4 Pics 1 Word is a free app from "LOTUM GmbH" which provides 4 pictures and the students are to deduce the word which all four pictures represent and then to use the provided letters to spell the one word which fits all the pictures - thus the name, 4 Pics 1 Word. This kind of word game promotes thinking and discussion in younger students as well as in students still learning or developing English vocabulary.

This is a pretty straightforward app. There is not a lot more to it. If you get stuck you can use the coins you have earned in other rounds of the game to purchase one letter which is in the answer. (The alternative, which is sort of like "phone a friend" using your Facebook account, is not likely to be used in our classrooms.) It was after I played this game for a while that I saw what i think may be a great extension for this app/game.

After playing the game for several rounds, I think it would be terrific to have students create their own sets of images which have a one-word shared meaning or shared content. These images could be drawn on paper and then captured with the tablet's camera, could be captured by the camera, or could be collected from a student-safe website like http://pics4learning.com. Students could then simply share their image sets with their peers and see if they could deduce the one word answers. I think the discussion around this activity would be an interesting one. Perhaps some would be able to justify another one-word answer which, while different from the one the student-creator intended, would still be acceptable. The app provides a set of letters to lessen this possibility, but I think a more open format might provide for richer conversation in the classroom.

So check out 4 Pics 1 Word... but watch your time, it can be kind of addicting!