Okay, this site is not new, and I recall visiting in late 2007, but I rediscovered it, got hooked again, and there are some great new enhancements (besides I really love what they do, so I thought I would give them some free attention). FreeRice is a great way to get some practice building up your vocabulary while simultaneously helping to provide free food for hungry people. And you thought those 10 minutes of web-surfing while eating lunch at your desk were just for goofing off! Well, now you can help feed others while you are feeding yourself and maybe learn something, too.
The concept is actually very simple… you are presented with multiple-choice vocabulary questions in a never-ending quiz. By using a small portion of the screen for advertisements, the site operators (Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University) are able to generate revenue that is sent directly to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). Every question you answer correctly translates to 10 grains of rice that will be sent to people who need it. In the past, WFP has sent food to Bangladesh, Cambodia, Uganda, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar as a result of FreeRice.
According to their website:
FreeRice has two goals:
- Provide education to everyone for free.
- Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
I went out of order and was giving a lot of attention to the second goal. Let’s get back on track and look at the first one. How can a simple vocabulary quiz “provide education to everyone for free”? I’ve identified four major ways it does this: repetition, leveled questions, visual goals, and access.
1. Repetition
When a question is answered incorrectly the correct response is displayed and the question will be repeated after a few turns until it is answered correctly. This gives someone the opportunity to learn through repetition.
2. Leveled Questions
The program utilizes something similar to Computer-Adaptive Testing (CAT) systems, such as are now employed on the GRE as described here by Kaplan. In short, CAT begins by assuming you are at an average score, in the case of FreeRice a level 5. Correct answers will help you to move up a level to more difficult questions, while incorrect answers will move you down a level to easier questions. Consequently you are always being asked questions at the appropriate level for you, and just slightly challenging. This has long been described by educators as the best level to be teaching to, and was described by Lev Vygotsky as the Zone of Proximal Development.
3. Visual Goals
On the right side of the screen are bowls that fill up with grains of rice as each question is answered. By keeping a running tally of how much rice the user has been able to “earn” for the WFP, there is a competitive nature to it and it feels as though progress is being made. Making a visual goal encourages someone to keep going and because there is no end to the questions it is possible to keep donating more and more rice.
4. Access
Best of all the site is free and has quality content. Sadly, that cannot always be said about sites that are trying to be educational. FreeRice on the other hand allows anyone who can get access to the internet to entertain and educate at the same time. I can see the site being useful in schools and for those who are trying to learn English. Not only can learners work at a comfortable pace (no time limits on questions), but they can listen to a word pronounced, and the site automatically determines the appropriate level for them to work at.
I have noticed two BIG additions to the site since I first tried the site nearly 18 months ago.
- It is now possible to save your progress from one session to the next, so the next time you come back your total reflect all of your work
- Expansion into other subjects (click subjects to see what else is available) lets you work on more than just vocabulary. There are now quizzes in things like Chemical Symbols, World Geography and even Spanish – arroz gratis anyone?
Further Reading
- Berkman Center for Internet & Society >> About
- Berkman Center >> Cultivating FreeRice
- FreeRice >> Frequently Asked Questions
- Wikipedia >> FreeRice
- Wikipedia >> World Food Program
- World Food Programme >> About
[...] to use as a tutor and not just as a reference library. FreeRice (which I wrote about in a previous post accomplishes this mission well, but does not teach the words the way that WordAhead does. A [...]