What is Student Practice?
Student Practice is a feature that enables students to create practice flashcards for any subject of their choice and use them to study at their own pace. Students can use the practice sets in the classic way, or gamify the experience using a times & scored Match game version!
This feature is still in development and needs to be first enabled by teachers for students to have access to.
**Note: Your teacher may create student practice sets and share them with you. This article will review how to create your own practice sets, and how to work with practice sets in general.
Create New Student Practice
Click on "Practice" from the left-side menu
Click on "Add+" at the top right corner
Name your Practice set
You can create as many practice sets as you'd like
If you need to make changes to your Practice set's title, or if you'd like to associate it with a specific grade level(s) or subject(s) - simply click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of the practice set and choose "Edit Settings". After adjusting the details, click "Save".
Add Flashcards to Student Practice
There are two ways for students to add flashcards to the student practice:
Typing in card content manually
Importing lists from external sources
Type card content manually
On the right-side panel, enter the front side and the back side of the flash card into the corresponding fields.
You can type in words as well as record audio files, and add images via upload or copy/paste
Pro Tip: enter LaTex expressions between $ signs to create math expressions:
Click "Add New Card" when finished
The card you created will appear on the main practice page, and a new blank card will open for you to till
Continue entering additional flash cards using the same method
When you're done adding the flashcards, click the X at the top right corner to close the right-side panel
If you need to add more cards, simply click on the "+ New Card" block or on the blue plus button at the top of the screen, and the right side panel will re-open:
Import list from external sources
If you have an external source with a list of flashcards content you can import that list into the practice set and the system will create the flashcards for you.
Files to be imported should be in CSV (comma separated values) or TSV (tab separated values) format, and they should include two columns: first column for the front side of each card, and the second column for the back side. You can create your own external source list by using Excel or Google Sheets and saving the file as .csv or .tsv; or you can use lists that you have exported from third party websites and apps such as Quizlet, Anki, Gimkit, etc.
To import your list:
Click on the triple dots menu at the top right corner of the screen
From the dropdown menu choose "Import set"
A popup window will appear. In it you will find rows of fillable text fields divided into two columns. The left side column is for the front side of the cards, and the left side column is for the back side of the cards
You can either manually add text into the text fields by typing or copy/pasting each field separately, or you can place your cursor into the first text field at the top and copy/paste your entire CSV or FSV formatted list
When done, click on "Import" at the bottom of the window, and your flashcards will populate the practice set. You can then edit the cards if needed and add images and/or audio to them as well.
How to import lists from other websites / apps
If the other website or app you used to create your flashcards supports a .CSV or a .TSV format for exporting, you will be able to copy your flashcards into Formative in one go.
To do this start with exporting your flashcards list from the other website/app in a .CSV or .TSV format and then copy the content into the import modal as described above (click into the top left field in Formative and paste)
If you used Quizlet:
Open the set in Quizlet (make sure you are logged in to your account)
Select the triple dots (More menu)
Select Export
Set "Between term and definition" to Tab
Set "Between rows" to New Line
Click Copy text (Image exports aren't currently available due to copyright restrictions.)
Paste your text into your preferred Spreadsheet software (i.e. Google Sheets, Excel, etc.): right-click the top left cell in an empty spreadsheet. From the menu choose "Paste Special" and then "Paste values only"
Download your file as .CSV or .TSV
Copy the file's content
In the Formative import modal, click into the top left field and paste (the modal will separate the cards front and back for you)
If you used Anki:
In the start screen, navigate to the deck you want to export, then press the "⚙️ (Settings)" button next to the deck
Choose "Export". Set the export format as "Notes in Plain Text".
Once done, this .TXT file will have fields separated by tabs
Copy the file's content
In the Formative import modal, click into the top left field and paste (the modal will separate the cards front and back for you)
If you used Gimkit :
Find the Kit you would like to export
Click Export on the side panel
Click Copy Text
In the Formative import modal, click into the top left field and paste (the modal will separate the cards front and back for you)
Note: When saving your files into .CSV or .TSV files, it's important that your cards' front side are in the first column, and your cards' back side are in the second column (without any headers or titles, or no other columns used). Additionally, when importing from other apps, it’s not possible to import non-text content (such as images or handwriting) in these formats.
Begin Practice
Click into your created Student Practice set
Click on the blue "Practice" button at the top right corner of your screen
Choose the practice mode you prefer (Flashcards mode for a classic practice; Match mode for a Match game version, or Quiz mode for a gamified practice version)
4. Click "Start" to begin your practice immediately.
Alternatively, you can select the background color you prefer by clicking on "Change Background" and then click on the Start button
5. Click on the Audio Settings button at the top right corner to adjust your preferred Audio experience:
Flashcards Mode - Check Your Knowledge
Front side of flashcards will be presented to you one at a time. If audio was added to the card, click on the "Play" icon to listen (to stop the audio click on the "Stop" icon)
Try to answer to yourself
Click on the flashcard to turn it over to the back side
Check your knowledge in comparison with the back side of the flashcard. If audio was added to the card, click on the "Play" icon to listen (to stop the audio click on the "Stop" icon)
If you got it right click on the green "Got it" button, if you did not get it right click on the red " Didn't get it" button
Any flashcards marked "Didn't get it" will be presented again at random and the practice will continue until you get all your practice flashcards right
Remember, this is a practice for your eyes only, being honest with your answers will maximize the effectiveness of the practice tool and your learning potential!
🙋🏼 I didn't get all my flashcards right and I need to take a break, what do I do?
If you need to take a break, simply click on the "Back" arrow at the top left corner of your screen and return to the main Student Practice page.
Your practice will save from where you left off, and you'll be able to see which flashcards you've mastered and which flashcards you're still in the process of learning. Clicking on the corresponding category will take you back to reviewing the front and back sides of the flashcards for additional memorization. When ready, you can click on "Practice" again to resume your practice.
Note: After pausing practice once, resuming the Practice will take into account the category of flashcards you were viewing. If you were reviewing the flashcards you're still learning, only these flashcards will be presented to you when you re-click "Practice", and if you were reviewing the flashcards you already learned or those you haven't started yet - clicking "Practice" will present the corresponding flashcards as well.
If you want to practice the full set again, make sure you are viewing the "All" category.
Match Mode - Check Your Knowledge
Several options of cards containing either the front-side or the back-side of flashcards will be presented (not ALL flashcards necessarily, and not all of them will have a match at any given moment!)
Click on pairs of matching cards (front & back) as you identify them - correct pairs will disappear from the screen and be replaced with new cards
Watch the timer on the right side corner
Collect points as you go!
100 points for matching on first attempt
75 points for matching on second attempt
50 points for matching on third attempt or more
When you're done - your time and points will be presented
Click "Play again" to try to beat your record, or "exit" if you've had enough
Tip: Turn sound affects on/off by clicking on the sound icon at the top of the screen
Quiz Mode - Check Your Knowledge
One back-side card is presented along with fours front-side cards
Chose the front-side card that matches the back-side
Continue practicing until you get all the matches correctly
Deleting Student Practice
To delete a practice set you've previously created:
Click into the practice set
Click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of your screen
Choose "Delete set" and confirm
Accessing a Practice Set Assigned By a Teacher
Your teacher can create practice sets and assign them to you. The practice sets will appear on your Practice tab just like the practice sets you created for yourself, however they will not be editable. Any practice sets assigned by teachers will be clickable for viewing and practicing only.