have one designated recorder on the classroom computer typing in important terms and concepts from the class brainstorming session on last night’s reading. That night (and throughout the unit), your students could collaborate and discuss what should go on each of the cards through the group you set up and invited them to on Quizlet. (As the creator, you could add your two cents, too.) As information on the cards continues to be refined throughout the unit as students learn more about the original concepts and find more important ones to add, you could test them in class. By clicking on the flashcard set and then “Test,” you could choose to set up a quiz with a combination of written answer, multiple choice, matching, and true/false questions and then print it out for distribution. If you had access to a computer lab, you could have students log in to their own accounts, go into “Test” mode with the parameters of your choice, take the test, submit it, and then print out their already graded results to hand in either as a comprehension check or for a grade. You could even have them go into their “Dashboard,” which tracks statistics about their Quizlet use, to see how often they’ve been using the tool to study, in which modes, and how well they’re mastering the material.
Why it’s special
As a student teacher in an underserved urban setting, I find myself analyzing closely the applicability of what I’m learning in the classroom to the practice of teaching in such a setting. When
I see demonstrations of these tools, I think about my students who do not have internet access at home, let alone a computer (or even an e-mail address). As a Language Arts teacher, I think about my students who are also working to master the English language and how the tool meshes with or can accommodate for their different fluency levels. I think about my students who, as high schoolers, read at levels far below their grade level. How will my students be able to use these tools? How are these tools considerate of different learners?
Quizlet is special because it offers something different for each of my students. I can create flashcards and add sound clips to them to help students who are learning English or have lower reading levels. My auditory learners can use the Voice Space Race or Scatter learning modes to study. I can add pictures to sets that I create for visual learners. For those that simply do not have access to the tool from home, I can print the study sets in list or card format and provide some access.
Every student has different learning needs. Why not use a free tool that encourages collaboration and can help you meet those
unique needs? Check it out at:
www.quizlet.com.
Amanda Hurless is a student teacher at Thurston High School in Redford, Michigan. She is currently a student at the University of Michigan in the Master of Arts with Certification program and hopes to help each student gain access to achieving their dreams.
AIM HIGHER
MACULJOURNAL
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Fall 2011
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29
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