We have been using different puzzles in our LOLAs (Live Online Learning Activities) for reviewing the training content. By making sure that the solution to the puzzle is related to the content, we ensure that the activity serves an instructional purpose.
One of our favorite review games involves anagrams.
What is an anagram? It is a word or a phrase that when you rearrange the letters, you come up with another word or phrase.
Here’s an example: wine bar.
When you rearrange the letters in this phrase, you come up with webinar as the solution.
This article describes an activity that we used recently in a live online training session on building trust.
Purpose
To recall five factors that increase a person’s trustworthiness.
Time
10 to 20 minutes
Technical Requirements
A chat that permits the participants to type their responses. This chat should permit setting the message to be visible only to the facilitator or to the entire room.
Preparation
Identify review words. Go through the content presented earlier in the webinar and identify 5 to 8 key words or technical terms.
Our online session on trust explored these five key trust factors:
Support
Dependability
Transparency
Connection
Acumen
Create anagrams. Come up with suitable anagrams for the review words. This used to be a time-consuming activity that was prone to errors. Fortunately, however, there are powerful online tools available to perform this task for us. Our preferred tool can be found at https://www.wordfinders.com/: On a convenient box, you type the key word (or phrase) and the program immediately spits out a long list of alternative anagrams.
In our online session on trust, we came up with these anagrams by using our online anagram creator:
ad pen debility
conic tenon
cranes pantry
mu cane
up ports
Prepare slides. Create a slide with the anagrams for use during the online session. Also create slides with examples and instructions for the activity.
Flow
Explain the nature of anagrams. Give a brief definition and an example. This is what I said in our webinar on trust:
An anagram is a word or a phrase that if you rearrange the letters, you come up with a different word or a phrase.
Display a slide with the phrase “wine bar”.
For example, look at this phrase. Can you rearrange the letters in this phrase to spell out an event that we are currently attending?
Pause briefly.
Yes, the letters in wine bar spell webinar.
Brief the participants. Recap the topic and specify the area for the anagrams.
From our webinar on trust:
Earlier we explored the five factors that influence your trustworthiness. In this activity, we are going to use anagrams for suitable synonyms for each of these five factors.
Display the anagrams. Show the complete list of anagrams. Explain that the anagrams are arranged in a random order.
From our webinar on trust, we displayed a slide with these anagrams:
ad pen debility
conic tenon
cranes pantry
mu cane
up ports
Here are five anagrams. They are synonyms of the five trust factors
Each anagram spells out a single word.
These words are arranged in a random order. Study the list and see if you can solve any of the anagrams.
Process the first anagram. Focus the participants’ attention on the first anagram. Ask them to rearrange the letters to spell the appropriate word. Ask them to type the solution in the chat box that is set to send the message only to you (the facilitator).
Supply clues and prompts to simplify the task. Optimize the difficulty level of the puzzle so the task is not too difficult nor too easy.
Here are some of the prompts we used in the trust session:
This word is a synonym of authenticity
The word begins with the letter T.
The word ends with the letter Y.
This word is also associated with glass.
Conclude the processing of the first anagram. After the elapse of suitable time, announce the solution. Congratulate the participants who have successfully unscrambled the anagram.
Repeat the process with the other anagrams. Go through the list, one item at a time. Perform your balancing act between too difficult and too easy.
Conclude the activity. After the participants have solved all the anagrams (with appropriate help from you), announce the conclusion of the activity. Briefly recap the review words and relate them to the concept of trust.