Living in Silicon Valley and hearing about the latest technology news from local sources, it is easy to forget about what is happening in the rest of the world! However, being a foreign languages aficionado and having worked in Community Development with Egbert Van Keulen, I continued to follow up with his latest ventures as he worked on Myngle: the global online language e-learning platform, connecting people and cultures from all over the world. I knew Egbert was extremely bright from hearing his input on Community, but did not expect he would have up to 20,000 users in less than 7 months, not to mention the 800.000 euros raised already!! Myngle has proved to be one of the most promising ICT companies in Benelux.
Although personally I prefer to learn languages through in person human interaction, if I did have to choose an online method, Myngle would certainly be my top choice. Since December 2007, Myngle has brought together language teachers and students from all over the world, enabling live lessons or conversational practice over the Internet. Myngle offers a solution that provides the possibility of teaching or receiving live one-on-one classes from the comfort of your home for practically any language and level from any type of teacher.
Myngle brilliantly removes the physical dimension to learning a new language, and allows students and teachers to get together for real time lessons in the best possible combinations, at the most convenient times, and – crucially – between any two points in the world. Students are able to find teachers online for any language, and a method that meets their individual needs.
Myngle is unique as it has developed the first in online education special search algorithm that matches the student’s needs with the right courses, and already offers about 900 different teacher/course combinations students can choose from. Teachers (and even offline language schools) are able to reach students anywhere in the world, and showcase their abilities and services to a much wider audience.
How do teachers and students communicate?
Myngle offers a toolkit for synchronous learning, which consists of VoIP (Skype) plus own integrated whiteboard, payment systems (Paypal), feedback and a community environment. Myngle’s feedback system is made up of comments and ratings left by students who were taught by the relevant teacher. These comments and ratings are available in the public Feedback Profile of each member. Extra features will gradually be added to enrich the learning experience, such as podcasts, homework, 3D virtual reality classroom / role plays etc.
The most exciting features of Myngle, Virtual Classroom, will be launching sometimes next week.
This Virtual Classroom will empower teachers and students’ full interactivity in a lesson. Besides file sharing and Skype integration it will have:
- Desktop sharing
- Marking tools right above the lesson slides, or with a blank whiteboard (so that users can draw or write real-time);
- Video feed (teachers can turn on/off when they wish to interact visually with the student);
- Integrated chat;
- Enabling lessons with several students;
There will be a few surprise features we will have to wait until Thursday to discover.
Myngle’s team is composed of experienced Community and Foreign language devotees, formerly employees of eBay and Berlitz, and including all types of nationalities such as The Netherlands, Italy, Hong Kong, Brazil, Ukraine, England, and Indonesia!
For additional information, screenshots, or photos feel free to contact:
Myngle.com
Egbert van Keulen
tel: ++31-617704408
Skype: egbertvankeulen
e-mail: egbert@myngle.com
As the Dutch say, “Veel plezier met leren”
8 responses so far ↓
Egbert // September 3, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Hi layla,
Thank you for the compliments. We do our best to release the new whiteboard tomorrow but it may take 1 or 2 days longer. We do our best.
FYI, we raised 800,000 euro’s, not 800.00
All the best from Holland.
Egbert
frances // September 3, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Myngle seems to be a good site for language learning. How would you say it compares to other competitors on the web like babbel, edufire and italki? Does Myngle offer lessons or online exam type study? Curious, just looking for a site that would be good for my 15 year old
Egbert // September 3, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Dear Frances,
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 by our education department 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 stars. 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 from Amsterdam
Antoine // September 4, 2008 at 6:03 pm
This is a very interesting concept. I have tried Rosetta stone to learn my Farsi. But this is different in the sense it is online and interactive… and using Skype! I love Skype. Being able to talk with a teacher form anywhere in the world makes it very easy. This is breaking barriers. I would definitely want to give it a try!
Aniya // September 6, 2008 at 12:44 am
Hi there, I am a native English teacher on Myngle and I have been there just a few months, but it’s growing rapidly and I think you’ll find not only good teachers and a varied choice, but very down to earth and friendly people. Myngle staff really look after their teachers and students. I registered on other sites before this but there was is comparison.
Aniya from Italy
Aniya // September 6, 2008 at 12:46 am
Hi there, I am a native English teacher on Myngle and I have been there just a few months, but it’s growing rapidly and I think you’ll find not only good teachers and a varied choice, but very down to earth and friendly people. Myngle staff really look after their teachers and students. I registered on other sites before this but there is no comparison.
Aniya from Italy
Antoine // September 6, 2008 at 8:34 am
Hi Anya: we were wondering how can Myngle pay a good salary to teachers, if they are charging only 15$ to the students? Are you also happy with the salary? Is it comparable to other sites? Also I have a friend who is a Native Spanish speaker, he has great communication skills but no teaching credentials, do you think he can still teach?
laylasabourian // October 27, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Hi Everyone: Wow I just checked out this page today!! Thanks for all of your comments, Aniya thanks for sharing your experience as a teacher.