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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you a special bulletin regarding our soon to be released Premium Learning Center 2.0! Thanks to your suggestions our Tech Team has managed to redesign our Premium Learning Center and create a user friendly interface based on your suggestions. The new Learning Center includes an entirely new layout, improved user interface, and superior site organization will give you quick access to all your favorite learning tools and reference material necessary to take your Japanese skills to new heights.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 10:56 pm and is filed under News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

24 Responses to “News #40 - Premium Learning Center 2.0”

JapanesePod101.com says:

Mina-san, thank you for your continued support!

Don’t forget to get a sneak peek!
http://www.japanesepod101.com/learning_center_v2/

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Liz21 says:

Amazing!! I started listening to the podcast in January, 2006. I simply can’t believe how everything here has evolved and improved!! Just when I think the site is wonderful and fantastic, a new feature comes out! :shock:

Marvin-san and Eran-san, SUGOI!!!!! OMEDETO! :cool:

I think this is the answer to my prayers: how to be more organized and systematic in my learning of Japanese.

I love the word “Bread crumb navigation”!! (Do the non-English speakers know this reference to bread crumbs?)

Finally, on the “News” today, I had to giggle myself when I heard Sakura-san and Megumi-san giggling together over the word “handy”!! What a great partnership there! :grin: This is going to be fun!!

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Alan says:

I’m looking forward to seeing Eran-san and Marvin-san’s new masterpiece. :smile:
Perhaps you could consider giving my brain an update at the same time as I can’t find anything in there. You could call it the ‘iLearnt Centre’ :lol:

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Jean-Michel says:

The “category” of this “News” should not be “Beginner lessons”, right ?
Having sais this, I am also very anxious to practice the new learning center. The interface of the present version sometimes looked confusing. Thanks to the developpers of this site for their great job.
がんばってください !

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Alain says:

It seems very interesting, and I really like this stylish Widget-like design.

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Sindy says:

JP101 crew and listeners! :wink:

Great job! You guys improve for the good and the better! :cool:

To be honest with everyone I was thinking of not renewing my subscription and leave because I found the learning center very difficult to use and the materials were very boring except for the audios. :roll:

But now that I see the changes that JP101 is doing for all of us so we can learn Japanese I have change my mind! The JP101 Crew Rules! :mrgreen:

This Learning Center 2.0 looks more attractive, fun and more easy to understand, It is much better. I definitive going to try it out and stay. :grin:

Thank You Eran-san and Marvin-san :wink: S_R_C

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Gary_Chan says:

さすがJPOD101!本当にがんばった!
またお世話になれましただね。ありがとう

I really admire the effort that goes into improving the content and interface all the time. I have been living in Japan for 6 months in the Kansai region and I can honestly say that since I began using J-Pod 101 my Japanese comprehension has increased dramatically. I’d go as far as to say I get more out of a single lesson on J-Pod than I do in a day of total exposure. The learning centre was something I too wasn’t too sure about to begin with, but now the premium subscription is fully justified in my eyes.

あきらめない!

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Lulu-chan says:

omg!! すごいい!!!Japanesepod101みなさんはささいこう!!!ありがとうございます!!
you all never cease to amaze me! thanks so much for working so hard to make Japanese learning so fun, easy and practical!! i soo wish my portuguese classes were as good as this. T___T

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Sindy says:

Gary_Chan-san and Lulu-Chan-san! :wink:

本当にありがとう! 私は実際にあなたの親切な単語を認めた。 :cool: :mrgreen: :wink: S_R_C

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Lulu-chan says:

sindy_san
度いたしまして。
あなたはJapanesepodにしごとしますか?

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Alan says:

I see the new Premium Learning Centre is installed and am finding my way round :wink:

Could we have the checkboxs for less common words and exact match back in the Kanji dictionary please? :mrgreen:

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Eran says:

Alan-san,

Glad to hear you’re finding your way around the new Learning Center:) User-friendly interface is a key element of the new design.

I don’t believe that the less common words and exact match checkboxes ever existed in the Kanji dictionary. They were and still are available in the Word Dictionary. Nevertheless, I think it’s a great suggestion and I will be sure to add it to our list of future enhancements.

Eran

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Alan says:

Eran-san,

You’re right :smile: I intended to use the Word dictionary, but selected the Kanji dictionary in error.

Alan

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Eran says:

Alan-san,

Maybe it’s not that user-friendly after all! :roll:

- Eran

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Jean-Michel says:

Congratulations for the excellent revamping of the learning center. Everything looks so much more logical, now.
The only thing I did not find entirely convincing is the duplication of information between the left column and the main panel when one first accesses a lesson. The instructions in the right frame are useful only till one gets used to different options, then I find it is merely distracting. Perhaps a checkbox could be used to prevent it from appearing when it is no longer needed.
Another point is that I could not find how to access the informal track from the learning center.
Finally, it would be nice if the system could remember which lesson you studied the last time and take you back there directly (at least as an option) at your next visit.
Apart from that, I am quite enthusiastic about the new design. Obviously a big leap forward for JPod101. Well done, folks !
Jean-Michel

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Eran says:

Jean-Michel-san,

Thanks for the spectacular feedback and your kind words. I am glad you like the new layout and that you feel we’re taking a step in the right direction. I will address your suggestions one by one…

… the duplication of information between the left column and the main panel when one first accesses a lesson. The instructions in the right frame are useful only till one gets used to different options, then I find it is merely distracting. Perhaps a checkbox could be used to prevent it from appearing when it is no longer needed.

The detailed explanations provided in the right panel are aimed at individuals that are new to the Learning Center and its features. The idea was to give people more than one way to navigate to a particular feature. Having said that, I can see how they can seem redundant and even distracting once you know your way around. I really like your suggestion of creating a user-defined setting that hides/shows the details of the right panel (which usually means that you’ll see it in a future release). ;)

Another point is that I could not find how to access the informal track from the learning center.

The informal audio is track is available in the left panel, right panel, and Lesson Directory BUT only for lessons that have informal tracks. As you know, not every lesson has an informal track. I can say with certainty that you were probably looking at a lesson that does not have an informal track.

…it would be nice if the system could remember which lesson you studied the last time and take you back there directly (at least as an option) at your next visit.

Another great suggestion but not an easy one to implement… I’ll see what can be done here.

Thanks,

Eran

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Jean-Michel says:

Eran-さん
Sorry about the informal track. I must have looked up a lesson which lacked it. :oops:

If I may add one more remark about the aspect of the “lesson specific” page : to my taste, some of the navigation buttons are too big and eye catching : this is particularly true of the”Make the lesson complete” button, whose function is neither vital not of frequent use. It could safely be placed somewhere at the bottom of the option list.
Also “Browse all lessons” is not really an option *within* the “lesson specific” tab but would deserve a tab of its own (perhaps not enough space for it, though…).
Finally, the “My Kanji Bank” and “My Word Bank” buttons are not very useful because these options are already in the popup list. To me, having the same option given in two different places (especially when they are close to each other) always makes me wonder whether they might be somehow different and I end up feeling unsecure.
All this is only cosmetic and, admittedly, a matter of taste.

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Eran says:

Jean-Michel-san,

Thanks again for the great feedback! We will definitely take your points into consideration as we plan out the next phase of work for the Learning Center (already in the works) :wink:

Our rationale behind “globalizing” the “My Kanji Bank” and the “My Word Bank” was the fact that they neither belong to the Lesson Specific or the Reference Material side since you can add words/kanji from either section. Also, since they are widely used, we decided they should be “global” and easily accessible from every page in the Learning Center.

I hope this helps and please chime in with other great suggestions and experiences.

All the best,

Eran

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Jean-Michel says:

Is it just me? it took me a while to figure out how to use the filters in the “Browse all lessons” page. I thought pressing one button would display just the corresponding lessons, whereas is does just the opposite. Of course, “filter” is filter but this does not look very natural to me : if you want to study beginner lessons only, you must click 10 buttons !
And what is the purpose of the “save filters” button? Does it retain the configuration of buttons for the next time you come back to this page?

Jean-Michel

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John C. Briggs says:

Jean-Michelさん,
I just looked at this. It certainly could be clearer. The buttons change color from red to gray.
red=included
gray = not included.
How are we supposed to know that. Perhaps
green=included
red = not included
Like a traffic light

However, I think that the more common way to do this is with checkboxes. If the icons had a checkbox that showed it was included, it might be clearer. This could be done by changing the GIFs.

The save filters button does seem to do what you suggest.
ジョン

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Eran says:

Jean-Michel-san / John-san,

Great feedback folks! We certainly could have been a bit clearer. I’ll throw up some simple instructions as an interim solution. Like anything new, it can take a little bit of getting used to, but I think once you get the hang of it, you’ll really like the functionality available in the Lesson Directory.

As for the “Save Filters” button, you are both 100% correct with your understanding of its functionality.

Finally, if you only want to select one lesson, you don’t have to click 10 buttons. You can simply click the “Select None” button, which will turn all categories off, and then click just the button of the category you want shown in the directory.

I hope this helps.

Eran

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John C. Briggs says:

Eranさん
Thanks for the information. I didn’t notice the “select none” button.
One thing that I have learned about filters is that they can be very frustrating when you don’t realize that they have been applied. Perhaps some RED text at the top that says “FILTERS HAVE BEEN APPLIED” would help.
Thanks
John

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Jean-Michel says:

Eran-さん,
The Select none button is ok, but, in my opinion, it is misplaced, outside the Filters frame. One thinks it somehow applies to the lessons listed below, not to the filters. Even John Briggs was fooled by this !… :wink:

Jean-Michel

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Eran says:

Mina-san,

I have added some instructional text to the “Browse All Lessons” page. Hopefully, it clears up some confusion. We will continue to look for ways to make the interface more user-friendly and intuitive.

Thank you John-san for the great suggestion!

Eran

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