ExamTime - Transform Your Learning Potential

ExamTime is a students study solution by offering several different ways to prepare for exams.  Testing has always been a part of education, it is just in a grander scale now.  Students need ways to prepare for the assessments in their classrooms in ways that can benefit them.  ExamTime offers students the ability to study using mind maps, flashcards, goal setting, and reviewing.  Students can share study guides and notes that they have created with other students and for studying on the go, they can use the mobile app when development is completed.  ExamTime is currently free and as the site grows, premium features will probably cost in the future.  To see ExamTime in action, check out their sample study resources.  You can also see the informational video below.

Brainscape - Learn Faster with Flashcards

Brainscape is a learning service that allows users to create flashcards and then control their learning based on how well they can recall the information they are studying.  Brainscape is a step above other flashcard services by providing users the ability to add pictures and audio to their flashcards.  The audio aspect is definitely an improved feature for ELA and Foreign Language learners.  At my school we offer a medical terminology class and I could see it useful there as well.  Brainscape also offers a free iPhone app that allows users to download their flashcards too so that they can study on the go.

Brainscape offers users the ability to see different levels of what they have learned and what they don't know at all.  This allows students to focus on the areas that they are weakest in.  There are also flashcards that are already created that users can find and start studying immediately for a fee. Users can create an account using standard log in information or connect with their Facebook.  See the video below for more information.

Flashcard Resources

In the digital age, flashcards in the literal sense have taken on a new meaning.  Computers, tablets, and other mobile devices haven't changed how way can use flashcards to study, but they have definitely provided a new way to study.  Below are some resources for creating, finding, sharing, and studying using flashcards.  Share with the teachers in your building so that they can find the one that meets the needs of their students.

Quizlet - One of my favorite, and thinking back, the very first Web 2.0 tool I used as a teacher provides students and teachers the ability to create accounts, search through a database, and then participate in games to help study.  You can also find an iPhone App and Google Chrome App as well.  One of the great things about Quizlet; it was created by a high school student.

Braineos allows users to create flashcards, play study games to learn the the information, while at the same time allowing users to challenge their best friends.  Competition is sometimes the best way to increase learning.  There is also a database that you can search for flash cards as well.  There is also the option of having a multiple choice quiz based on the flashcards as well.

Cramberry is another free option that allows users to create or search for flashcards in the database, and then when you are ready to study, Cramberry will analyze a users progress and help users hone in on the areas that they are weakest.  You can also get the service as a iPhone/iPod App and an iPad App.

Study Stack is a simple, no muss, no fuss type of flash card site.  You can browse previously created flashcards or you can create your own and study on the web.

StudyBlue is a mobile and web based flashcard creation option that also allows the creation of study guides and quizzes.  Users can create an account via Facebook or through an email address.  Teachers can also create an account that allows users to create cards for students and then share them for them to access.  StudyBlue also has mobile apps as well.

Memerise is more of a course based system, but provides a lot of features for studying content.  Users can use images and audio (good for language learning), take tests that help users exercise their brain, and then get reminders to help users remember to study.  There are currently 145 languages and over 203 categories that users can browse through.  This might be the most advanced of all I mention, but worth looking into.  No account is needed to use, but creating an account will make tracking and storing easier.

Flashcard Stash is built on top of a dictionary, so users can look up words and save them.  Users can also get sentence usage, synonyms, and audio as well.  Using the service is free and user can login using Facebook or standard email login.  If you are a teacher, you can create an account and share lists of flashcards easily with students.

Superflashcard provides users the ability to look for and create flashcards in various languages and for various categories.  Users can also view in a slideshow or study using matching, memorizing, or through a quiz.  Users can connect with Facebook, Google, or an email account.  Users can also create a review schedule to help them remember to study.

Flashcard Database is a free service to create, study, and share flashcards online.  Users have the ability to study in two different methods and make study easier and more efficient.  Users can search for recently created lists, recently studied, or look through popular subjects.  Signing in is not required to study cards, but it is for creating them.

Flashcard Exchange is also a free service that allows users to search from over 50 million flashcards or create their own.  By creating an account users can save their flashcards and access them later.  This service is more about utilizing what is already available and not reinventing the wheel; although you can if you want too.

Headmagnet is a free services that helps users predict and understand what users are forgetting the most and helps them focus on what you need to remember.  The more it is used, the better the service and its users can learn how to study.  Users can create lists and track what they have learned as well as share with others through the Headmagnet Community.  The service also provides stats that are helpful in determining strengths and weaknesses.

What Flashcard service do you use that I have not shared?

Superflashcard

Superflashcard is another option in a long list of websites that allow you to create your own flashcards online for the purpose of studying.  It has a lot of the same features as some other sites, and although its main focus is generating income, they do allow their educators access to a paid account with more features for free. 

The one main difference I have seen so far is the users ability to auto-schedule reviews to optimize and enhance memorization.  There is also a feature to allow users to import/export your flashcards with comma delimited text file.  There are also games and multiple study modes for users as well.  And because it is like other flashcard sites, Superflashcard allows networking and you can search the public database for flashcards that users have already created.

WordStash

WordStash is another option in the Web 2.0 software that allows users to create Flashcard based study guides and then use the list to study, play games, and share words with friends and students.  WordStash allows users to also add images to their flashcards, or create flashcards based on images.  This could be useful for special education students, foreign language classes, and especially science and social studies.

One feature noted on the front page is that WordStash uses Science Based Learning to calculate the most efficient time to study using a spaced repetition algorithm.  The software can also save words you look up in the dictionary.

You can create an account for free or view list already created by other users.  One of the games is waterfall, where you have to type in the correct answer before the definition or image disappears at the bottom of the screen.

Here is a short tutorial that someone created that might be worth checking out.

Zendo

Zen.do is a website designed to take your notes and from them directly create flashcards.  From the flashcards you will be able to mark how well you know the information.  What a great concept.  So often it was a pain in college to take notes and then re-write/transfer those notes to index cards.  It was a lot of extra work.  It is a fact for a lot of people that flashcards are a powerful method of studying.

To use Zen.do you must create an account using an email address and then confirm your email address.  You can also login using Facebook or Google.  After that you can create folders related to the lecture notes.  Within the folders will be various notes based on the topic.  Zen.do makes organizing notes a lot easier as well.  Hopefully an App for Smartphones will be coming in the future.  To learn more, watch the video below.

Study Stack and CoboCards

Online Flashcards are becoming a popular method of studying and there is no shortage of options available on the web.  I recently came across two more options for creating, finding, and studying flash cards online.

CoboCards allows uses to create Flashcards online, search through a database of flashcards, and study flashcards using the Leitner Algorithm.  To use the site all you need to do is provide a valid email address.  Cobocards is also available as a Smartphone application.  From the website you are able to study alone or with a group of friends.  You can organize your flashcards by folders and then print them off for studying offline.  You can search through a pool of cards created all ready. 

"StudyStack takes online flashcards to a whole new level. The site automatically creates many other activities based on the data from your flashcards. These activities have two main benefits. The first is that studying won't be so boring. So without even realizing it you'll naturally study more. The second benefit is that by reviewing the data in several different formats, you'll end up memorizing the information better as your brain makes several different connections with the data."

What sets Study Stack apart are the games and activities that are available for studying vocabulary.  There are matching, crossword puzzles, hangman, scrambled word, and bug chase games.  On the front page you will see all the categories of pre-made flashcards.  If Study Stack does not provide you what you are looking for, scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see links to several other flashcard sites.    

Quizlet - Some Good Upgrades

Quizlet was the first web 2.0 website I encountered before really understanding what Web 2.0 was.  I was always thoroughly impressed with it and shared it with all my teachers.  Since first discovering this site to create flashcards, play games, and study vocabulary, they have made some major upgrades to the website.  Here is my original blog post about Quizlet.

Here are some of the newer features:
1.) You can easily embed your Flashcards on a blog or website.
2.)  The addition of audio to allow the vocabulary to be read aloud.  Great addition for Special Education.
3.) It is easier to create and study vocabulary that contains symbols and accents.
4.) Search Preview Boxes allows users to see what the words contained in the vocabulary list.  Before, you were just clicking and hoping the list had words you were studying.
5.) The inclusion of line breaks allows you to enter more then one line for the definition.  A great addition that helps not having to study a large sentence, but rather key parts of a definition.
6.) Quizlet has gone mobile, so now you can get all your flashcards on your phone....why are we still banning these tools?
7.) Quizlet is free, but they have a Plus Account that allows photo flash cards and other features for just $10.00 a year.  Not a bad price.

Quizlet has come a long way since I first discovered it and it continues to be one of the best for vocabulary studying.  If you have never used it before, I suggest you check it out.

Cramberry

Cramberry helps you study with online flash cards, similar to Quizlet. Students can make cards on Cramberry, or choose from our catalog of free public flash cards. The difference is that when you study, Cramberry analyzes your progress using an algorithm and presents those cards at intervals for maximum retention.

Signing up for an account is free and simple.  The interface is also simple to use as well.  If students don't feel like making a list, they can search the public library and find a list of vocabulary for the words that they are needing to study. 

Another benefit of Cramberry is that it also has an iPhone and iPad app so that you can take your studying with you.   

A Few New Web 2.0 Tools

A great way to create online Photo Books is through Picaboo.  It is a software that requires you to download it, but it offers a great way to create photo album on your computer with a lot of great features.  There are tons of tools for your photo book that allow you to customize how it looks.  You can add backgrounds, custom layouts, text boxes so you can label your photos.  You can also organize your photos to create a story flow so that your pictures go in sequential order.  There are also several other tools that could be used for a personal or school projects.

You could easily have your students use Picaboo to do a biography project in your class over an author, scientist, historical figure, etc.  Would be a great way to present information to the class, especially with the ability to add text and put in sequential order.  I suggest that you download and try it out yourself to see if there can be an educational application in your classroom.

Preceden is a simple timeline creation tool.  It is free to use.  It would be ideal if you wanted to do the events from a major world war because it would be easy to track different battles.  It would be great in WWII because you could show all the different campaigns on one timeline because of how they are color coded.  It is really difficult for students to understand that multiple events happen in history at the same time and textbooks do a horrible job of conveying this a lot of the time.  Preceden would be a great way to follow events.

On a completed timeline a description of the events is listed below the actual timeline.  Each of those events has a "go to" link that will take you to it on the timeline.  You can also print the descriptions of each event allowing a student to turn in a paper if need be.  You can see a sample of a timeline here.  It is the timeline of Preceden.

Headmagnet is a Flashcard creation tool unlike any others you will see.  I could give a description and tell you about it, but there is no reason to reinvent the wheel.  Richard Byrne of Free Technology 4 Teachers does a great job of explaining what this site can do as well as providing a video.  I highly suggest that you subscribe to his blog if you have not already.

KeepVid allows you to take the streaming video from sites like YouTube and download them.  This works great because you can download the files as a Flash file and then easily upload them to a site like Prezi.  You can add a Toolbar link so that when watching the video, it will start to download.  It is a great feature to use in schools because of all the other problems with YouTube.  It would be a way to keep those videos you love and show in class without all the distractions that come from YouTube.

Quizlet

Another one of the Web 2.0 tools that has grown in popularity is Online Flashcards.  There are several sites out there for creating Online Flash Cards.  Some of the sites have more features than others and others are simply for creating Online Flash Cards.  My favorite of the bunch is Quizlet.
















Quizlet was created by a 15 year old boy in 2005 who wanted a more entertaining way to learn his vocabulary.  The name Quizlet comes from Quizlette, the name of the "little" quizzes his French teacher gave his class.  Quizlet works by creating list of words and definitions.  The neat thing is that if you don't have a definition, you can choose from a list of definitions submitted by other users.  From those list there are different ways to learn them.  Students can export them into Flashcards, or complete various games and activities.  Students can even take a test that includes matching, multiple choice, true or false, and fill in the blank.  Teachers can create an account for free and then students can log on and use the terms you created to study.  Students can log on and create the words themselves to study as well.  Students do not have to join the site to study the flash cards already uploaded to the site.


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