Freerice.com, the very popular web site that sharpens your vocabulary skills while addressing the needs of world hunger, has expanded beyond vocabulary. You can now sharpen your French, German, Spanish or Italian skills -- test your knowledge of world capitals, brush up on your chemistry, improve your English grammar and fine tune your knowledge of famous artists and their paintings. The foreign language practice is particularly useful. I tried out some Spanish vocabulary questions with some middle school students learning Spanish, and they found the questions engaging.
It would be great to see sign language added as the next language skill that people can practice on Freerice.com
It's useful to note, too, that the easiest vocabulary levels of Freerice might still be too difficult for a 4th-grade student. I tried using Level 3 with a 4th-grade student who has grown up here in the United States. Without my help he would have had success on less than 1/3 of the questions. Considering that 4th, 5th and 6th grade are vital years in forming life-long learning habits, Freerice could do better to hook these younger students by making the easier questions more accessible.
All told, Freerice.com is a flash of genius. John Breen, the site's creator, deserves credit for inventing an engaging way to address many needs at the same time. Do your part by telling a few friends about Freerice.com. Introduce this site to youth that you know. They might not have heard about it from other places.
Phil Shapiro
The blogger is a community activist, an adjunct professor of education and a technology commentator in the Washington DC-area. He can be reached at: philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
Prior blog postings -
YouTube Reaches a Billion Video Views per Day
After Lightning Strikes, One iMac Becomes Two
It Feels Like Freedom is Coming
Book Review - Google SketchUp for Dummmies
Using Screencasts to Communicate with Local Government
