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Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Power of Words

Back in the beginning of November, Kelly Tenkely educator and blogger at iLearn Technology posted about Word Dynamo.  This free site hosted by Dictionary.com, LLC is designed to shoot your vocabulary skyward.  It not only accomplishes this but does so in a manner that guarantees users will return; having fun while learning is the perfect combination for success.

At the Home page users can begin immediately by playing the Word Dynamo Challenge.  Initially users are asked to select the game level:  Elementary School (grades 1-5), Middle School (grades 6-8), High School (grades 9-12) and College & Beyond (grade 12+) by clicking on the play button beneath the heading.  That step can be skipped. 

With one word at a time ten words are shown to the player with four possible definitions.  For each correct answer a green star flashes on the screen as the definition is highlighted in green.  When an incorrect answer is given it is highlighted in red with the correct answer shown as well.  When a game is completed an estimate of how many words you know (Word Score) is shown along with your ranking at your game level.

Each time a game is concluded a user can proceed to the next level to increase their score or chose to save that score.  To save a score or unlock the next level you need to register by entering in your first name, email address, a password and the type of player you are (student, teacher, parent, etc.).  The benefits of registration in addition to saving your score are turning word lists into games and studying better with recommendations slanted to your personal needs.  Once a user has a Word Score, they can move on to the Word Challenge.  A Word Challenge is based upon the user's ability.

Users can browse through word lists (Word Dynamo Library) based upon standardized tests (ACT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, PSAT, SAT and TOEFL), subjects (arts, business and money, math, sports and recreation, religion and philosophy, science and technology and social science and history) and by language (French, Latin and Spanish).  The most popular word lists currently being used are listed under Zap! These word lists are running hot.

If a user wishes to alter the type of challenge, games such as matching terms with definitions (like the first challenge), listening to pronunciations, spelling out words or crossword puzzles are an option.  After selecting a word list not only can a user choose the type of quiz but a list of the words used in that quiz is given as is a quick study option.  Any quiz can be shared on a social network (a rather large list is available) or printed.  At the bottom of the screen related kits and lists are shown.

What gives Word Dynamo an edge is the ability of users to generate their own word lists.  It is a five step process:  enter in a descriptive title of the list, create a list of words and their definitions, tag your word list by using Word Dynamo Library headings, standardized test, grade level, languages or subject area, select a privacy setting (just me or everyone) and choose an image representative of the word list.

Once your list is saved it can be edited, printed, shared and played.  Additional quizzes are created for your list as is a quick study.  If a user has any questions a FAQ is provided as is a Quick Tour.

The temptation was too great; find a created list of my favorite sporting event of each year.

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