Starting from today, American Airlines will offer passengers the chance to access some bite-sized eLearning content when they fly. These mini lessons come courtesy of Rosetta Stone and Skillshare, two companies with sizable online learning catalogues.
In total, there are over 150 courses available for passengers, with classes in languages, productivity and creative pursuits. Rosetta Stone alone offers 24 different languages, so you should be able to pick up some useful phrases and vocabulary that you can use on your travels. Skillshare has a more creative output, covering topics like sketching, photography, flower arrangement and design.
Accessing the courses is done via passengers' devices, rather than on-board screens. Simply turn on your smartphone, tablet or laptop, ping on airplane mode, connect to the in-flight signal then head to aainflight.com. And remember to pack an extra drawing pad if you intend to follow one of the sketching classes.
Talking about the new partnership, Clarissa Sebastian, managing director of premium customer experience and onboard products, said: “The importance of personal enrichment has grown over the past year, but so have the varying priorities competing for our attention. We are thrilled to team up with Rosetta Stone and Skillshare to introduce new, interactive ways for our customers to spend their time with us.”
Passengers still have the option of accessing the hundreds of movies and TV series available as part of the in-flight package, but they can also now opt to spend their time on a light bit of self-development and learning.
Rosetta Stone vs Skillshare
Rosetta Stone offers some of the best learn Spanish online courses. We also rate it as one of the best learn French online apps available in 2021 – so it’s well worth testing out the classes if you’re stuck on a flight and need a way to pass the time. Other languages available on the platform include Italian, German, Russian and Korean.
Lessons are delivered through a series of short, interactive classes, running you through things like grammar, vocabulary and spelling. The platform even has a clever AI tool called TruAccent, which gives you feedback on your pronunciation. While this can’t provide the same level of live feedback given by some of the best online tutoring services, it can definitely prevent you from making embarrassing mistakes.
Skillshare is a more general learning platform, with its roots in creative pursuits. Unlike Rosetta Stone, lessons are delivered primarily via videos, with pupils following along as their tutor draws, paints, codes or guides you through the process of creative writing.
