An evaluation of Wordshark in the classroom

The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of Wordshark, a multisens ory drill-and-practice computer program designed to improve children's spel ling and word recognition skills. A 20-item questionnaire on the use and ef fectiveness of the program was sent to 1312 schools in the UK that had purc hased the program, and 403 replies were received (31% response rate). The r esults indicated that the program was being used in both primary schools an d secondary schools. In the majority of schools the program was being used with SEN pupils, and very frequently it was incorporated within Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Wordshark was principally used to practice words, t o introduce new words, to find out whether children can read and spell part icular words, to reinforce teaching points, and as a reward for effort and/ or good work. The children were reported to enjoy using the program and alm ost all (96%) of respondents stated that children were better motivated whe n using the program than when doing other classroom work. In the vast major ity of cases, significant improvements in children's reading and spelling w ere reported. The findings are discussed in relation to the theory and prac tice of computer-assisted learning.