Word Beach: Fun Spelling game is a great app to keep kids learning through the summer months whether they are at home or in the car. Teachers and parents, who downloaded this app for their children, were searching for an app that was fun and educational, and could also be used independently. This app was trialed by children in Kindergarten, First and Second grades and the app kept these young learners engaged in a fun, interactive way as they selected 2-3 letter tiles to make words. It was a good selection for children who were focused on learning to spell, as it reinforces spelling patterns, letter sound and letter identification, as well as reading.

Getting started is simple, as the user is taken straight into the spelling game. Our users caught on very quickly as they touched and moved their fingers to letters in the order they thought spelled a word. Directionality of which letter to begin on is easy in the beginning, as the app shows a dot and dotted line to assist the user. As users level up, this assistance disappears. Because the app shows a red line if the user chooses an incorrect letter, it was easy for early learners to self-correct. And, if a child needed a hint, they can select the question mark to show the first letter of the word. Another feature students like is earning coins when they spell words correctly. But, they can earn even more coins if they watch a short Ad that introduced another app.

Parents and teachers wished the ads were not after each spelling game, as they felt it interrupted to flow and learning, but the children did not mind. The adults felt that overall this app accomplished what they had set out to find and were pleased with their children’s progress and engagement. They appreciated that there was no login and it was easy for their children to navigate on their own. A few parents expressed that “this app has a kid-like feel to Words with Friends”.