What I did on my snow day

Thanks to some unexpected snow days here in Scotland, a planned Quizlet session in the school had to be cancelled. (You can read my thoughts on Quizlet elsewhere: iDea - Quizlet.)

Since we were unable to meet, I recorded a short video on Quizlet Diagrams. I show a few examples:

• Chemistry - The Periodic Table of the Elements
• Geography - Plate Boundaries
• French - French Vocabulary

I also give a give a quick demonstration of how pupils can use diagrams and then a longer demonstration of how to create a Quizlet diagram.

Quizlet was a really useful tool even before diagram support was added. The addition of diagrams brings a whole new dimension of usefulness!


Useful? Interesting? Let me know what you think.

This is the first of a semi-regular series which will outline suggested apps/tools/technology that could help enhance learning and teaching.

Quizlet

After the exams last year, I asked the pupils if they used technology to help them study. Quizlet was one of the most commonly mentioned tools. At one level, Quizlet is an electronic version of good old fashioned flashcards (see Wikipedia for description of flashcards) which can be useful when trying to memorise terms and definitions. Since Quizlet is computer based, it has the potential to be much more powerful than paper based flashcards. In particular, the ability to share sets as well as being able to borrow and adapt sets that others have created could be a significant time saver.

There are two things I particularly like about Quizlet. I like the potential for collaborative work. Pupils can create and share sets; they can work together on Quizlet Live and teachers can build on and work with other educators. I also like the diagrams feature; not something I've used with a class yet, but it looks particularly promising (examples on the Learning In Hand page cover Spanish, French, Geography...).


If you are unfamiliar with Quizlet, the website gives a quick introduction in the form of a Teacher FAQ. There are a set of useful links at the bottom of this post but for visual learners, here are a couple of videos:

1) Brief look at the iPad app - focus is on how pupils could use it to help them learn terms.

2) Brief look at the website - focus is on using classes to share cards with pupils including a quick look at diagrams.


If you are unfamiliar with Quizlet, here is a slideshow that takes you through the basics:

Quizlet - other links:

• Quizlet - App from Apple Store
• Quizlet - Webpage
• Quizlet - Teacher Quick-start Guide
• Quizlet - Teacher resources and professional development
• Quizlet - Introduction to Quizlet Live 
• WikiHow - How to join a class
• Campus Technology - Quizlet Learn
• Learning In Hand - Build labeling games with Quizlet Diagrams
  (includes examples from a range of subjects including modern languages)