One of the most popular mobile word games has been tailored to educators and students across the world, with the launch of Words With Friends EDU.
The game is one of the Apple App Store's 50 top 10 free games of all time, and with 55 million matches played at any moment, the game is entertaining players worldwide.
The EDU edition was developed in conjunction with teachers and educational experts to gamify lesson plans and align with core standards. The game was also beta-tested in 20 classrooms with 1500 students states Zynga, the app's creator.
The new Words With Friends EDU will help intermediate and high school students learn 'high-value academic words' using a number of techniques, such as:
- Power words - players earn bonus points through using high-value academic words, which include words from readings, textbooks and assessments
- Hints to help players access definitions of power words to help them learn meanings
- Lesson plans - teachers can use supplementary lesson plans in the classroom to help align the game and the curriculum
- Privacy-friendly - teachers can choose to allow students public access or private classrooms, in which students can only play against others in their classroom
- Interactive dashboard that lets teachers and parents track gameplay, learning and alerts to areas where students need extra help
- Achievement badges and avatars, unlockable as they progress through the game
While there is no customised version available for the New Zealand curriculum so far, the app is now available through Apple's App Store, Google play for Android tablets and the web.