Grade Level: P-16

Program Functionality: A

Purpose: C

Overall Educational Value: B

The application is most suited to provide a skill and drill approach to memorizing vocabulary, math facts and other learning content. It also provides learners with the opportunity to:

•  learn “bite sized” pieces of relevant information at a time
• receive immediate feedback on results
• test knowledge in any subject using custom card set integration with Google Docs
  

Cost: Free

Recommendation: I recommend this app for personal use and school use at this time. I feel this app would be most appropriate for use at home for parents who want to provide an extra supplement to school curriculum that requires a skill and drill approach, like addition and subtraction facts. It will require teacher or adult modeling of use for most early elementary students to operate successfully.

Since I began creating custom cardsets with gFlash+ I find that the app is a great way for my 9 year old sons to review their vocabulary and facts during those times when I can’t directly assist them. For instance, we’ve been using the app in the car during our drive to and from school. On days when there is a test, our kids are even using gFlash+ to review material while they are eating breakfast before school. Used in this way, to reinforce key concepts, I’ve found gFLash+ to be a great contribution to the learning process.

Creators Website: http://www.gwhizmobile.com/   

Podcast Script

Introduction:

Welcome to the I Education App Review podcast. This is Jeremy Brueck from Raised Digital on brueckei.org with another IEAR app review. Today I'm going to review gFlash+ from gWhiz, which is available for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The application is currently free and available on iTunes or www.gwhizmobile.com/.

Description:

gFlash+ is a flashcard and trivia application with study, quiz, and multiple-choice modes for iPhone and iPod Touch. The app includes the ability for users to download gWhiz Catalog flashcards. Additionally, users can load cardsets from gWhiz content partners; StudyStack and the Flashcard Exchange. gFlash+ users can choose between two modes to operate the app, as they can either study a cardset or take a quiz to test their knowledge. gFlash+ will randomize cardsets, randomly generate multiple choice answers and also focuses on missed cards in subsequent passes. The app supports creating and download Flashcards with images.

One of the nicest features of gFlash+ allows users to create their own custom cardsets using Google Docs. When using the Google Docs integration feature, any two-column Google Spreadsheet can become a set of flashcards or a reference guide. gWhiz has created two templates that are available on their website that makes creating content easy. The gFlash+ Two Column Flashcard Template is a standard question & answer format. Using this template, Column B can also be used as a source of three alternative answers when viewed in multiple-choice mode. The gFlash+ Multiple Choice Test Template allows users to create One Question with up to five unique Answers.

Report Card:

It's report card time. I find that gFlash+ is appropriate for learners of all ages. This application could easily be integrated in the P-16 environment.

For Program functionality I give gFlash+ an A. The program seems to have fairly intuitive interface for core functionality. By default, MY FLASHCARD LIBRARY loads and learners can select the appropriate card set. Custom integration with Google Docs is a great feature of this app and the gWhiz website include excellent tutorials and templates to assist parents and teachers in creating custom flashcard sets. This app will require teacher or adult modeling of use for most early elementary students to operate successfully.

In a February 2009 post on his blog, “Moving at the Speed of Creativity,” Wesley Fryer says, “While I’m a vocal proponent of learning opportunities which focus on higher order thinking, I also readily acknowledge that in some contexts rote memorization is still important and needed.” This statement pretty accurately sums up my reasoning for a C grade in the purpose category. While I feel that applications like gFlash+ are beneficial to learners, I certainly don’t feel skill and drill strategies by themselves are an effective instructional practice.

Overall, I give gFlash+ a B for educational value. The application does provide a multi-modal approach that allows learners of all ages create relevant and custom flashcard sets. While the instructional approach is somewhat limiting in the app, I see that there is potential for parents and teachers to provide digital study aids for learners of all ages. At this time, I would recommend it for educational use and for parents to use at home with their child.

brueckei.org  Integration Suggestions:

One question I hear from parents often is, “How can we help our children succeed?” As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. When parents are involved in their children's education, the children do better and have better feelings about going to school.

Let’s take look at how I have been using gFlash+ with my twin sons, who are in 3^rd grade. My wife and I had been noticing that both our sons were bringing home assignments that focused on content area vocabulary. We would diligently go over vocabulary words with each boy on a daily basis, but I also felt that this type of study presented a great opportunity to integrate gFlash+ into the mix.

Here’s a look at a common vocabulary worksheet that we were seeing on a regular basis. You can see that it basically requires children to use the words from a Word Bank to complete the fill-in-the blank questions. Now let’s take a look at how I transferred this worksheet into a gFlash+ cardset.

10.Now you’re ready to run the cardset on your handheld.

Parents have a number of options to choose from when using gFlash+ with their children. Study mode presents children their gFlash+ cardsets in a way similar to traditional paper flash cards. One side of the card is shown, and clicking on bottom card will reveal the answer. Multiple-choice mode randomizes up to 5 answer choices.

Test is a mode that keeps track of your child’s scores and retests incorrect answers to encourage mastery learning. In the test mode, children select the correct answer from the choices by tapping on the word. If they choose the correct answer a green checkmark will appear. An incorrect response is noted with a red X. Once your child completes the test, their score will show on the screen.

Since I began creating custom cardsets with gFlash+ I find that the app is a great way for my sons to review their vocabulary and facts during those times when I can’t directly assist them. For instance, we’ve been using the app in the car during our drive to and from school. On days when there is a test, our kids are even using gFlash+ to review material while they are eating breakfast before school. Used in this way, to reinforce key concepts, I’ve found gFLash+ to be a great contribution to our son’s learning experience.

This has been another I Education Apps Review. I’m Jeremy Brueck from brueckei.org where we are dedicated to helping educators meet the changing demands of 21st Century teaching and learning.