Words With Friends is an electronic version of Scrabble, but you don’t have to be in the same room with the person you are playing. In fact, you don’t even have to be in the same state! Words With Friends can be a great brain buster for students as well as adults. Students can create an account on their device then select other students in their classroom to play a game with. Students can search for their friends or they can create a contact list that is stored on the device to find their friends more easily. Students can play several games at once and there is even an option to chat with the other player.

There are a few downfalls to this app since it is open to the public. An option to play a game with a random opponent is available and cannot be locked. This is a challenge because a random opponent may have a more advanced vocabulary then the student they are playing against and the chat option also poses a threat since there is no way of knowing who the opponent is. These challenges can be overcome with extensive monitoring of the students games and contact lists.

As a teacher it would be fun to contact a teacher of the same grade at another school and switch contact lists so the students can play each other. Even create a teacher vs. teacher game. It is recommended to purchase the ad-free version ($1.99) for students since there is no control over the type of ads shown. Words With Friends can be used as a new form of pen pals!

This is a review from a series on educational apps by Kathy Burdick, an educator for over thirty years. Kathy is an experienced educator and former principal. She graciously agreed to let Mobicip republish and promote her reviews on the Mobicip blog. Kathy has been infatuated by the possibilities of technology and educational content for the K-6 students. Kathy writes about how education is changing due to new technologies and reviews the technologies that facilitate that change. Follow Kathy on Twitter @ iAppleLearner or get more information here: http://mobileieducator.com/