When and When Not To Use Quizlet

If you are not familiar with Quizlet, check it out HERE. Quizlet was created as a platform to test yourself using self-made or teacher-made online flashcards. Whether you're studying for the GRE, or your Biology final, or even a comprehension assessment for your book in English, you can most likely find a pre-made set of cards to study from. While this sounds incredible, and it is really awesome, there are some major considerations to account for before jumping in and deciding Quizlet is the sole study tool you are going to use.

Truth: Quizlet has the wonderful features of varying quiz types, language translation services, and pre-made cards to make studying simple, fun, and easy! However, Quizlet is limited. Quizlet allows you to create a term or question to match a single definition or answer. Also, if the information, as entered by you, is incorrectly written, you are studying the incorrect information. The memory encoding you are making using Quizlet is literally one-sided. The brain will get stuck in believing there is only one answer and only one question that match that answer. Most assessments your student will take don't stick to one question type, or one answer type when assessing knowledge on a given topic.

What I Suggest: Only use Quizlet to remember definitions or translations. In those two cases, Quizlet is the perfect platform! If you need to remember how to say "cat" in Spanish, Quizlet is your go-to! But if you need to learn the steps of Meiosis, you will want to use a different study method. Boxing the steps of Meiosis linearly and singularly into the matched boxes on Quizlet will not help you answer questions that go beyond basic retelling of the steps on the assessment. As a previous Biology teacher, I never asked students to match the steps of Meiosis to their name. I was more concerned with how these steps relate to the overall process and purpose of sex cell replication and formation. Unfortunately, Quizlet will not help you remember that!

Reply to this post if you are looking for a strategy to study beyond the use of Quizlet for matching terms to definitions in order to encode and remember more complex material.