No Signal in Afghanistan? University's iPad Language App Will Still Work - Wired Campus

No Signal in Afghanistan? University’s iPad Language App Will Still Work

May 2, 2011, 3:06 pm

Screen shot U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan frequently have trouble talking with local residents, who speak Pashto, which has 44 letters and its own unique calligraphy. Now there’s a free iPad app that provides a tutorial, and it will work even in remote areas because the entire program resides on the tablet computer.

“We assumed some users will be in the military, who will use it in areas without any data connection,” says Sukhrob Karimov, an information and communication technology specialist at Indiana University’s Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region. “So we decided to build it so all the sources are in the app. Once installed on the iPad you can use it anywhere.”

Users can watch and listen to video recordings of Pashto speakers pronouncing each letter. It also has animations of Pashto calligraphy. Users can practice by tracing the letters on the screen, using a finger as a stylus. Difficulty writing with a finger has been a continuing criticism of the iPad, but Mr. Karimov says his group has tested the app with students, who all seemed to find it easy to use.

Building all of this into the program ballooned it up to 30 megabytes, huge for an app. “So it might take several seconds to load, but that is the only drawback,” Mr. Karimov says.

Speaking Pashto seems to ease dealing with people in villages, U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Dustin L. Carroll, of the Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment, recently told the Idaho State Journal. “When you use their language, it shows you accept them,” Mr. Carroll told the publication. He and his unit have been teaching themselves Pashto through other methods, since the iPad app is not yet available.

The tutorial is not just for the military, but also for students on the go “who might want to use it on a plane, or underground train, where there is no signal,” Mr. Karimov says.

The app is being reviewed by Apple and if approved will be available through the company’s apps store this month. The Indiana developers are preparing a version for the BlackBerry tablet and plan one for Android-based tablets as well.

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darccity

Great. Maybe seniors will finally tell their state reps to stop cutting high ed funding.
fiona

Re the idea of having the “research track” and the “teaching track” in grad schools: That might be good in STEM fields. The research tracks in the humanities would be, I suppose, in fields like history or political science, with the assumption that the students would not attempt to get jobs as professors in academia.

Some years ago, universities had Doctor of Arts degrees, which were supposed to be doctorates for those most interested in teaching. The “teaching track,” essentially. I think the D.A. didn’t catch on because universities preferred to employ Ph. Ds. But I could be misremembering.
richarddery

Oddly enough, the college where I teach likes to see some experience, but actually is biased against applicants with significant experience. Long time adjuncts who have dedicated years to our institition have been told they are unhirable because they have too much experience, this despite the fact everyone knows they are great teachers.
http://nathaniel-campbell.blogspot.com/ Nathaniel M. Campbell

Perhaps this is a naive question, but if so many college teaching jobs require significant previous teaching experience, how do you crack the egg? How do you get your foot in the door at the beginning of a career, when by definition you don’t have that much experience yet?

If they won’t let you get experience unless you already have it, aren’t you caught in the 22?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=12451314 Laura Summerhill Deeter

I got my PhD at an R1 research institution and most of the folks there really want their grad students headed into other R1 institutions, so talk of teaching/working at a cc is minimal. If there is talk of cc, it is almost always in a negative fashion, as in, “why in the world would you want to do THAT?!” As a student, I was required to teach at least twice (not be a grader, but in the lab and/or the classroom) in order to graduate. It’s not a lot of teaching experience, but it’s better than none and that little bit can get the foot in the door.
msmaria

Excellent article. Trying to get a teaching position in a community college is extremely difficult, as I know from personal experience. I never have managed to crack that nut, but do have some university teaching experience. Here in Los Angeles, it’s quite competitive to get a teaching position in a community college.
msmaria

You are correct about the D.A. versus PhD degrees. The former has fallen out of favor, unfortunately, because having the latter degree (PhD) doesn’t mean you know how to teach!.
big_giant_head

This.
big_giant_head

You’re right. It’s either that, or to, you know, hire people who can actually teach.
big_giant_head

What?
robjenkins

Thanks for adding your wisdom to the conversation, Kathleen.

Best,
Rob
nsqljs

I
look at finding a job like playing the lotto. Every employer views an
applicant’s experience in different ways, as many of the comments on this post
indicates. However, I will say that I am graduating this May with an MA in
History and the only reason I wanted a Master’s was to teach at a community
college. I taught four classes as a Teaching Assistant, my school only paid a
$200.00 annual stipend, so I certainly wasn’t in it for the money. I did that
because I absolutely and thoroughly adore teaching at the college level and ultimately
would prefer to work in a community college. Yet, I sent out my Teaching
Portfolio, CV, and a cover letter and have only received rejections letters so
far. One Department Chair in the area was kind in his response, but also said,
you “only have TA experience,” as if I was some useless nobody
incompetent that did not have teaching experience (I was also an instructor for
five years in the business world so apparently he did not read my entire CV) or
understand the community college environment. I started at a community college.
I was one of those students that came from an economically disadvantaged
background that couldn’t afford to go to a four year institution right away. I
also was always a working adult that had to pay my own way through school and
that was another reason I chose to go to a community college for as long as I
could since they generally have more flexible class schedules with classes in the evening and
on-line. So I understand the community college environment and
student body quite well. Moreover, clearly I care about teaching if I was
willing to practically do it for free as a TA and forgo paid part-time work
that would have brought in an income that I desperately needed. Then the
Department Chair suggested applying for another unpaid internship geared to
train people to work as a professor with the local community college district
to gain even more experience. Since my school loans are running out, I don’t
have the financial luxury to work for free any longer. I either work for pay,
or I starve. I also don’t have any problem starting as an adjunct to build
experience, but when people won’t even give you a chance to start as an
adjunct, how do you get this “experience”? It seems no one in colleges
or any industry for that matter is willing to give people a chance to get their
foot in the door anymore so they can acquire this “experience.” This is a
shame. There are so many people with great potential that would be phenomenal
professors or fantastic in other professions and they are overlooked. It just
feels like everywhere you turn, a door is slammed in your face for one reason
or another. But, the lack of “experience” is a very old and truly unfair paradox
of the work world.
BullHubbard

Hey, Willena! While I have managed my teaching at two campuses 50 miles apart on different schedules (T-Th at one and M-W at the other), my situation is quite similar to yours and has been for 14 years. After about 5 years in, I simply got tired of the annual full-time job application ritual and quit doing it. Two years ago I began sending out applications again but still no interview. You can believe my packet has been polished and contains in its narrative bits what everyone I have read on the process recommends. I’m not sure what to think about this. I ain’t got what it takes to join the tenure-track club, I reckon. Maybe middle age (51) has something to do with the drought. I sure won’t go back into debt to earn a doctorate. I am resigned to my lower middle class fate!