At Speexx, we know a thing or two about online language training and business communication for organizations. But recently, we’ve also been turning into specialists for combining cooking delicious food and exchanging conversations, thanks to our Let’s COOK Together event, which happened in Madrid last week. So on 17th November, we got together for a wonderful afternoon with friends and clients of Speexx at Kitchen Club. Here, we discovered the world of spherification, liquid nitrogen and other new cooking techniques which the world’s most visionary chefs have brought into fashion. A group of 20 people, we enjoyed a highly interactive event with with lots of networking opportunities, followed by a cooking session guided by professional chefs. We created two aperitifs (spherification of olives and Ibero-Thai burritos) and a dessert (cheesecake foam, bizcocho and red fruits). Another spectacular highlight was watching the experts themselves work on the liquid nitrogen, which resulted in a tiny aperitif called "Blue Dragon" (which you exhale through your mouth and noise as white smoke while you eat!). We love creating events where HR and learning professionals exchange can experiences and knowledge, and build their contacts at the same time. All of this happens in an informal environment where people can relax, laugh, chat and network. See you very soon for the next event!

This Friday is Black Friday. In the US and increasingly in the rest of the world, the holiday retail season kicks off on the Friday following Thanksgiving. Black Friday is the day when eager bargain hunters fill the streets en masse to find the lowest prices and best offers on Christmas gifts. And although we can’t offer you a deal on an amazing flatscreen TV this week, we want to give you a little literary inspiration - related to the color black in different languages. Here are 10 expressions you may not have known in 5 different languages. Enjoy! English "Pot is calling the kettle black" (Any excuse for the Anglo-Saxons to make a tea-related reference!) Meaning: You should not criticize someone for a fault that you have too. A bit like, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. "To be in the black" Meaning: To show a financial profit.   French "Le petit noir" (Literally: The little black) A small cup of black coffee in a barrista. "Broyer du noir" (Literally: To crush black) Meaning: To have the blues.   German "Ins Schwarze treffen" (Literally: To hit the black) Meaning: To hit the mark or get something just right. "Schwarz-weiß denken" (Literally: To think black and white) Meaning: To see everything very simplistically   Italian "Mettere nero su bianco" (Literally: To put black on white) Meaning: To put the details of something down on paper. "Non distinguere il bianco dal nero" (Literally: To not distinguish white from black). Meaning : To not see things clearly.   Spanish "Negro sobre blanco" (Literally: Black on white) Meaning: When something is expressed clearly, and documented / recorded "Ser la oveja negra de la familia" (Literally: To be the black sheep of the family - which is of course used in many languages) Meaning: To be an outcast / bad character in an otherwise respectable group.   That’s all from us! You can probably think of loads more colorful expressions - just drop us a line. Happy Black Friday. And if you want to improve your language skills with a flexible online solution, check out Speexx.

Speexx Exchange is over for this year and once again it’s been an amazing experience filled with learning, discussion and networking. The first edition kicked off in Paris on 5th November. Here, a group of 50 senior HR and L&D professionals gathered at the Maison des Polytechniciens for some intensive sessions on building an effective language training strategy and the opportunities offered to organizations by blended learning. The feedback was fantastic and the morning ended with some great cocktails and networking sessions. Next up was Berlin on 2nd December. This was possibly the liveliest event in the history of Speexx Exchange. Every seat was taken long before the 10am kick-off. A total of 100 guests, partners and speakers from 15 different countries joined in. Once again, the conference was chaired by the one and only Laura Overton of Towards Maturity, who opened the conference with some deep insights into what’s driving HR and L&D professionals right now and what the top deck organizations are doing differently in terms of talent management. Laura was followed by Victoria Bethlehem of Adecco. Victoria is in charge of the learning and development of 32,000 employees and  showed us strategies for maximizing talent, with first-hand advice from Adecco. Next was Yves Boudib of LG Electronics who gave some expert advice about embedding 70:20:10 in a business context. It turned out that a large number of people in the room had already heard of 70:20:10, but just a handful actually used it. After a delicious lunch, Peter Fox of Credit Suisse presented how his company has switched from a local to a cloud-based learning management system and established a global e-learning environment. Sina Bader was next, and she gave us some detailed insights into how to build a successful competency model, based on Linde MH‘s example, as well as finding the right people for the right role. The final session was held by Nicole Smit of European Climate Foundation and Filip Moriau of AGILON. Together, they showed us how they have successfully developed a leadership lab at the ECF with the help of AGILON.  In between the sessions, we had live reality check surveys, networking opportunities and great food and refreshments. The day was wrapped up with an exciting crowdsourcing activity where guests split into four groups and interviewed each other about tackling current talent management issues. The final Speexx Exchange edition was held in Shanghai on 3rd December, with over 100 HR professionals, experts speakers and partners. A truly global event, Speexx Exchange is all about collaborating, communicating and exchanging great ideas to shape the future of talent management. We’re always on the look-out for great speakers and partners, so if you’re interested in contributing, drop us a line!    

by John Newsom, News & Record N.C. A&T last year became the largest historically black college in the nation. This year, A&T thinks it can grow even bigger. University officials said Friday that A&T will emphasize — and expand — its online course offerings and degree programs to better meet the area’s educational needs and increase enrollment. A&T in its long-range plan set a goal of growing to 13,500 students by 2020 and to 15,000 students in the decade after that. But enrollment growth in recent years has been slow. http://www.greensboro.com/news/schools/looking-to-boost-enrollment-n-c-a-t-turns-to/article_b419f1f7-0081-5434-8997-55a3c2949ddc.html Share on Facebook

by John LaMar, US News A full-time job and a full-time course load aren’t workable for every online student. After closing five tabs on my Chrome Web browser and another eight course documents, I looked at my schedule for the upcoming week: three and a half hours of free time left - not for a day, but for the entire week. My typical day as an online bachelor’s student was looking like this: wake up at 5:45 a.m., get to work by 7 a.m. at the latest, do an hour of class work before starting my job at 8 a.m., work eight hours while taking an hour lunch break to study, go home, take a 20-minute power nap before eating, then do another three to four hours of studying before falling asleep. The next day, the routine began again. http://www.usnews.com/education/online-learning-lessons/2015/09/11/know-your-time-management-limits-as-an-online-student Share on Facebook

by Karen MacGregor, University World News People from across the world have been collaborating to develop policies and actions that will chart the future for higher education, says Professor Mandla Makhanya, vice-chancellor of the University of South Africa. A high-level policy forum at next month’s conference of the International Council for Open and Distance Education, or ICDE, will apply regional lenses to help forge the way ahead for online, open and flexible learning. The collaboration is sparking something great and innovative in the higher education environment, Makhanya told University World News. Also: "Technology is bringing about a rethink of the missions of universities, and of business models. http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20150912090319378 Share on Facebook

by Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed Modern States Education Alliance, an organization initially billed as an accreditor for nontraditional providers of education, is changing its focus and taking a more direct route to increasing access to higher education, its founders say. Last week, the organization recruited another set of institutions to join in that effort: the Texas State University System. Freshman Year for Free is one step toward Modern States’ goal. Starting next year, the initiative will offer about 30 massive open online courses designed to help students pass standardized placement tests for which many colleges award credit. "We want to be an on-ramp to college education for students of varying backgrounds and ages," Vise said, adding that the courses could benefit high school students, members of the military, adult learners and students looking to complete degrees. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/14/modern-states-education-alliance-shifts-focus-away-accreditation Share on Facebook

by Seth Slabaugh, Star-Press On-campus enrollment at Ball State University has dropped for the fourth consecutive year, but overall enrollment is up as the number of online students grows. The school has 16,602 on-campus students this fall, down from 18,241 in the fall of 2011. That means 1,639 fewer students are taking classes on the main campus this fall than four years ago, a decrease of 9 percent. One faculty member is calling the trend "pretty worrisome," another says it is typical for schools such as Ball State and a third attributes the decline to the high cost of a college education and concerns over student debt. http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2015/09/12/bsu-campus-enrollment-total/72157660/ Share on Facebook

By The Texas Tribune The Texas State University System has an idea for future students busy with families and jobs: Don’t even show up on campus freshman year. Starting next fall, the system plans to encourage nontraditional students to take free massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, before arriving on campus. If they take 10 courses and pass tests for college credit, students could show up at school with a year’s work complete before paying a single tuition bill. The courses will be run by the New York-based nonprofit the Modern States Education Alliance through a program called Freshman Year for Free. The group plans to launch a free online portal providing access to about three dozen free online courses next fall. http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2015-09-13/texas-try-free-freshman-online-courses Share on Facebook

By Beth Luberecki, Washington Post If you’re considering getting a graduate degree, a MOOC (massive open online course) can be one way to check out a university or program. Completing a MOOC can give you an indication of whether you want to enroll in a traditional master’s program. "They can be a great way to find out in a short period of time if that subject interests you or not," says Elaine Shuck, president of the U.S. Distance Learning Association. These free online courses help give you an indication of a professor’s teaching style and expertise. "You could get a good sense of what a particular faculty member is like and whether or not it’s someone you want to work with," says Edward Maloney, executive director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2015/09/14/massive-open-online-courses-moocs-can-help-you-achieve-the-next-step-in-your-career/ Share on Facebook