The site's tagline is "Wisr is a fun way to learn collaboratively." It offers up multiple choice questions, which you then respond to via "@" messaging. It immediately lets you know if your answer was right or wrong, and also shows the avatars of others who've answered the question as well.
For special education students, playing virtual guitars helps with fine-motor
skills. Autistic students, tasked with navigating a virtual raft down a virtual
river with their classmates, practice cooperation, social skills and overcoming
obstacles.
helps English language learners who struggle with reading
teachers reporting that students are more interested in lessons and that their
comprehension has improved
“When they started using these technologies, they started telling in detail to
their parents the activities that they accomplished in school,”
autism spectrum, who struggle with social skills. The students create avatars,
digital versions of themselves, and then articulate a story about one of their
social challenges—and their plans for coping with it in the future.
In one of the videos, 10-year-old Trevar Grisham, a high-functioning student on
the autism spectrum, discusses his tendency to lose focus in class. “I am
responsible for hearing the directions and paying attention and doing my work,”
Trevar said while making a video last year as a fourth-grader. “To be sure this
happens, I will do a better job of concentrating when the teacher is teaching.”
“This is a great way to get the child to really pay attention and to get that
social-skills training. It’s just been phenomenal.
At Weller Elementary, where Popa works, teachers incorporate the technology into
lessons in math, reading, social studies, science, music and physical education.
For example, as students simulate playing darts, they count their tosses and
hits, then calculate fractions, percentages and decimals. In physical education,
students barely realize they’re exercising as they mimic digital dancers.