Video+Game+Critique

Learning a foreign language involves the assimilation of large quantities of vocabulary which, in turn, requires students to do something many have not had to do a lot of previously: memorize. Quizlet.com is an on-line alternative to the old standby of flash cards, but with several extras. From a pedagogical point of view, the extras are the main advantage of the web-site over the tried-and-true hand-made variety of flash cards. Games on the site require learners to not just recognize and/or remember the words but to produce them correctly in written form. From the student's point of view, the game format is likely to be both a more entertaining way to learn vocabulary than other options and also an effective way. Because the games, which are described below, move quickly and provide instant feedback, they can be repeated over and over again as needed. Seeing their scores and times can constitute more immediate and intrinsic motivation to improve speed and accuracy than the specter of a forthcoming quiz. For the game to be used in a classroom environment, each student needs to have a computer with an Internet connection. This is the ideal way to introduce students to the web-site and show them the many options available. It also winds up encouraging competition as students spontaneously share their scores and times. It is important for the teacher to point out that the flash cards are made and posted by teachers and that there can be errors. A frequent problem to mention is inconsistencies in articles, such as not including one in English but requiring it in the translation. Following the initial introduction, Quizlet is more appropriate for individual use. A follow-up session in class can be useful, however, to remind students how find vocabulary for other lessons and how to use the various options, which include choosing whether to go from English to the target language or vice-versa, whether to ignore case and capitalization, and how to type accents. Teachers who wish to add their own flash card sets to the many already available can do so by creating a free account and following instructions.
 * Game Critique**

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 * // Overview // |||||| // Description //
 * Title |||||| [|www.Quizlet.com]
 * Concept |||||| The purpose of this website is to enable students to practice new vocabulary using a variety of increasingly challenging games.
 * Learning Objectives

|||||| To first recognize and then produce new French vocabulary words accurately and with increasing speed. || ||
 * Assessment |||||| A running score, with instant feedback on incorrect answers.
 * Content

|||||| French vocabulary for all levels, all themes, all textbooks. || |||||| Initiative, acquisition of knowledge. || - flash cards: choices include show English first, show the target language first or show both sides. - learn: a word appears on the screen and the student types in the translation. Errors are corrected and the player is required to copy the correct answer before moving on. Click-on symbols and accented letters are provided. A running score is displayed and there is an option to ignore case, punctuation, spaces and/or "stuff in parentheses." There is also an option to translate to either the target language or to English. - scatter game: In this timed game, about 10 to 20 vocabulary words are displayed randomly on the screen in English and the target language. When the player drags a term over its equivalent in the other language, both disappear. The time taken to make all the words disappear is displayed and compared with the player's best previous score. - space race: In this game, a player "kills" a term as it moves across the screen by typing its translation correctly before it reaches the other side. Errors are corrected and must be retyped correctly. Accented letters can be clicked on the the same options are available as in "learn." As this game moves considerably faster than any of the others, it requires greater skill/proficiency. - test: In addition to the options available in the games, the player can specify the number of each kind of question: multiple choice, matching, true/false or written. Corrections and score are displayed. || ||  || Text-based, but the text moves. || ||  ||   || || Two of the activities are more "fun" than the other three and provide scores and/order points. ||  ||
 * Values & Skills
 * Game Method/Style |||||| Quizlet presents itself as a flash card website but also provides vocabulary-based games. Flash cards are available on an extremely wide variety of subjects. For use with a foreign language, students can easily find activities for a specific chapter in a specific textbook or can locate flashcards by theme. They can begin by looking at a list of the vocabulary and then choose from 5 progressively challenging activities, all of which provide instant feedback.
 * Audience |||||| Foreign language learners ||
 * Platform |||||| On-line ||
 * Publisher |||||| Quizlet LLC ||
 * Developer |||||| API ||
 * Release Date |||||| 2005 ||
 * // Design Aspects // || // High // || // Average // || // Low // ||
 * Graphics & Sound ||
 * Playability || Minimal guidance needed for students to be able to navigate easily.
 * Entertainment ||
 * Replay Value || Can be used multiple times with each new lesson. ||  ||   ||

The above criteria were adapted from: Rice, 2007;