Image by Ewan McIntosh via Flickr This post is about a couple of sites I came across focused on the language instruction niche -I’m afraid it won’t be niche anymore. Funny how start-ups are focusing their marketplace on the language learning field:
Why the focus on languages?
It seems the answer to this question is quite easy – start-ups avoid formal education because they don’t understand how purchasing works. So they turn to informal learning and look at the biggest consumer sector and realise that language teaching is not niche and that content for language learning is open. Also language teaching is global and means that companies do not have to focus on a UK only market.
This market is very crowded though for this reason – which brings its own problems when looking for funding – but this competition is certainly bringing innovation to the market.
(From We Deliver Elephants)
Typically, services such as Myngle and eduFire provide students and teachers from different locations with an online platform for synchronous learning. Lessons may be administered by Skype or other integrated synchronous conferencing tools. Users can choose the teacher or student depending on their own specific needs, availability and price.
The advantages? It facilitates the ‘anytime, anywhere’ approach.
Some features I liked about Myngle (which I haven’t found at EduFire for instance) is that they have Myngle Advisor, an automatic matching system that selects amongst more then thousand courses the one that better fits your need, according to the answers and preferences you provide. On the other hand, those registered tutors who pass a selective test by Myngle become ‘certified’.
If you’re thinking about taking online lessons through this sort of services I recommend you to carefully analyze the available options, feel free to use this checklist I’ve just created ad hoc (you can also print the post and take it with you):
| MYNGLE | EDUFIRE | OTHER: | |
| AS A LEARNER: | |||
| Can I ask for a free live trial class before committing to any tutor? | |||
| Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform? | |||
| Is the payment/booking procedure clear and secure? | |||
| Is there any refund/cancellation policy? | |||
| Can I reschedule my lessons? | |||
| Are teachers qualified? | |||
| Can I see the teacher’s credentials/curriculum? | |||
| Are teacher’s credentials certified by the online provider? | |||
| Am I given access to multimedia resources? | |||
| Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing? | |||
| Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing? | |||
| Can I record the lessons for further practice? | |||
| Is there any sort of public feedback rating? | |||
| Can I contact other learners? | |||
| Can I exchange resources with other learners? | |||
| Does the site have a clear and friendly layout? | |||
| Do I need special software? | |||
| AS A TUTOR: | |||
| What’s the commission charge?* | |||
| Does the commission fee include VAT? | |||
| Can I receive invoices? | |||
| Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform? | |||
| Is the payment procedure fast and secure? | |||
| Is there any no-show policy? (i.e. if the student doesn’t show up) | |||
| Can I reschedule my lessons? | |||
| Can I upload my own resources? | |||
| Can I remix other tutors’ resources? | |||
| Can I license my work under Creative Commons? | |||
| If I don’t have my own materials, am I given access to a pool of resources? | |||
| Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing? | |||
| Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing? | |||
| Do I need special software? | |||
| Can I share my desktop with the learner? | |||
| Can I record my lessons? | |||
| *Take into account that if payment is done via third-party platforms such as Paypal, these will also charge you for the service. |
UPDATE: I added this checklist to a wiki: TeachingLearningOnline, so that anyone can answer, add more questions or more platforms.
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www.qwabi.ru
20 Comments
Hi,
Thank your for this article. My name is Egbert van Keulen, one of the founders of Myngle.com. Great idea to make this checklist. We get a lot of questions about what makes Myngle different, so please allow me to elaborate on that here:
What makes Myngle different is the emphasis we have on quality of the learning experience. This means both quality of teachers and content and help to choose the best option for each individual need.
Only a small part of the teachers registered on Myngle (less then 20%) is in fact visible to students. These are teachers who have a minimum quality standard as well as most having being trained from us on how to effectively teach online.
The best teachers that pass a strict selection and are tested by Myngle become ‘certified’, which you can recognize from the icon near the feedback starts. So, if you want the best of the best…
Also, to facilitate the choice we introduced the Myngle Advisor, which selects amongst more then thousand courses the one that better fits your need.
All this is pretty unique, there is not to our knowledge any competitor offering this.
But I think the best way to know if it what you are looking is just to try (most teachers offer a free first introductory class)
Greetings, Egbert
@Egbert: Thanks for commenting. I have some questions after reading your comment: what’s the minimum quality standard according to Myngle?
I might definitely give it a try but in the meantime, what’s the ’strict selection’ about? I think it’d be great if you gave more details about this @ your own website so that potential learners know the type of standards you like and it’d be good for word-of-mouth campaigning like this. Thanks again!
Hello! My name is Danilo and I’m a co-founder and Manager of Education at Myngle.com. I’m glad my partner Egbert has already been in touch with you
So, since your question touches on the education part of our business, let me try my best to answer.
To be visible on list of teachers at Myngle.com, the teacher must have a complete profile and at least an initial good course roster to offer to students. That way the student will be able to find better their learning needs met by that specific teacher. But, no need to worry, it is an easy process.
We’re very close in contact with teachers who are newly registered to give them the support needed for their online teaching goals. So, please feel free to register and we’ll gladly welcome you (and any of your readers) on board.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thanks!
Best wishes, Danilo.
I am a member and student on http://www.edufire.com. I see the added feature that Myngle has to match tutors as a great asset! I don’t think I would consider switching though. I am not sure I trust a program or website to match me. On edufire I socialize in the forums and find many tutors I would love to have a session with. I love having the opportunity to build rapport with a tutor in a casual and social environment with no pressure. In doing this I can ensure that I have selected a tutor that I have a connection with, and one who is an “active” community member. I am not sure I would trade that personal connection for the fancy matching system. Just my 2 cents.
Full Disclosure: I’m the CEO and founder of eduFire.
First of all, let me say that I really like the Myngle service. I think they’ve done a good job of being a little “deeper” in the language space while we at eduFire have a platform that is a bit broader in that we recently added test prep (e.g., SAT, TOEFL, etc.) and will likely expand into other areas. Language alone is $20 billion a year and the education market is a whole is much bigger so I think there is certainly room for multiple winners.
Having said that, let me answer the questions above (and perhaps someone could update the chart with these answers):
AS A LEARNER:
Can I ask for a free live trial class before committing to any tutor?
Not currently but in the works.
Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform?
Not currently but in the works.
Is the payment/booking procedure clear and secure?
Secure = yes. Clear = I hope so.
Is there any refund/cancellation policy?
Students pay after their lessons which obviates the need for a refund policy.
Can I reschedule my lessons?
Yes.
Are teachers qualified?
We don’t “pre-qualify” tutors but rather have a collaborative filtering mechanism in place to steer students towards the best tutors on our platform. Thousands of sessions have happened on eduFire and we have yet to have a report of a student being matched with an un-qualified tutor.
Can I see the teacher’s credentials/curriculum?
Yes
Are teacher’s credentials certified by the online provider?
No, see my answer above.
Am I given access to multimedia resources?
On eduFire we have a videos section and a flashcard vocab game. Within the eduFire sessions, multimedia can be used as well.
Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing?
Yes.
Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing?
Yes.
Can I record the lessons for further practice?
No.
Is there any sort of public feedback rating?
Yes.
Can I contact other learners?
Yes.
Can I exchange resources with other learners?
Yes (although we haven’t set up student-to-student file sharing yet).
Does the site have a clear and friendly layout?
I hope you think so.
Do I need special software?
No, a web browser and Flash 9 is all that is necessary.
AS A TUTOR:
What’s the commission charge?*
15%
Does the commission fee include VAT?
Tax is the responsibility of the individual tutor.
Can I receive invoices?
Yes.
Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform?
Many of our tutors perform a walkthrough with one of our team members prior to teaching their first class (which is done at no charge to the tutor).
Is the payment procedure fast and secure?
Yes.
Is there any no-show policy? (i.e. if the student doesn’t show up)
Currently there is not although this is under discussion.
Can I reschedule my lessons?
Yes.
Can I upload my own resources?
Yes.
Can I remix other tutors’ resources?
Not currently.
Can I license my work under Creative Commons?
Not applicable.
If I don’t have my own materials, am I given access to a pool of resources?
Not yet, although this will likely be the case in the future.
Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing?
Yes.
Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing?
Yes.
Do I need special software?
No.
Can I share my desktop with the learner?
Yes.
Can I record my lessons?
No.
Thanks for the write-up and if I can clarify anything else about our service don’t hesitate to ask!
Jon
jon at edufire dot com
This is a great post with some great information regarding both sites from the CEO’s! Glad I found this post. I’m currently a student on edufire.com and I’m really enjoying this site and learning more German than I would have thought in only 8 weeks. I will also visit Myngle…I’m determined to learn German by 2010, so any site can help! Thanks again
thanx for the comparison, very helpful.
cheers,
Jerry
@Jerry Mason: You’re welcome! Glad you liked it. I might take this list to a wiki so we can add more questions and edit a comparison chart.
Thanks Jill! And thank you for leaving the comment.
I mean, you can’t really say: by 2010 I’ll have learned German…because, you know what’s the tricky side of learning languages? That there’s never a finish line…As a native speaker of your own language and as a learner of others…Alas, my friend! You might have an upper-intermediate level or proficient, etc. but whichever level you reach, you’ll have to keep on brushing up and ‘watering’ the plant, or else it’ll get rusty. That’s the by-product of learning languages. 
But let me tell you a secret: you can’t never use future perfect if you’re talking about learning a language
Dear Jon: thanks for commenting and what’s more, answering each question like you did! I think it could be great if sessions could be recorded…the teacher can keep track of what happened for further assessment, the learner for further practice…
I agree with you that EduFire and Myngle may be aiming at slightly different targets and I find the exam preps a great feature I haven’t found anywhere else.
I might take this chart to a wiki page so people can edit it directly…
I guess we’ll have to keep a close eye on how EduFire evolves and on new features. Thank you very much for reading and commenting.
@calimama: Thanks for your 2 cents! I guess it’s up to the user whether using the matching system or not. On the other hand, I would also appreciate a level test, sometimes students don’t know the level they have and I guess it’d help. Is there any at EduFire.com?
@Danilo da Silva: Thanks Danilo, I might take this checklist to a wiki so you can add more questions or answer them.
Hello everyone, my name is Marina Tognetti, founder and CEO of Myngle.
Thank you for the useful framework, so let me add the information about Myngle in the same framework, so that it can be helpful to both students and teachers looking for more information.
AS A LEARNER:
- Can I ask for a free live trial class before committing to any tutor?
Yes
- Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform?
Yes
- Is the payment/booking procedure clear and secure?
Yes. The booking and payment process is fully integrated. Myngle recommends the use of PayPal, which enables fast, easy and secure international payments.
- Is there any refund/cancellation policy?
Students can cancel booked lessons, the reason of which is checked by Myngle’s safe harbour department.
- Can I reschedule my lessons?
Yes. Rescheduling process is integrated.
- Are teachers qualified?
Quality of teaching is a strong focus for Myngle.
This is done on different levels:
a) Teachers are only visible in Myngle if they fulfil minimum requirements.
b) Most of those teachers have received a training session from our education experts. Teachers which have been trained are visible with a (consultation) mark near the name.
c) The best teachers get tested and become ‘certified’. This is also visible as a mark near the name (and replaces the ‘consultation’ mark)
d) After each lesson, teachers receive a feedback which is visible to all users. Users have an overview of feedback for the past month, 6 months, 12 months, in order to track consistent quality.
- Can I see the teacher’s credentials/curriculum?
Yes
- Are teacher’s credentials certified by the online provider?
Since Myngle has teachers from all over the world, it is difficult to certify the credentials the teacher lists with so many local, national, and international accreditation entities worldwide. However, please see answer above.
- Am I given access to multimedia resources?
The Myngle virtual classroom gives access to external resources, the teacher can share web pages, documents, and images automatically from his/her computer. Also, we’re building more asynchronous learning resources students can browse through in-between lessons (to be released soon).
- Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing?
Yes.
- Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing?
Yes.
- Can I record the lessons for further practice?
Not at this moment, but our virtual classroom is equipped for this. We are only testing the recording feature to make it available our users in the near future.
- Is there any sort of public feedback rating?
Yes.
- Can I contact other learners?
Yes.
- Can I exchange resources with other learners?
Yes, students can contact other students privately for interaction. We provide channels of communication between all users who can later develop further learning opportunities together.
- Does the site have a clear and friendly layout?
We hope it does. Best proof is to try.
- Do I need special software?
No, a web browser and Flash 9 is all that is necessary.
AS A TUTOR:
- What’s the commission charge?*
18%
- Does the commission fee include VAT?
Yes (net of VAT= 14,6%)
- Can I receive invoices?
Yes.
- Am I given the option of a demo class before choosing the platform?
Yes. We offer a free ‘Teacher consultation’ with one of our education members so they are coached on how to use the tools in Myngle, and have extra practice in teaching with our platform.
- Is the payment procedure fast and secure?
Yes. Payment done before the lesson. Myngle recommends the use of PayPal, which enables fast, easy and secure international payments.
- Is there any no-show policy? (i.e. if the student doesn’t show up)
No shows are investigated by Myngle’s safe harbour department and processed according to clear procedures, if necessary resulting in temporary or indefinite bans.
- Can I reschedule my lessons?
Yes. Rescheduling process is integrated.
- Can I upload my own resources?
Yes.
- Can I remix other tutors’ resources?
Yes.
- Can I license my work under Creative Commons?
Yes, lesson materials can be shared under Creative Commons license by-nd 3.0 if the teacher chooses to do so.
- If I don’t have my own materials, am I given access to a pool of resources?
Yes.
- Are lessons delivered by audio-conferencing?
Yes.
- Are lessons delivered by video-conferencing?
Yes.
- Do I need special software?
No.
- Can I share my desktop with the learner?
Yes.
- Can I record my lessons?
Not at this moment, but our virtual classroom is equipped for this. We are only testing the recording feature to make it available our users in the near future.
Thank you for the interest, and if you have any question, we will be glad to give you more information.
Marina
Hello everyone
well, thanks for a very interesting post, and a well prepared list
as a teacher on Myngle, and a teacher with what i like to call ( good ) experience teachign online, i would say i found all the help, support, freedom of choice and surelya unique platform that provies me as a teacher with a very long gorwing list of enthusiastic students, the features offered by Myngle, is simpley the best all the others offer, except its all in one, i do know about the process teachers go through either to be visible to students , or to become certified ( i went through both ),onething i like very much, is what what we say and think COUNTS, changes are being made to serve both teachers and students to serve them the best as they wish, the forum holds all the ideas,thoughts, and the heart and soul of Myngle teachers which every students or new teacher can feel, finding a teacher is very easy and can be done in a very personal way, or through the help of Myngle,the fre trial lesson is offered by almost everyone, so the students do get to see how their classes are going to be like and much more,,,
well, i dont want to write a lot ( too late for th at now lol ), so i will just leave it here
just one more thing
I`m proud to be Myngler
@Masreya: Thanks for commenting so enthusiastically on Myngle. I’m sure it’ll help other teachers make a choice!
Dear Marina: thanks a lot for taking the time to answer all the questions from the checklist. And because of this, it seems pretty clear to me that you believe in what you’re doing and if it weren’t that good you wouldn’t be here commenting on its value. So I guess your answers clear up any doubts about the subject.
(Your comment was caught by Akismet Spam, don’t know why, maybe hiccups).
Thank you Elena.
t is a very useful overview you made, so I hope more people will add their comments so that it can be a useful tool for both teachers and students.
And if you ever want to try, you will be the most welcome on Myngle!
Marina
@Marina Tognetti: Thanks
[...] Live online language learning: Myngle, eduFire and more. [...]
very beneficial checklist for live online language learning and teaching..By your post both sides of comparison discussed and give some information..I am very glad to read your post and very beneficial comments about this subject area..
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