During middle and high schools, I was terrible at studying. I was terrible at studying because I truly didn't know how. I would think to myself "Well, I already read the assigned reading and practiced the homework lessons, so why should I study?" Making notecards took too much time and I never wanted to "waste" that much paper on a test. I never took notes; I relied on just listening to what the teacher said and hoping I could remember it for the exam.
That method of thinking definitely worked for me in high school, but it didn't fly once I got to university. I was bombarded with homework assignments, chapter reading, quizzes, and endless amounts of note-taking. When it came to my first exam, I failed. Terribly. It was because I didn't know how and what to study. By this point I was already planning on failing out of school. Then a fellow student suggest I utilize a website called quizlet.com
I. LOVE. QUIZLET! It's an online learning tool where you can make electronic notecards to help you study. Then, when you're done with the notecards, you can play games that help you memorize. It's fun, easy, and extremely user friendly. There is even an option that "auto-define" option with definitions from the internet as well as other Quizlet members for when you're not entirely sure what the correct definition is.
For example: I want to study Shakespearean language. I can't remember what "zounds" means, so I type it in on the front of my "notecard". Then, underneath my notecard, I click "auto-define 'zounds'". A pop-up notification appears with web and user-contributed definitions of zounds. I find the definition(s) that make the most sense, then I'm done!
The thing I like the most about Quizlet is the fact that it helps me study through easy computer games. They're simple, fun, and I truly believe they help! I use Quizlet every time I need to study; it's much faster than physically making notecards and much more fun. I would definitely refer it to my future students who find themselves struggling with trying to find good studying habits.
Have you heard of Quizlet before? What do you think of it?
I am terrible at studying! And to be honest one of the reasons I never make note-cards is because I find the actual act of putting them together so tedious! I had never heard of Quizlet before, but it sounds like a great way to defeat my note-card problem. Until now, I have been using the "type it on word" method, and it doesn't always work so well because it is just a bunch of text that I have to keep reading over and over again. I love the idea of being able to play games and being able to look at what other people have written about a word as a studying tool. I think this technology would be extremely useful for your future students.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Quizlet before but it sounds so great! As a history major, I am always studying for quizzes and tests where memorization is key. This was the same story in high school and middle school. If you could not successfully memorize dates, names, and places, you would most likely not pass your history test. Unfortunately, this has become the common way of learning in the history class. I really wish I had a tool like this to use in middle school and high school. I really like that you can create your own note cards to get the essential idea but then you are able to play a game with the information afterward. I agree that the best part is learning through the games. This would allow students to stop memorizing so much and be able to have fun with the information while learning its meaning. Thanks for sharing this I will definitely keep it in mind for both myself and my future students!
ReplyDeleteI agree Colleen, Quizlet is a great study tool. I am actually using it to study for my Praxis test in January. It's an alternative to having to write a ton of your own vocabulary flashcards. I also think as teachers, we can recommend this site to help our students prepare for tests.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I have a test with vocabulary terms I need to know I always use Quizlet. Before hearing about quizlet I would make my own flashcards but I found that not only extremely tedious but messy as well. I would always end up losing some of them so I never had a great experience. However after hearing about Quizlet I found it much quicker and easier than the old fashioned way. I think teachers should recommend this website to their students.
ReplyDeleteI discovered this just recently in my Spanish class and it has helped me enormously this semester. I found out in some middle school and probably high school they ask their students to download the app for smartphones. I think this is a great resource for studying and can really improve student achievements and memory.
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