http://www.wordia.com
Have you ever asked your students to look something up? They go and get the heavy dictionary, look up the word in question, read the definition out loud and copy it down. After all that work you ask them one simple question, “Can you explain what the word means,” they still reply, “no.” this actually happens to me more often than I wish to share, that’s is at least until I came across Wordia.com. Wordia.com is a visual dictionary. So instead of looking up a word in a traditional dictionary, where you may not be familiar with some of the words used to define the original word, you can access Wordia.com. Where you will get a full video explanation of the word that you are looking for. Complete with examples, different definitions, usage and some jokes. This tool has proven to be useful not just in expanding your students’ vocabulary but also in assisting them in owning the words and language that they read.
Although Wordia.com is a great tool for the classroom it is fairly new and still has many missing visual definitions, in which case they still provide you with the written definition. This visual dictionary also allows you to upload short videos or skits of your interpretation or definition of a word.
This can easily be turned into a class project or a simple lesson for your class. Have your students take pride and ownership of their education and have them record, define and explain a word that they know and love. Most students today are becoming visual learners already and having access to a tool like Wordia.com can proof to be a step in the right direction for education.
Awesome find!
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