I have found the perfect addition to my SAT Prep/Semantics course-Quizlet! I immediately dismissed it because I thought it was 'another' quiz/test-making site. I was completely wrong! Well, partially wrong, anyway. Quizlet is an interactive site that incorporates electronic flashcards, gaming and quizzes, which appeals directly to today's student. According to Black (2010), "Today's students have grown up with the speed of video games and MTV. They have little patience for lectures, step-by-step instruction or thinking, or traditional testing...The learning focus remains on information, but the vehicles to access it have changed fundamentally." Quizlet offers the perfect way to incorporate the 'learning focus' and appeal through interactivity.
Quizlet is the modern equivalent to the flashcards coveted, or not, but previous generations. By allowing the students to work at their own pace, and interact within their norm, it gives the student control. "The one-computer classroom controlled by the teacher, often used as a 'center' for drill and practice...continues to be the prevailing reality in many new-millenium classrooms." (Fahser-Herro 2000). This tool gives the student the ability to use it at school, in a computer-lab setting or even from home, depending on how the teacher wants to implement it. I am using it in the computer lab to reinforce the vocabulary we have been learning. I find that the students are engaged and intrigued. Their natural competitiveness comes through as they vie for the fastest time in "Scatter"; the game that requires the students to drag and drop definitions and words. I even find myself consistently trying to beat my 'best time."
Quizlet also keeps track of the words that the students most often miss, so it serves both the purpose of studying as well as keeping track of words that need more attention. By giving the students the power to choose how they learn, gives them the power to learn.
References
Black, A. (2010). Gen Y: Who they are and how they learn. Educational Horizons, 88(2), 92-101. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from ERIC database.
Fahser-Herro, D., & Steinkuehler, C. (2009). Web 2.0 literacy and secondary teacher education. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 26(2), 55-62. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from Education Research Complete database.
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