Abstract
When language students are learning new vocabulary, having multiple opportunities to practise is essential. Often learners fail to move the words they are learning from their short-term memory to long-term memory due to inefficient or ineffective practise. Merely repeating the word or copying the word is not enough, while relying only on production activities may mean inadequate opportunities for learners to practices. Thornbury (2002: 93) talks about the need for language learners to ‘put words to work’. Learners need opportunities to see words in different contexts, relate them to other words and experiences, retrieve them regularly and have multiple encounters with them in order to retain them (Thornbury, 2002). This leads to teachers or the language learners themselves devising ways to practise words that require some kind of mental processes. Teachers often create word searches, odd-one-out activities, matching games, crosswords and many other word games and activities to use with their learners. However, these games and activities take a lot of time to develop and may not be useful, interesting or engaging to all learners. There is now an app, called Bitsboard, that can help teachers and provide learners with interesting and cognitively engaging vocabulary practice games and activities. This Tech Review provides an overview of the app’s features and its effectiveness in supporting teachers and learners in practising vocabulary.
Bitsboard is an app available for download for Apple iPhone and iPad. The app provides learners with 25 mini games for practising vocabulary, such as Spelling Bee, BINGO, Letter Tracing, Sequencing, Related Items, Word Search and Crosswords (http://bitsboard.com, 2017). Bitsboard comes with a large number of vocabulary lists called ‘Boards’ such as ‘World Flags’, ‘Sight Words’, ‘Opposites’ and ‘Animals’ (some are pre-installed and others need to be downloaded onto the device) that learners can access straightaway. There are also Boards in other languages, such as French, Spanish, and German. Once learners choose a Board, they get a choice of games to play. Learners can then play the game and are informed of their progress and accuracy rate. Different games offer different levels of support and require different levels of cognitive engagement. A benefit of this app over others is that teachers and learners can create their own Boards and share them privately with a class. Teachers can make Boards for vocabulary in the course book or as preparation for a reading passage. The meaning of vocabulary can be supported with photos, pictures, audio recordings, and videos (the app directly links to the device’s photo album, search engines, and YouTube). I created a new Board using photos on my iPad in about 10 minutes. Once Boards are created, games are automatically generated. The Boards can be shared on multiple devices or with multiple students using the same device, creating ‘classes’. Multiple users can be created on one device and students and teachers can track individual progress through the Boards and activities. It can be customized for learners of different levels and abilities. Students can be invited to join a class through email or find the class in the ‘Bitsboard Catalog’. Through tracking the learner’s progress, the app ‘learns’ his/her problem words and will ensure he/she receives more opportunities to practise those words (http://bitsboard.com, 2017).
Bitsboard has a user-friendly interface and with a large number of games available, it is unlikely that students will get bored or disengaged during their vocabulary practices. Students can also work at their own pace and can practise the words they feel they need to spend more time on. As the students have a choice over the games they play, they can take greater ownership over their own language learning. They can also work on the words at school and continue to work on them at home.
While the app clearly has a lot of potential with all language learners, it may be more suited to younger language learners, due to its game-like features and the simplicity of some of the games. As it is only available on Apple devices, it is not suitable for teachers and learners who have Android or Windows based devices.
Bitsboard was created by Innovative Investments Limited and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store. A paid version is available for US$19.99. A free version with limited features is also available. More information on the app and its features can be found at http://bitsboard.com. The developers have put together a straightforward user guide on their website.
Free version: https://itunes.apple.com/app/bitsboard/id516842210?mt=8
Paid version: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitsboard-pro-best-educational/id646240375?mt=8