Using Wordwall in our class

What is Wordwall?

 

Wordwall a web-based tool that  offers teachers an easy way to extend and consolidate vocabulary with fun practice. Wordwall can be used to create both interactive and printable acitivities such as multiple-choice, grouping or matching.  There is a wide range of templates, but you can only use up to six for free. These templates are available both in interactive and a printable version. The interactive ones can be played on any web-enabled device, like a computer, tablet, phone or interactive whiteboard. The printables can printed out directly or downloaded as a PDF file. Once you have created an activity, it is shareable in different ways: you can give your learners a url, or web address, to access it, you can embed it in your school’s online platform for your learners or you can give them a code to access it via the Wordwall website.

What do educators say?

''Wordwall takes vocabulary games and reviews into the digital world, and is easy to use for teachers and learners. If you are looking to add a new digital tool to your teaching, this is a very good place to start'' (Rob Lewis, 2017)

Benefits:

•  Wordwall is a user- friendly tool that gives learners a chance to consolidate vocabulary learning; it is a useful tool for vocabulary revision or even memorise it .  
•  It is user-friendly. It is very simple to use, all steps are very well explained.
•  It is a convenient tool for teachers who are short of time or not very confident with technology. 
• There is the option to set ‘assignment’ activities for learners, which is perfect for self-study. You can set tasks for groups or individual learners by giving them an access code. You can check their scores.
• Any materials you create can be shared with the whole Wordwall community. – and you can use other users’ materials too.
• You can find and edit ready-made content for a range of school subjects and levels.
• It is particularly useful for mixed-level classes, where you can assign fast finishers an activity which they can easily access online, even from their phone.
• It can also create a dynamic way to have class competitions, either with two or more learners in direct competition at the same time.
• You can edit any pre-made activity. If you find an activity, but it is not suit your class, you can easily customize according to your students’ needs and likes.

Drawbacks:

·        Since Wordwall is a web-based tool, internet connection must be available.
· There is a wide range of templates, but only six are for free. 

Now, Let's get down to work!!! I will show you how to use this web-based tool!!!

Tutorial:

1-      Wordwall requires an account. It is for free, but only 6 templates can be used; otherwise, you have to pay.

2-      Once you log  in, you click the light-blue box (Create Activity).

N     Now you are here, ready to create the activity.  You should click the shaded box (create your first activity)

1-      Now all the possible templates are displayed on the screen. You pick the one you want to use.

Activities are created using a template system. They may be familiar classics like Quiz and Crossword; arcade style games like Maze Chase and Airplane, and there are also classroom management tools such as Seating plan.

To make a new activity you start by picking your template and then enter your content. It is very simple and takes only a couple of minutes.

These are the templates you can pick: 

1-      Once you pick the template, you enter the content.

In this case, as a way of example I selected the Wordsearch template. This is how you enter the content:  

Number of minimum words required: 3

1-      When you finish entering all the content you want your students to revise, you click in DONE. And you will see this: 

You click in START and the activity is ready.

Students will have to find the words hidden in the letter grid. They will have to hurry up, because there is a time limit. 

You have to tap on the hidden word, and if it is correct the answer is highlighted in another colour. 

If you want to edit the activity, you can simply click the Edit content  link underneath the activity itself. After adapting the content, click Done to save the changes

 To the right of the Wordsearch, you will see SWITCH TEMPLATE and other options, such as Random Wheel, Random cards, etc. What can you do with them? Once the activity is created, you can switch the template with a single click.  You can keep on revising and reinforcing the same key vocabulary but adding more variety to the lesson.

Now, I have switched the Wordsearch template into another: Open –the- box template. Here students will have to tap each box in turn to open them up and reveal the item inside. 

And if scroll down you will find more options:

Themes and options: Interactives can be presented in different themes. Each theme changes the look and feel with different graphics, fonts, and sounds. The printables have options too. For example, you can change the font, or print multiple copies per page. 

You will also find further options to set a timer. Almost every template has a timer setting in the options panel underneath the themes. You can change this in advance of starting the game.

You can also decide on how many lives students have.

And if you want the answers to be shown at the end of the game. 

Students` assignments: Wordwall activities can be used as assignments. You can direct students to that activity without visiting the main activity. This feature can be used in-class where students have access to their own devices, or as homework.  How can you do it? Go to an activity page and click the Share button. Choose Set Assignment. On the next page, you can configure student access and results tracking. The final page displays a unique access link. You must communicate the link to the students.

This template will be displayed: 

Once you click Set Assignment, you will read the following: 

Sharing your activities with other teachers: Any activity you create can be made public, via email, on social media or via other means. Otherwise, you can keep your activities private, which means only you have access to it. All activities are initially private when you create them. But if you want to share them just click the Share button on the activity page. Then click Make Public and you will have the option to add tags for age, subject and topic. You will get a unique link for your activity, which can be emailed or posted on social media

Embedding on a website Wordwall activities can be placed on another website using a snippet of HTML code. It works in the same way as the video embed feature you find on YouTube or Vimeo, giving you a playable activity on your own site.

To embed an activity, click the Share button on the activity page.

You can choose to share with either teacher or students. Select students if you want to collect the results.

Pick either path and then complete the steps until you get to all done.

Underneath the link you'll find the </> icon; click it to view the embed codes. These can be copied and pasted into your site.

Multiplayer Games: it is a format where all students join the same game simultaneously, each on their own device. The teacher controls the flow of the game from the front of the class.

Some games are competitive, for example Quiz, where students race to give the correct answer as quickly as possible. Others such as Brainstorm facilitate a collaborative discussion.

The templates that allow these games are: Brainstorm, Category brainstorm, Quiz, Sketch pad.

Finally, all your activities will be displayed in this way:

Retrieved from: https://wordwall.net

Sources:

Screenshots Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/features

Lewis, R. (2017, June 15). The Digital Teacher. Retrieved from https://thedigitalteacher.com/reviews/wordwall#description

Curtis, T. (n.d.). Wordwall. Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/

Mingrino, C. (n.d.). Wordwall. Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/

Orce Zivkovic, J. (n.d.). Wordwall. Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/

Higgins, R. (n.d). Wordwall. Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/

Now, I Will share my lesson plan using Wordwall with my students: Click here:   A lesson plan