Norsknett

Norwegian Film Awards

Below is a list of the winners of the Norwegian film awards that were given out tonight in Haugesund as part of the Norwegian Film Festival.  The big winners were "Kautokeino-opprøret" with 5 awards and "Mannen som elsket Yngve" with 4.  Read the full article from NRK or view the photo series.

The trailers for both of these films are also online in the quicktime video format.  Click on "liten (little) / medium / stor (large) / fullskjerm (full-screen).  The trailers are excellent, but be patient since they take several seconds to load.

Kautokeino-opprøret: Norwegian site (Filmweb) / trailer / photos
Mannen som elsket Yngve: Norwegian site (Filmweb) / trailer / photos

The film awards are called "amandapriser, and according to the Film Festival website, are named for a woman described in the song "Amanda fra Haugesund."  The real history of Amanda is apparently unclear, but she supposedly lived in Haugesund during the 1920s and served drinks to the fishermen.

Amandaprisene 2008

Beste norske kinofilm: Mannen som elsket Yngve, produsent Yngve Sæther, Motlys

Beste barne- og ungdomsfilm: Mannen som elsket Yngve, regi Stian Kristiansen

Folkets Amanda: Kautokeino-opprøret, regi Nils Gaup

Årets utenlandske kinofilm: There Will Be Blood, regi Paul Thomas Anderson, distributør Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Beste regi: Stian Kristiansen, Mannen som elsket Yngve

Beste kvinnelige skuespiller: Anni-Kristiina Juuso, Kautokeino-opprøret

Beste mannlige skuespiller: Trond Espen Seim, Varg Veum - Falne engler

Beste kvinnelige birolle: Ane Dahl Torp, Lønsj

Beste mannlige birolle: Espen Skjønberg, O'Horten

Beste filmmanus: Thomas Moldestad og Siv Rajendram Eliassen, Varg Veum - Falne engler

Beste foto: Philip Øgaard, Kautokeino-opprøret

Beste scenografi: Karl K. Juliusson, Kautokeino-opprøret

Beste musikk: Mari Boine, Svein Schultz, Herman Rundberg, Kautokeino-opprøret

Beste klipp: Vidar Flataukan, Mannen som elsket Yngve

Beste lyddesign: Petter Fladeby, O'Horten

Beste dokumentar: Blod & ære, regi Håvard Bustnes, produsent Dag Hoel for Faction Film AS

Beste kortfilm: Varde, regi Hanne Larsen, produsent Mona Steffensen for Original Film AS

Amandakomiteens Gullklapper: Fotograf John Christian Rosenlund

Amandakomiteens Ærespris: Regissør Knut Erik Jensen

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon

Check out the photo series from one of the world's toughest triathlons.  Here is the brief description of the triathlon.

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon (Eidsfjord i Hardanger til Gaustatoppen)
Kl. 05.00 lørdag hoppet 181 kvinner og menn i Hardangerfjorden.  Verdens mest brutale triathlon var i gang: 3,8 km svømming, 180 km sykling og 42,2 km løping.

Key words:
klar ferdig gå: ready, set, go
lykke til: good luck
tøyeøvelse (en): stretching exercise
svømme (svømte, har svømt): swim
sykle (syklet, har syklet): bicycle
løpe (løp, har løpt): run
tøff: tough
brutal: brutal
deltager (en): participant
helt ferdig: completely done (exhausted)
smerte (en): pain
glede (en): joy

Source: Aftenposten

Online slideshow

I am looking for a web 2.0 site that creates slideshows.  I like Bubbleshare, where I made the slideshow below, but I would also like to add audio to the slideshow.  In the directions, it appears that you can, but the actual editing screen doesn't have the audio icon.  However, the rest of interface worked perfectly, and there are several themes you can apply to the slideshow as well as different ways of sharing the slideshow in a blog.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Teaching tips and tech trends

Today is August 1st, a reminder that it is time to start making the transition from summer projects to preparations for the upcoming semester.  Since I didn't go to Norway this summer, I have actually been working on my fall courses from time to time all summer.  I have a lot of new ideas for my courses that I will be describing in more detail as I finish up my planning this month, but for now I will just post some links about online gradebooks, teaching practices, tech trends.

For the past several years, I have used the grading program  "Easy Grade Pro" on my Mac.  I recommend it highly since it is a powerful and flexible program, but I have been looking for a way to put my grades online so that the students can follow their own progress throughout the course.  I could use the online gradebook in our course management system, Moodle, but I don't like the interface or the appearance of the Moodle gradebook.  We also have 3-5 sections of students in one Moodle classroom, so it is more complicated to get the settings correct for all the classes. Instead I'm going to use, Engrade, a free online grading program. Engrade is actually more than just a grading program, providing web tools such as an online assignment calendar for managing an online classroom.  However, I plan to use just the grading program since we make our own class web pages using Dreamweaver.

It is easy to set up a course in Engrade since you have the ability to copy information from previous courses you have created as well as to input settings and assignments into several courses at the same time.  My grading scheme isn't overly complicated, but I was easily able to set my own grading scale, weight the different types of assignments (homework, participation, tests, etc.), and add the students and assignments to the courses.  Adding grades to the gradebook will be slightly less efficient than with Easy Grade Pro, simply because you can only see the column of students and 8 assignments at any one time.  However, it shouldn't be a problem as long as I enter the grades regularly so that I don't have to click back and forth between assignments.

I'm hoping that the benefits of using Engrade will outweigh the slightly clunky interface.  I will be able to enter grades from any networked computer, and the students will be able to log in and view their current grade anytime during the course.  Engrade creates a page for each teacher and provides students with a login so that they can see their grades.  See my Engrade page here.  By the way, I don't ever remember having my gradebook set up an entire month before school starts!

After my gradebook was set up, I spent a couple of hours looking at current trends for enhancing teaching through the use of technology.  It is fun to see the creative ways teachers are incorporating collaborative learning and creative expression through the use of a variety of social media and Web 2.0 tools.  If you are interested in such things, here are a few of the best links I found:

Horizon Report 2008 (The New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative): A five-year qualitative research effort that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching. learning, or creative expressions within learning-focused organizations.

Web 2.0 Projects Book (Terry Freedman): A listing of 60 projects using Web 2.0 tools.  Organized by age group.

• Horizon Project 2008
• Flat Classroom Project 2007
• US History: An Adventure in Knowledge

Teaching Tips (Honolulu Community College)

Erik og Kriss: Det e'kke meg, det er deg

Erik og Kriss have become more and more popular during the past two years in Norway. The song "Det e'kke meg, det er deg" reached as high as #2 on the VG Top 20 Hitlist, and currently it is listed as #6. It is available for purchase in the iTunes Store. Search for "Erik og Kriss," and you will find this song as well as many others. For more information about Erik og Kriss and their music, visit their website.

Exercise:
a) Follow along in the text below as you listen to the video.  This song is about a relationship that is nearing the end.  See if you can determine who wants to get out of the relationship and why it is taking so long for it to end.
b) In Chapter 26 of Sett i gang, the pronuncation topic is syllable reduction.  In most languages, including Norwegian, it is common for some syllables to be lost or left out in the flow of speech at normal tempo.  This song has many examples of syllable reduction, and they are listed below.  Note that it isn't normally correct to write the contractions below, but you do see it in informal writing, such as a dialog or a song text.

• va'kke = var ikke
• t'å = til å
• vi'kke = vil ikke
• e'kke = er ikke
• d'er = det er
• bli'kke = blir ikke

Text:

Det er et par små ting du må forstå
sånn som sist' gang jeg så deg og prøvde å gå
det va'kke det at jeg ikke hadde tid t'å prate og sånn
men jeg har prøvd i tre månt'er og ikke late som
hadde trodd at du tok et hint til slutt
jeg svarte aldri om du ringte annethvert minutt
og grunnen til at jeg har vært litt dust
er jo rett og slett at hele meg har backa ut
jeg prøvde bare bryte ting før vi kom langt nok
prøvde bare slippe unna praten her, sant nok
planen var bra nok, ville ha deg til å ende det
for jeg hater denne praten jeg er da mann for helvete
men du må face det, jeg finns ikke forelska
d'er ingenting ved deg jeg føler meg frelst av
døvt for deg, du ønsket ja, men fikk nei
men helt ærlig det e'kke meg det er deg

hvis du ser at jeg skygger banen
og prøver å dra min vei
er det bare å gå for du må forstå
at det e'kke meg det er deg

Kan hende jeg har møtt en annen
og skjønner du syns d'er leit
det er bare å gå vi'kke prate nå
for det e'kke meg det er deg

kjære deg vi må prate bare vi to
og spørre oss selv hva har skjedd hvor var det tiden dro
greit jeg bidro kanskje uten å si no' vi burde ikke halt det ut etter at jeg tilstod
jeg er en gutt ganske steinalder sådan
og haler hvert forhold helt ut som enhver mann
og ta tyren ved horna det er vel min plikt
men jeg vil heller at du slår opp og kaller meg for en dritt
jeg kan ta skylden det er null problem
for alle sår de kan leges litt som eksem
og når det kommer til slutten så er jeg utrent
men du må komme deg bort det e'kke vondt ment
og hvis du virkelig vil så kan jeg gråte med
det skal nok kanskje litt til men jeg får tåle det
jeg har vært altfor snill du får ikke gnåle mer
det e'kke deg det er meg det er klar beskjed

hvis du ser at jeg skygger banen
og prøver å dra min vei
er det bare å gå for du må forstå
at det e'kke meg det er deg

Kan hende jeg har møtt en annen
og skjønner du syns d'er leit
det er bare å gå vi'kke prate nå
for det e'kke meg det er deg

(brekk)
jeg ser at d'er vanskelig å forstå
men seriøst det e'kke noe å tenke på
det bli'kke oss to ikke da ikke nå
akkurat det kan jeg spå

jeg vi'kke vise deg forakt og sånn
kjærester hva er det du snakker om
du kan si at jeg er uaktsom og brå
men akkurat nå må jeg gå

hvis du ser at jeg skygger banen
og prøver å dra min vei
er det bare å gå for du må forstå
at det e'kke meg det er deg

Kan hende jeg har møtt en annen
og skjønner du syns d'er leit
det er bare å gå vi'kke prate nå
for det e'kke meg det er deg

hvis du ser at jeg skygger banen
og prøver å dra min vei
er det bare å gå for du må forstå
at det e'kke meg det er deg

Kan hende jeg har møtt en annen
og skjønner du syns d'er leit
det er bare å gå vi'kke prate nå
for det e'kke meg det er deg

Bert and Ernie in Norwegian

If you were one of the many children who grew up watching Sesame Street, then you should be able to use your knowledge of that program to help you understand this segment with Bert and Ernie.  In Norwegian, they are called Bernt and Erling, and in this segment, Erling is responsible for watching over Bernt's cookies until he comes back.  Watch the clip and see what happens.

Interactive grammar exercises

If you plan to study at the University of Oslo, you might take one of the Norwegian language courses for international students.  The Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies offers four levels of Norwegian (trinn 1 - 4) as well as courses in phonetics and Norwegian life and society.

If you aren't able to study in Norway, you can still use some of the interactive exercises that the department has put online for its students.

• IGIN: Grammar exercises for international students (Levels 1 - 3)
  Self-correcting exercises with simple explanations.
  
  
• MedVoice: Course in Norwegian for medical students (Beginning)
  5 lessons with reading texts, sound, grammar, exercises, and word lists
  By Lasse Johannesen, Harald Kamps, Else Ryen, and Wolfgang Laschet.
  
  
• TellRight: Course in Norwegian for health care personnel (Intermediate)
  5 lessons with reading texts, sound, grammar exercises, and word lists. 
  By Lasse Johannesen and Else Ryen.

Podcast: One Minute Norwegian

If you search for language podcasts in iTunes, you will find over a hundred podcasts teaching a variety of different languages.  Today, I found the "One Minute Norwegian" podcast by the Radio Lingua Network.  So far, there are only 10 episodes introducing elementary vocabulary, but the Norwegian host is good and the sound quality is excellent. 

Open the iTunes Store, click on podcasts and search for "One Minute Norwegian, or use the links below.

• iTunes RSS feed
  
• One Minute Language website

Norway's top 10 mountain hikes

(Griffin at the top of Preikestolen.  Photo by Trinara)

In Aftenposten today, there was an article listing the 10 most popular mountain hikes in Norway.  They are:

1. Preikestolen
2. Besseggen
3. Gaustadtoppen
4. Kjerag
5. Galdhøpiggen
6. Rallarveggen (the most popular biking trip in the mountains)
7. Fra Ulriken til Fløyen i Bergen
8. Aurlandsdalen
9. Trekanten i Rondane
10. Slogen

Crown Prince Haakon is 35 today

Kronprins Haakon fyller 35 år

Prinsesse Ingrid Alexandra og prins Sverre Magnus hadde stått tidlig opp søndag for å bake kanelsnurrer til pappa'n sin, som fylte 35 år.  I anledning fødselsdagen hadde kronprinsparet invitert til familiefoto på sitt nye sommerparadis Flatholmen i Risør kommune.

• Les mer (NRK)
• Se bildene fra Kronprins Haakons liv (NRK).

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Crown Prince Haakon is turning 35 years old

Princess Ingrid Alexandra and prins Sverre Magnus had gotten up early on Sunday to bake cinnamon rolls for their dad, who was turning 35 years old.  On the occasion of his birthday, the crown prince couple had invited photographers to take a family picture at their new summer paradise Flathomen in the municipality of Risør.

• Read more (NRK)
• See the photos from Crown Prince Haakon's life (NRK).

What is a "wordle"?

Above is a visual representation of the most important themes on the Norsknett blog.  It is called a "wordle" and was created at the site www.wordle.net.  Visit the site and you can create your own "wordle" by typing in the URL of a website or blog.  Below are wordles created from some other Norwegian websites.

Statistisk sentralbyrå (Norwegian Central Bureau of Statistics)

NRK nyheter (NRK news)

Visit to Door County, Wisconsin

There are no trips to Norway planned for this summer, but this past week we visited Door County in Wisconsin, an area settled by immigrants from Scandinavia.  The nature there with its beautiful forests, large bodies of water, and islands reminded us of Norway, and we were able to do many of the same things that we might have done on a trip to Norway.

For example, we spent as much time as possible by the water, enjoying beautiful views of Green Bay and Lake Michigan.

We read our books by the water in Ephraim,

camped and hiked in Peninsula State Park,

and biked in the park and through Fish Creek and Ephraim.

We ate Swedish pancakes at Al Johnson's Swedish restaurant in Sister Bay and were surprised to find a goat keeping the grass short on the roof.

In the evenings, we enjoyed fabulous seafood dinners outside by the water,

including going to this fish boil (a tradition from Iceland)

where Earl prepared the fish for us at the Post Office restaurant in Epraim.

We took the ferry to Washington Island

where we were surprised to find a good replica of a "stavkirke,"

used as part of a meditative prayer ministry by the local Lutheran congregation.

Each evening, we enjoyed watching the gorgeous sunsets over the water.  After dark, we spent one evening at a restaurant/bar with wonderful live music, took part in a dying American tradtion by going to a drive-in movie theater north of Fish Creek another evening, and best of all watched the Norwegian film "Buddy" on a mini-DVD-player in the camper the last evening.  If you haven't seen "Buddy," I recommend it highly.  The story is interesting, the speech is clear, and the language is useful, containing a variety of functions such as introductions, invitations, apologies, thanks, etc.  This movie is available at Amazon.com and plays on American DVD-players. 

 

Official languages in Norway

Norway is a country with a rich and interesting language situation There are two official written languages for the whole country, bokmål and nynorsk, and the Sámi language also has official status in the northern municipalities of Kåfjord, Kautokeino, Karasjok, Nesseby, Porsanger, Tana and Tysfjord.  In addition to the written languages, there is a myriad of spoken dialects that developed in the various parts of the country.

While I was looking at the website for the Norwegian Language Council yesterday, I ended up finding several other excellent sites about Norwegian language that I had never seen before.  Here are some links:

Norwegian grammar:

• Explanations with exercises (Norsk nettskole):  Bokmål / Nynorsk
• Nynorsk grammar with exercises (Nynorsksenteret): Whole grammar / Individual sections
• Updated grammatical terms for use in the schools (Norsk språkråd):  The grammar sites above use the new grammatical terms.  The biggest changes are the new terms for verb tenses and the creation of a new category–determinatives–that includes articles, possessives, demonstratives, and words expressing quantity.)

Norwegian dialects:

• Dialektor: Online dialect course with explanations and exercises (Cappelen)
• Nordavinden og sola: Norwegian dialect examples online (NTNU)
• Dialect areas and markers (Magne Vestøl)

Sami language:

Norwegian Language Council

The Norwegian Language Council, established in 1972, is the government's advisory body for issues related to Norwegian language.  The council promotes the use of Norwegian in all areas of society, provides information and advice about the proper use of Norwegian, and makes sure that the governmental departments give equal status to bokmål and nynorsk.

Today, I discovered that the website for the Norwegian Language Council has been updated with a new design and structure.  I like the colors, clean design, and the much improved organization of the Norwegian language resources.  They have also added a regularly updated "Aktuelt ord," which for today was appropriately "sommarfri."  Some of the pages I use the most often from this site are:

• Changes in spelling and grammar from July 1, 2005 (I'm a bit of a grammar geek and never had difficulty learning grammatical forms, but I find it really hard to relearn forms I have known for 25 years whenever a new update to the grammar and spelling rules is released.)
• Facts about Norwegian language
• Rules for writing and grammar
• List of Norwegian equivalents of English words / Quizzes
• Names of languages in Norwegian
• Computer terms in Norwegian
• Stortingsmelding nr. 35: Mål og meining – Ein heilskapleg norsk språkpolitikk (27.06.08)
• Online course in Nynorsk
• Online Dictionary: Bokmål and Nynorsk

Sámi videos and web exhibitions

The Sámi are the indigenous people who have lived in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia for over 2500 years. The Sámi consider themselves to be one people and call their traditional homeland Sápmi in the Sámi language. Today, there are approximately 70,000 - 80,000 Sámi in the four countries, with the largest population of about 40,000 in Norway.  There are many Sámi living throughout Norway, but there is still a large concentration of the Sámi in the three northern counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark.

Today I found a wonderful site online called "Gáldu, Kompetansesenteret for urfolks rettigheter" or "Gáldu, Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."  This center is located in Kautokeino, and its website has a thorough and beautifully designed pdf document with information about all aspects of Sámi culture.  You can download the document in English or Norwegian.  You can also download the document in smaller segments in English or Norwegian.

In addition, there are several short videos about different aspects of the Sámi culture.  Below you see the Norwegian version of the video "Et moderne urfolk – samene (A Modern Indigenous People – The Sámi)," but you can access all the videos in English, Norwegian, and Sámi.

 

Other good sources for information about the Sámi are:

• Sami Parliament (English / Norwegian)
• Web Exhibition: Sámi Faith and Mythology (English / Norwegian)
  I especially liked the "Billedfortellinger," the second link down on the left side.  There are several narrated slide shows in Norwegian:
  "Samisk tro og mytologi" / "Noaiden og tromma"
  "De levende og de døde" / "Hellig landskap" / "Kristningen"