Ed Tech Tuesday: Crossword Puzzle Maker

I love puzzles as much as the next person but if I'm being honest, I think I'm more of a word search person. Recently I learned about this pretty amazing tool that makes crossword puzzles. Andrew Davies, one of the great educators at the 2020 Playposium Conference, presented this tool for educators who want to infuse some play into their courses. It was such perfect timing as I was preparing to do an Exam review with my class anyway. In this week's blog post I'll be chatting about the Crossword Puzzle Maker, what it is, how it works and how you can use it in your online course.

Crossword Puzzle Maker- What it Is

As the name suggests, the Crossword Puzzle Maker is a tool that allows you to create crossword puzzles from lists of words that you enter. This tool comes from The Teacher's Corner which is an organization that offers a multitude of resources for teachers such as lesson plans, worksheets, and much more.

Crossword Puzzle Maker- How it works

The Crossword Puzzle Maker is ridiculously simple to use. In fact, if you're in the K-12 arena, there are TONS of pre-made puzzles available for you to choose from. But even if you can't use a ready-made puzzle, creating your own is just as simple. You start by giving your puzzle a title, add some instructions, and then get to work. You can add the words for the crossword in the Word column, then the descriptions in the Clues column and that's it!

The Crossword Puzzle Maker also has some additional great features such as a definition finder that you can use as a clue and a quick add feature that let's you add words and clues even if you're working from a mobile device. You can also save the puzzle, print it or save the answer key.

Crossword Puzzle Maker- How you can use it in your online course

I recently used the Crossword Puzzle Maker in a Live synchronous online class as a part of, what I called, a Blueprint Tournament Puzzle. I provided students with clues about certain words/concepts we learned about during the semester and they had to come up with the word and add it to the crossword puzzle. They then used all the words to create an exam blueprint for themselves.

Even though I did this in a synchronous online class, I can see it working just as well in a fully asynchronous class as a pre-lecture assessment just to make sure students understand the basic concepts before they begin their weekly assignments. There are TONS of different ways this can be used but the best way to find a solution that works for you is to jump in and get started so check out The Crossword Puzzle Maker from The Teacher's Corner today!

Can you see yourself using a tool such as this? Share your thoughts, experiences and ideas in The Online Educator Facebook Group by clicking the link HERE. Also, as a treat don’t forget to GRAB YOUR FREE GUIDE to the 3 Secrets to Teaching Online Successfully.