Are you teaching a Polysynthetic language to your learners?
Teachers of polysynthetic languages often struggle to find suitable resources for their learners. There is no doubt that there is a dearth of quality digital content for teaching a polysynthetic language. We developed Seedling to redress that balance. Now, students studying a polysynthetic language can access resources their teachers create that combine the latest technology and pedagogical thinking.
Indigenous Educators can create highly engaging learning materials in their polysynthetic language using Seedling.
Have you created this platform just to teach polysynthetic languages?
No, we originally developed the platform to enable teachers create digital learning activities in our local indigenous languages here in Ireland. We value the pivotal contribution to the retention of culture that language plays. For centuries indigenous cultures encouraged their people to live in close harmony with the land and its wildlife. We hope the revitalisation of minority and Indigenous languages will help revive cultures and values that put the planet first.
We want to help bring equality of opportunity to under-served learners. It has been proven that learners who grow up with a strong understanding of their language and cultural heritage are better engaged with education throughout their lives. We are committed to encouraging culturally mindful learning whether the language is polysynthetic or not.
Why Seedling for Polysynthetic Language Learning?
Mainstream educational publishers largely ignore the requirements of minority and Indigenous learners studying their polysynthetic language. This is because the number of potential students (and therefore the amount of profit) is usually quite limited.
Polysynthetic language educators, such as First Nations, face daily challenges when trying to devise and publish learning materials for their students. It is often expensive, time-consuming and somewhat home-made in terms of quality. We all know that learning from low-grade materials can suggest the subject matter is less important or relevant. Today’s language learners often prefer a “digital-first” approach. We believe this should include resources that help them learn their own polysynthetic language.
How can I produce digital-first learning materials for my polysynthetic language?
You can easily produce digital-first interactive learning materials for your polysynthetic language. Seedling has devised a series of activities and games that can be tailored to polysynthetic languages. Our platform enables you to produce high-quality digital learning materials quickly and at a low cost. Each of our educational games can be adjusted to use the written text, recorded audio and visual imagery of your polysynthetic language. You can build games that look and play as well as any off-the-shelf product for other modern languages.
Some of the advantages Seedling offers you as a polysynthetic language educator:
- Build your own library of games and learning activities that feature your polysynthetic language
- Include text, sounds and image that reflect your own culture, landscape, heritage, history, elders and learners.
- Each game you build can be edited or duplicated at any time.
- Your games are stored within our platform forever, never degrading, never being lost or forgotten.
- The collection of polysynthetic language learning content you create is only limited by your time, knowledge and imagination.
Is this a solution for the long-term benefit of my polysynthetic language?
Seedling is designed to grow with your needs. We understand the complex challenges that polysynthetic language teachers have to overcome. Often you are tasked with devising modern teaching strategies for a language that has been rarely, if ever, documented. Our game templates allow you to evolve your learning materials as successful strategies and themes emerge. The flexibility of Seedling means that if a polysynthetic language community’s understanding of their language system changes, the teaching materials can be easily altered with no additional expense.
We can set up Seedling for your school in less than an hour and you can be creating learning materials in your own polysynthetic language right away. Every school set-up comes with 10 pre-installed game templates, specifically designed for indigenous and minority language learning. Seedling is so easy to use that most people are able to build their first game after just 10 minutes of video instruction. However, we love to get to know our customers personally and so our team will schedule a one-hour training session with your teachers as soon as is convenient.
If we want to create our own digital polysynthetic language learning materials – is it expensive?
Seedling is offered to schools as an affordable annual license. Pricing is dependent on a number of factors including the size of the overall language community, the number of teachers and learners who are likely to be using the system and the length of the license agreed (1, 2 or 3 years).
We would be delighted to demonstrate Seedling and discuss how the platform canhelp you teach your polysynthetic language.
