Word magnets

Word Magnets is one of the resources TRIPTICO allows us to experience.
The ideal situation to embed this tool into your teaching is the occurence of an  Interactive Whiteboard(IWB).I know that the majority of the classes in public schools in Greece do not have this chance,or they have to share with many teachers and thus wait a lot before having access to it.A computer and a projector though could be the solution to that problem.

It can be downloaded from its webpage and there is a free trial period for thirty days.

Regarding IWB, some teachers in Greece, may find the use of interactive whiteboard

 a bit difficult to use in the beginning.So far,not all classes have IWBs but the majority of school possess  one IWB. What is more,private institutions provide teachers with IWBs, usually one per classroom.

Registration is asked before downloading.Since then, no internet connection is required.

How does it work?

Firstly,we have to create a board or load an already saved board.We can save our boards for future use.

One possible activity :
We have the chance to write words which act as ''magnets''.It is beneficial as we can explain to our students step by step the structure of a sentence.

Activities as these enable students to synthesize information and apply their existing knowledge to create a new product. It is my firm belief that the learners who have difficulties in writing would be benefited from a step by step approach. For some learners. writing a complete paragraph is a demanding task. There is no reason to panic and look for ways to just add words. The point is for them to practise by writing. Playing with possible combinations could be a way of enhancing learners improvement on writing at a sentence and paragraph level.

One activity could be the rearrangement of the words,in order to create a sentence or as can be seen in the second example, some common mistakes by Greek learners of English can be treated in a non-threatening environment.

Concerning the affordances of the tool , the fact that images and sounds are combined definitely attracts learners.I think that it is a tool for regular use.In Greece,much emphasis is placed on Grammar.Word magnets give us the opportunity to introduce new Grammar phenomena in a more interesting way!So,according to our students' needs and our goals,we can create many activities.It is the space for creativity that makes word magnets interesting.

Creating groups randomly.
Although I prefer to choose the group members manually in order to keep a balance in group dynamics, this application is practical. Sometimes, collaborative activities need time and it is better if the groups are created quickly.

Our work can be saved:

It requires IWB or projector,so class management practices should be a case of decision before the class.In some large classes in public schools,working in groups is a practical idea.A representative of each group can share the team's work.

Timers could be funny,if used properly, to create the feeling of anticipation. However, I would clearly not use the timer if this technique increases the stress levels of the learners.

The limitation of the tool is that it needs to be placed on the hands of an educator who has a clear pedagogical rationale,as every tool. in order to ensure its successful use. The fact that it s not free is another issue taken into consideration.