Word Raider will be most successful with small groups of younger students or ELL students in a quiet setting, or as individual work either at home or one-on-one with a student and teacher. It may be challenging to use Word Raider in a large class setting where many students will be speaking into microphones at one time. In addition, without close monitoring by a teacher, students will be tempted to exert minimal effort and simply click through the game. In a best-case scenario, each student's power log would be assessed by the teacher before the student advances. This, however, can be hard when the whole class is playing at once.
Continue readingEditor's Note: As of July 1, 2015, Word Raider: Escape is no longer available.
In Word Raider, players solve puzzles and navigate through levels set in a ruined temple reminiscent of the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark. As players explore, they gain repeated exposure to frequently used academic words by listening to and reading vocabulary. They then use those words to complete a variety of matching activities. When activities are complete, students can store their work -- including the words and sentences they've typed, as well as their recorded speech -- into a "power up log." This log can later be evaluated by the teacher. Although power-ups lead to higher scores, students might be tempted to skip the log as the game progresses.
Since Word Raider focuses on Tier 2 Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) vocabulary, it's most advantageous for younger learners and English Language Learners (ELL) who are struggling to learn basic academic language. Students learn and apply vocabulary through a series of levels, and continued use means struggling students get good reinforcement. However, play tends to get repetitive and risks disengagement. More frequest use of the power-up tool and more varied gameplay would encourage student investment.