Review by Jennifer Sitkin, Common Sense Education | Updated September 2014
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cardkiwi

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Basic flashcard tool offers practical rating system

Subjects & skills
Subjects
N/A
Skills
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
6–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
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Not yet reviewed
Price:  Free Free
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

4 images
It's fairly easy to create sets of flashcards.
Sample flashcard sets are available to use.
Store sets of flashcards on the site to study and share.
Students rate their own understanding to help the system determine how frequently a flashcard is displayed.

Pros: A free tool with an interactive component to help students memorize information.

Cons: Stored sets of cards could be easier to access.

Bottom Line: While flashcards can only take students' learning so far, some may find the rating system a beneficial study aid.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers can share Cardkiwi as well as other flashcard apps and websites so students can see the different options available to them. The best use of the site is to help students with retention of basic information. Teachers may want to assign individual students to create a set of flashcards. Students can also work in collaborative groups to tackle larger amounts of content. As a follow-up, teachers can ask students to share topics that they had a hard time learning (thumbs down), and those concepts should be reviewed again in class. In addition, class activities that build on the content of the flashcards are encouraged to help students develop higher-order skills and promote more in-depth learning.

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Cardkiwi is a free service designed to help kids easily create flashcards and share them with friends. Registration is simple; users need only an email and password to set up an account. To create a set of flashcards, students enter a title and get started building a deck. Students are encouraged to use textbook names or ISBN numbers as titles. The idea is for students to work collaboratively to create flashcards, or to use previously stored sets for a specific textbook. Students can type information or upload images, and completed sets are stored on the site. 

What makes Cardkiwi a bit different is its simple, adaptive recall feature. As students study a particular set, they rate their understanding of the content (thumbs up or thumbs down). Based on the rating, the site determines how frequently to display a particular card. Be aware that students are encouraged to share flashcards socially, either with a link or via Facebook.

While it isn't flashy, Cardkiwi can be a practical tool for students' basic studying and memorization. Even without detailed directions, creating, sharing, and studying sets of cards is fairly easy to figure out. The rating system requires students to be more involved than just reviewing the content -- the developer claims that their algorithm can increase retention by up to 50%.

However, a few issues make it a less appealing choice for digital flashcards. Searching for previously created sets is done using textbook titles, rather than by subject. The size of the overall database or the quality of card sets isn't clear. The site's Examples link could confuse some students, as it has examples of common topics rather than examples of flashcards.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

It's a basic memorization tool without any bells or whistles. The rating system could increase students' interest in studying.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Flashcard-style memorization won't advance students' higher-order thinking skills. That said, the site's adaptive rating tool may help students focus on content that's more difficult for them to learn.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

A short video overview partly explains how the program works. It's easy to create and share flashcards, though it isn't clear how to access sets of cards created by other users. 

Common Sense Reviewer
Jennifer Sitkin Classroom teacher
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