords na Google Ads 24.7.2018 a dnes, uprostřed září 2018, již najdeme řadu kurzů vyučující nové uživatelské prostředí Google Ads. Velmi populární jsou programy na výuku IT dovedností, včetně programování, a jazykové výukové kurzy. Ale ani speciálně zaměřené kurzy nemohou chybět. Perfektní přehled o existujících kurzech nám poskytne No excuse list. Mezi nejznámější online platformy poskytující vzdělávací obsah patří Coursera, The Khan Academy, edX, MIT Open Courseware, Open Yale Courses, Udacity, iTunes U, Udemy, Lynda (součást LinkedIn). Z českých můžeme jmenovat např. Seduo.

Kolik mě to bude stát?

Máme obrovské štěstí, že většina vzdělávacích kurzů je zdarma, popř. je možné příslušný kurz zakoupit za velmi přijatelnou částku. Je vhodné vyčkat speciálních akcí či slev, např. časově ohraničené nabídky nákupu vzdělávacího obsahu za 10 – 12 Eur. Tyto výrazné slevy se velmi často opakují. Takže platí: zadarmo nebo za pár korun:-).

Jak získat certifikát o absolvovaném kurzu?

Získání digitálního certifikátu bývá součástí benefitu kurzu. Pouze pokud si studující přeje mít originálně vytištěný certifikát v ozdobném rámečku, pak může za tuto službu zaplatit až 100 Eur a z Ameriky mu přijde úhledný balíček.

Jak a kdy začít studovat?

Většinu kurzů můžeme začít studovat kdykoliv, a to pouhým přihlášením, popř. zaplacením kurzovného, a to obvykle kreditní kartou. Některé kurzy mají vždy stanoveno datum začátku kurzu (např. několikrát do roka). Jedná se často o kurzy, které mají podporu tutora a jejichž součástí je tzv. sociální učení, tj. můžete se virtuálně setkávat či řešit společné projekty online s ostatními účastníky kurzu.

M-learning jako příprava na vysokou školu

Pokud se chystáte studovat jakoukoliv vysokou školu – bez ohledu na to, zda v Česku nebo v zahraničí – pak jsou video kurzy a vzdělávací mobilní aplikace skvělou volbou. Zásadním způsobem ovlivní rozhled o problematice daného oboru, nasměrují studující na aktuální výzkumné otázky a mohou je i inspirovat, pokud se týká volby tématu seminárních, bakalářských, diplomových či dokonce disertačních prací.

M-learning jako inspirace a benchmarking pro pedagogy

Mobilní vzdělávací kurzy zajisté najdou svou klientelu i mezi pedagogy, kterým myšlenka kontinuálního sebevzdělávání a nepřetržitého sledování vývoje svého oboru není cizí. Jsou pro ně nejen inspirací, ale slouží i jako benchmarking pro vlastní odbornou a pedagogickou úroveň. Díváme-li se na benchmarking jako na metodu založenou na systematickém měření a kontinuálním porovnávání vybraných ukazatelů, tak vedle učitelské mobility (možnost odjet do zahraničí a krátkodobě působit na zahraniční univerzitě, např. v rámci programu Erasmus) jsou mobilní vzdělávací aplikace výborným pomocníkem pro sebehodnocení vlastní odborné a pedagogické úrovně. Pedagog v roli studenta takového kurzu má výbornou příležitost sledovat jak odbornou úroveň daného kurzu, tak i metodický přístup a výukové metody, a nechat se jimi inspirovat ve vlastní pedagogické práci.

Vyzkoušejte „jinou školu“

Až příliš často slýchám od žáků a studentů, že je škola nebaví, že je to nuda či podobné názory. Současně si na tomto místě netroufám tvrdit, že všechny vzdělávací aplikace mají vždy vynikající kvalitu a ani netvrdím, že MOOC kurzy jsou řešením na všechny bolesti našeho školství. Avšak moje dosavadní zkušenost se studiem prostřednictvím mobilních aplikací (převážně angličtina, marketing a finance) je výborná a považuji tyto vzdělávací aplikace za vysoce přínosné, kvalitní a inspirativní. Jako vysokoškolský pedagog jsem si z nich odnesla i řadu námětů, které uplatňuji ve své vlastní vysokoškolské a vzdělávací praxi. Jako student těchto kurzů získávám jednu devizu: mám informační náskok díky aktuálnosti vzdělávacího obsahu. Vyzkoušejte i vy „jinou školu“! Vyzkoušejte m-learning prostřednictvím mobilních aplikací! Budete příjemně překvapeni.

Happy studies!:-)

PhDr. Ladislava Knihová, MBA je zkušený konzultant v oblasti výuky a učení s prokázanou historií působení v oblasti e-learningu, podnikového vzdělávání a v akademickém prostředí. Je uznávaným odborníkem v oblasti instruktážního designu, metod výuky, analytických dovedností, koučování, řízení učení a v oblasti vzdělávacích technologií. Díky aktivní znalosti několika cizích jazyků více než deset let pracovala v diplomatických službách. Své vzdělání získala na Karlově univerzitě (titul PhDr.) a profesní studium MBA zaměřené na marketing a PR absolvovala v roce 2017 na European Business School SE Praha.

Ladislavu můžete kontaktovat přímo na adrese kniha@educationonline.cz

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PhDr. Ladislava Knihová, MBA is an experienced Learning Consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the e-learning industry, corporate education, and academia. Skilled in Instructional Design and Methods, Analytical Skills, Coaching, Learning Management, and Educational Technology. Thanks to her fluent command of English and Russian and good proficiency in several other foreign languages, she worked for more than a decade in diplomatic service. Strong education professional with a PhDr. degree from Charles University and a Master of Business Administration – MBA focused on Marketing and PR from European Business School SE Prague earned in 2017.

You can contact Ladislava directly at       kniha@educationonline.cz