Now that classes have started up again, the age-old college tradition of procrastination can be put back into its rightful place. Once you have memorized every detail of your Facebook news feed and caught up on your blog reading, a new website sponsored by the United Nations World Food Programme might prove to be your new favorite time-wasting activity. But instead of mindless games of Minesweeper or Solitare, FreeRice.com is an educational and charitable way to postpone doing homework. At the site, if users correctly define a vocabulary word, the WFP donates 20 grains of rice to those in need. And while it’s the only site of its kind associated with the WFP, it’s one of many online sites dedicated to educational and humanitarian efforts.
CLICK TO DONATE
In 1999, Indiana computer programmer John Breen created thehungersite.com, which was the first “click-to-donate” site on the Internet. In its first year alone, more than six million pounds of food were donated to the hungry, according to the website. The page was so successful that in 2000, the site won the People’s Voice Webby Award, an international Internet excellence prize.
After the success of Breen’s first creation, he developed other sites dedicated to poverty and hunger education, and in October he launched FreeRice.com, which donated 537 million grains of rice in its first month. The site has since gained immediate popularity and generated around seven billion grains of rice in December alone.
The program was designed to automatically adjust to a person’s vocabulary level and increasingly challenge the player, according to the website. There are 50 levels in total, but the site noted that it is rare for people to reach beyond level 48. The program determines in which level to start a player from the initial rounds, then proceeds through the program, the site is searching for new words to add to the program this month, and does “not want [players] to run out of vocabulary to learn anytime soon.”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
FreeRice.com, a nonprofit site, pays for the donated rice through advertisements, according to the website. All of the money raised through FreeRice.com is sent to the WFP, which purchases rice and sends it to various countries in need.
The WFP functions as an emergency organization whose main goal is simply to feed hungry people, said WFP Public Affairs Associate Jennifer Mizgata. The organization operates in over 80 countries, she said, explaining that their operations aim to help save lives.
The UN purchases food in different local markets to boost their economies, Mizgata said. In 2007, 30 percent of all of the rice was purchased from Pakistan, followed by Japan and India. The countries that received most of the purchased rice include Myanmar, Nepal, Cambodia and the Philippines respectively, according to the WFP.
Breen personally prompted the connection, Mizgata said, and the relationship has grown rapidly over the past few months.
“It’s been a really great experience for us,” Mizgata said. “We have gotten interest from people all of the country. People are learning about world hunger and are trying to make a change.”
Although FreeRice raises 20 grains for each correctly answered question, it is difficult to put that amount into perspective. Mizgata said the WFP figures that in a location where rice is a central part of a person’s diet, in addition to other ingredients and nutrients, 19,000 grains of rice constitutes two meals. Those grains are also equivalent to 400 grams of rice per person per day.
ONLINE
EDUCATION
The Internet has become a vital source for both education and donation for many organizations, not just the WFP, said Mizgata, and she thinks it will remain so in the future.
“On a personal level, I cannot imagine the world of advocacy or education without the Internet,” Mizgata said. “I think it’s a great place for people to learn about things they are interested in and taking action. Whether it’s emailing 10 people or sending a message through Facebook, [people] can tell friends by simply using the Internet.”
According to Jess Brallier, the publisher of educational website FunBrain.com, the growth of online educational programs is driven by many factors such as new technology, financial aspects and the overall market growth. However, not all programs work.
”Like all programs — technology- or print- or whatever-based — it depends,” Braillier said in an email. “Some work, some don’t. Some are ahead or behind the times, some are right on.”
Braillier said he believes education still comes down to the quality of teachers, and technology is a tool that aids their job.
“As for informal or self-directed learning, technology is a blessing,” he said. “Most anybody, anywhere, who is online, can inform one’s self about most anything. It’s liberating.”
EXERCISE YOUR BRAIN
FunBrain.com is one of many educational websites that feature games and puzzles. From Math Car Racing to Grammar Gorillas, FunBrain offers programs online to help encourage children to enhance their education. With all of the educational material featured on the Internet, Braillier said finding educational information has become a lot easier.
“An immense amount of money has been spent in putting content on line, and an immense amount of money has been spent in figuring out how to best deliver it,” Braillier said.
The prevalence of educational material online is a definite benefit for students, he continued, explaining that it makes learning more efficient and accessible for all people.
SCHOOL TIES
Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences senior Micah Meltzer said while he was searching through Facebook, he wound up discovering a group dedicated to FreeRice.com. A few minutes later he was testing his vocabulary skills and winning grains of rice for hungry people across the globe.
“I was pretty skeptical about [FreeRice.com] at first because there wasn’t any place to donate money and I was expecting that to happen,” Meltzer said.
Unlike some charitable online sites, FreeRice.com does not have any hidden fees or donation requests that Meltzer expected when he first began to play.
College campuses are an easy way to see the widespread usage of the Internet in an educational setting. With students constantly checking Facebook and other online forums, professors have picked up on the trend and some have transferred much of their class work online.
BU computer science professor John Byers said he no longer prints out syllabi for his students, but rather posts them on the school’s Courseinfo site.
“[The Internet] is such a vast space that every aspect of education is getting better because of the web,” Byers said.
