There is an amazing story going round tech circles this year about a Japanese computer system that was designed for bakeries but which also ended up being able to detect cancer cells and save lives.
You can read more about it in the New Yorker Magazine here.Β
This is how tech works, Β it’s not a case of looking at all the shiny new technology and thinking “What can we use?” Β it’s simply a case of asking what are the challenges and limitations we have every day? Β And then very often a really simple technology can often revolutionize what we do.
For example when I started with teaching, a lot of teachers had problems with pronunciation. Β The solution was really simple, Β flashcards that you could touch and they talked!Β It made it so any non-native teacher could teach pronunciation confidently and any native speaker teacher could give their students exposure to many ways of saying the words from around the world.
Then students were having difficulties as they didn’t have an English speaking environment at home. Β So we took the best bits of what they loved to do on their computers and put them into the Genki English software program.
So the question now is…
What are the biggest limitations on what you do? Β Β What is stopping you reaching even more students with more fun, more ease and more results?
What monotonous tasks would you love to get rid of? Β What simple things that take 5 minutes would you love to get done in 1 minute?
Let us know in the comments, Β you never know, there might already be a Japanese bakery out there that has already developed what you need!
Be genki,
Richard
