How did you use this product/subscription in your course?
I used the vocabulary.com subscription to supplement course readings. Students from each section were invited to join the vocabulary.com classes I had set up and they took quizzes based on assigned readings. I used their word grabber tool to create lists as the quarter progressed. Vocabulary.com is a reference site that provides not only concise and accessible plain-language descriptions of terms, but also has samples of the word in context from news and literature.
At the individual level, students are able to listen to sound clips, review word forms, or add terms to their own list to study. Vocabulary.com works on a mastery quizzing system where students can practice a general word list, a customized word list, or an existing word list until they are able to identify the multiple uses of a term before taking the vocabulary quiz itself. I set one quiz per reading limited to 10 words of 2 question types each. For example, one term may be presented as a fill-in-the-blank choice and then again as a identify the antonym question. Terms that a student gets right appears less often then the ones a student struggles with.
One quarter I based a portion of their participation grade earning a certain percentage of completion on their on practice sessions. The students stated that this was arduous and not satisfying since vocabulary.com only awards a badge for 100% completion or for their preset milestones. The following quarters I assigned quizzes rather than practice sessions, but showed students how to access the word lists to preview and practice the terms before taking the quiz. Students seem to find this more manageable. Those who did not want to review just took the quiz while others who wanted to the extra practice completed part of a session first. Some students even started their own lists or practiced unassigned lists, which help to build student study skills and self-reliance. When the troubled words that were flagged were relevant for their writing assignments, I would incorporate these words into class activities and also play live sessions of vocabulary jam. In future quarters, I will encourage students to start jam sessions on their own or possibly in longer classes run multiple jam sessions in groups.
In what ways do you feel the product/subscription supported student learning, if at all?
For some students this reinforced vocabulary they already had and the study of more nuanced definitions and contextual use would help them to use terms more accurately in their writing. Other students have written in reflection or feedback that the word lists were challenging and they had to look up even the words that were given as options for multiple choice questions. For these students the quizzes and practice sessions helped to build fluency when reading the course texts. At the level of writing I instruct, students most often express their desire to build vocabulary, particularly to discuss nuances or subtle distinctions. This subscription helps to supplement and reinforce the course texts and allows me to focus class time on what they are struggling with and with integrating vocabulary into their writing.
What challenges, if any, did you encounter when using this product/subscription?
Setting up vocabulary lists and monitoring results is very easy. The challenges are with deciding how to manage multiple sections of the same course and with transferring grades into the Canvas Gradebook. Since it is a separate tool instructors do have to lay out requirements, if any, for username and email and follow up with students signing up and enrolling in the correction section. In Canvas, I also had to provide links to the lists and set up assignments so that due dates would appear on their course calendar. Depending on the class size, transferring grades may be time consuming, but vocabulary.com provides extensive analytics and summary emails that help the instructor to monitor student progress. Students can also track their own progress and see badges earned and their top trouble words. The product is user friendly but relatively expensive at the individual subscription level.
What advice would you give to a colleague who’s interested in using this product?
For instructors who have combined sections on Canvas, I would recommend creating just one class on vocabulary.com instead of multiple classes. Although class and individual progress is easy to monitor, assigning the same list with similar deadlines to different sections can become more difficult to track and then transfer to Canvas, especially as vocabulary lists accumulate over the quarter.
Assigning quizzes and encouraging practice sessions is more manageable and effective in terms of motivation to complete the task than assigning practice sessions. Students may ask the percentage to which they are expected to complete sessions if practice sessions are assigned.
Vocabulary.com is used by many high schools and some schools and counties host vocabulary tournaments, so students may already have some experience using it. The competition component, badge earning, live session play, mastery-based quizzing, and analytics makes it a valuable and relatively low maintenance tool for instructors interested in adding a vocabulary component to their course.
Overall, would you recommend this product/subscription to other faculty?
Yes