IDL-7110:

LEARNING IN A DIGITAL WORLD

WEEK 7

Week 7

By Casaundra Bronner

electronic Flashcard evaluation

Introduction

Flashcards have been in existence for many decades. In the early days, flashcards were made from cut-up paper or index cards. This tool proved to be of great use to learn and memorize mathematical facts and vocabulary words.

Flashcards have evolved and are easily accessible on the Internet, but sadly underused by some populations. In fact, in the K-12 population, slightly more than 20% use flashcards to study. Students in college use flashcards more often than 50% of the time, (Agarwal, 2020).

According to Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, flashcards provide students the needed practice of retrieval. The spaced nature of using the flashcard tool helps students strengthen their long-term memory which leads to greater retention of information (2014). If, however, students are flipping the cards over prematurely, they rob themselves of activating their long-term memory.

RetrievalPractice.org researchers also suggest repeating the flashcard session at least three times and shuffling the flashcard deck to help with interleaving the information.

Researcher, Katherine Rawson, found that students are less likely to “cheat’ themselves on studying when the teacher sets the parameters and teaches “successive relearning’ techniques including scheduling study time (Rawson et al., 2013).

Flashcards are an excellent tool to assist students with metacognitive awareness of their learning. To successfully gain from the study session, the student needs to ask questions along the way; why did I miss this question or concept? What cues could I incorporate to trigger my memory? The metacognitive practice is necessary to help lessen the “illusion of knowing.” Repeating the study at least three times per session spaced over days should help break down the false confidence in learned information.

Study Stack Flash Card System Evaluation

Set Up Evaluation

Study Stack is a very intuitive online tool. It is simple to set up and use. To create an account is free. Sign up is easy; an email is required. The detailed instructions are found on the “Frequently Asked Questions.” Although, creating the flashcards on the homepage is straightforward, the FAQ section gives specific detailed instructions to enhance the flashcard design capabilities.

There are YouTube videos titled, “How to get started, Upload words, and Instructional tutorial.” The videos are beneficial additions to the written instructions.

Study Stack does not have a collaborative function other than sharing the link to the flashcard stack.

Product Review and Special Features Evaluation

Study Stack has few instructions on the homepage, but an important feature included is the “Dashboard.” On the Dashboard is a button to “create a new stack.” There are three tabs to place input. They are settings, data, and slides. The settings tab is where you name the flashcard set and give a description. The data is where the user inputs the questions and answers. The slides tab is where you can customize the font, color, and add an image. A unique function of the platform generates games from the data that is already created, such as word scramble, crossword puzzle, hangman, and quizzes.

Once the card set is created; the user can use the option setting to activate the audio. The audio function can read card data in a variety of languages. Click on the card and it flips. There are three sections the card can be filed into; “Don’t know, Remaining cards, and Know.” Creators can set the stack decks for private or public viewing.

Commonsense Media’s reviewer, Marianne Rogowski, feels the pedagogical benefit of Study Stack is at best, rote learning. However, does recommend using Study Stack as a great way to make learning vocabulary and labeling diagrams fun.

Implementation Evaluation

Educators would find a subscription to the “PRO Teacher plan reasonably priced at twenty dollars a year. The advertising is minimal but can be a little distracting for young students. I did not find how student data could be harvested for teachers to use. Further investigation is needed.

The search box on the Dashboard is there to look through the millions of flashcards created by other users.

Finally, the free mobile app is found on Google Play and the App Store.

Flashcard Machine Flash Card System Evaluation

Set Up Evaluation

The Flashcard Machine appears to be a popular flashcard website. The set up is not as user-friendly as some other flashcard tools. I had trouble editing my created flashcard set initially. The “Help/Support” section gave detailed instructions on how to best use Flashcard Machine.

There are YouTube videos for Flashcard Machine; “Using Flashcard Machine App, Flashcard Machine Demo, Make Photo Flashcards for Studying with Flashcard Machine.” The YouTube videos can help users navigate this tool and maximize the features available. ‘

Teachers may need a demonstration and professional development time to see all what Flashcard Machine has to offer. There is a collaboration piece for educators and learners. Flashcard Machine can be added to your Google Classroom as well.

Product Review and Special Features Evaluation

To create a flash card set click on “My Flashcards,” next “new flashcard set.” Name the flashcard deck, add a description, subject, education level, then enable or disable public viewing access. Creators can format, share, and embed their card stack. Click “start study session” to start the flashcard review. Click on, the “flip card” space to see the answer. The choice of “repeat card now” or “repeat card later” allows users to increase their retrieval strength.

The collaboration tool is a great way to enhance the learning for students. The creator can send an invite to another educator for input. The invited educator edits as appropriate. There are millions of flashcards in the library ready to use. The site includes all the updates for example, creating folders is enabled and auto flip can be paused.

A cool feature is the audio function. A user can upload an audio file from the computer or can create their own. Images can be uploaded from the computer files or from other online sources. There are two modes, standard and 4D. Games are available to maximize learning. Users can create classic multiple-choice quizzes, speed, and pop quiz. The mobile app can be found on Google Play and the App Store. The app is priced at $2.99.

The website, Ditch That Textbook, says that flipping through the cards on Flashcard Machine is basic, but the free advanced search feature is an enhancement.

Implementation Evaluation

Flashcard Machine is free of intrusive advertising, but users are strongly encouraged to donate money. I was not able to find how educators can harvest student data. I will investigate further. The ability to add to the Google Classroom learning management system is an important piece for ease of implementation. Private sharing must be enabled before adding to Google Classroom.

Recommendation

I highly recommend Study Stack. This platform was easy to set up and edit. The bonus for retrieval practice is the three categories where your deck of cards rest; “Don’t know”, “Remaining cards”, and “Now.” I tested these features and found them very impactful for recalling learned information. There is also a stopwatch that informs you how long each session took.

I would create a Camtasia video to show educators how to set up and use Study Stack. A tutorial would be helpful for teachers to refer to on multiple occasions. A video how-to also gives teachers the flexibility to watch when convenient.

Students could best benefit from a live presentation of how Study Stack works along with best practices for making learning stick. I would introduce the tool, then build in time for students to practice using it. It would be wise to remind students that they are in control of their learning and using study tools helps to build their knowledge base. Students could be encouraged to create flashcards for the ACT, SAT, OST, or GRE. The mobile apps are a big bonus. It is great that Study Stack is free.

References

Agarwal, P. (2020, May 18). Make flashcards more powerful with these 3 TIPS – retrieval practice. Retrieved February 28, 2021, from https://www.retrievalpractice.org/strategies/2019/11/18/flashcards

Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: the science of successful learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Rawson, K. A., Dunlosky, J., & Sciartelli, S. M. (2013). The power of successive relearning: Improving performance on course exams and long-term retention. Educational Psychology Review, 25(4), 523–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9240-4

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse