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Create Student Practice

Build student practice sets of flash cards and share them with your students!

Neta Raz Studnitski avatar
Written by Neta Raz Studnitski
Updated today

What is Student Practice?

Student Practice is a feature that enables students and teachers to create practice flashcards for any subject of their choice and use them to study at their own pace.

This feature is under constant development and you can expect to see improvement and updates to it released often!

Create New Student Practice

There are three locations from which to initiate the creation of a new student practice set within Formative:

From the "Home" tab

  1. Click on "Home" from the left side menu

  2. Click on "Create +" at the top right corner

  3. Select "Practice Set" from the dropdown menu

  4. Name your new Practice Set, and proceed to add cards

From the "Activities" tab

  1. Click on "Activities" from the left side menu

  2. Click on "Create+ at the top right corner

  3. Select "Practice Set" from the dropdown menu

  4. Name your new Practice Set, and proceed to add cards

From the "Practice Sets" tab

  1. Click on "Practice Sets" from the left-side menu

  2. Click on "Create +" at the top right corner

  3. Select "Practice Set" from the dropdown menu to manually create cards.
    ​Note: You can also select "Import CSV or List" if you have ready-made cards to import, or "Auto-Generate Practice" for our AI to generate card suggestions for you. However, these options will also be available to you later if you selected to create a practice set manually

  4. Name your new Practice Set, and proceed to add cards

You can create as many practice sets as you'd like!

Adjust Settings, Instructions and Tags

Tag to grade and subject

Tagging practice sets to grade levels and subjects will make it easier for you to filter performance data. Click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of the practice set and select 'Edit Settings' and associate the practice set with specific grade level(s) and subject(s) from the dropdown fields.

Add background image

Click 'Change Background' to add a background of your choice to the practice set. You can select from our gallery of backgrounds, or create your own background by clicking 'Add image'.

Add Student Instructions

To add general instructions to your practice set click on "Add Student Instructions" at the top of the page and type them into the text field. Instructions may include content items such as files, videos, audio recordings, images, emojis, etc. You can use the styling menu to change text color, Bold, Italize, Underline, and more.

When your students open the Practice Set, they will be presented with the instructions on the practice launch page.

Edit practice set title

If you need to edit your practice set's title, you can click into the title field and re-type, or select 'Edit Settings' from the triple dots menu and re-type into the title field within the pop-up window

Add Flashcards to Student Practice

There are multiple ways to add flashcards to student practice:

  • Typing in card content manually

  • Generating a full practice set using Ai

  • Importing lists from external sources

Type card content manually

  1. Click on the blank card to expand the right-side panel

  2. On the right-side panel, enter the front side and the back side of the flash card into the corresponding fields

  3. You can type in words as well as as add images and even record audio
    ​


    ​Pro Tip: enter LaTex expressions between $ signs to create math expressions:
    ​

  4. Click "Add New Card" when finished

  5. The card you created will appear on the main practice page, and a new blank card will open for you to fill

  6. 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 exited the side panel and need to add more cards at a later time, simply click on the blue plus button at the top of the screen, and the right side panel will re-open:

Generate practice set with AI

You have the option to utilize AI to create 20 flashcards at once, based on a topic of your choice. If you need more cards than 20 cards, you can add more to the set later.

To generate flashcards with AI you can use the quick start button on the main Practice Sets page
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If you selected the manual creation or the Importing options, do not worry! You can still access the AI generator from within the practice set itself by clicking on the AI generation icon:

Within the AI generator window:

  1. In the designated space, enter a prompt to guide AI generation

  2. Click the Generate button for AI to begin generating the cards
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  3. Give AI the time it needs to process your request. You'll see a spinner to the right of your prompt

  4. Card suggestions will appear to the right of your prompt. Review the suggestions and decide which you would like to keep. Uncheck the suggestions you prefer to discard of.
    If you're unhappy with all the cards generated, you can also click "regenerate" for our AI to generate new ones, you might want to consider adjusting your prompt for better results.

  5. When you're satisfied with your selections, proceed to click "Add Cards"
    ​

  6. Once the AI generated cards have been added to your practice set, you can proceed to edit them to your liking. Hover over a card and click on the pencil icon that will appear on it to expand the right-side panel. You can then edit the text, add images and/or add audio to the card from the right-side panel.
    ​

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, you can use the quick start option from the main Practice Sets page:
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Or, if you selected either of the other options, you can click on the triple dots menu at the top right corner of the practice set and select "Import" from the dropdown menu:

From here, follow the instructions below:

  1. 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
    ​

  2. 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
    ​

  3. 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:

    1. Open the set in Quizlet (make sure you are logged in to your account)

    2. Select the triple dots (More menu)

      More_menu_-_iOS_-_Resized.png

    3. Select Export

    4. Set "Between term and defintion" to Tab

    5. Set "Between rows" to New Line

    6. Click Copy text (Image exports aren't currently available due to copyright restrictions.)

    7. 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"

    8. Download your file as .CSV or .TSV

    9. Copy the file's content

    10. 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:

    1. In the start screen, navigate to the deck you want to export, then press the "⚙️ (Settings)" button next to the deck

    2. Choose "Export". Set the export format as "Notes in Plain Text".

    3. Once done, this .TXT file will have fields separated by tabs

    4. Copy the file's content

    5. 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 :

  1. Find the Kit you would like to export

  2. Click Export on the side panel

  3. Click Copy Text

  4. In the Formative import modal, click into the to pleft 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.

Duplicate Practice Sets

If you need to create a similar practice set to one that already exists, you can save a lot of time by simply duplicating the existing set and editing the new clone to match your needs. This is a great way to accommodate for differentiation!

There are several locations you can duplicate practice sets from:

From the Activities tab

  1. On your Activities tab, locate the practice set and check mark the box next to it

  2. Select "Duplicate" from the menu at the bottom of the screen

  3. Edit the Prefix & Suffix to your preference

  4. If you want to retain assignment settings, check-mark the box

  5. Click "Copy"

  6. The copy will now be added to your list

From the main Practice tab

  1. On your main Practice tab, locate the practice set tile

  2. Click the triple dots dropdown menu at the top right corner of the tile

  3. Choose "Duplicate" from the menu

  4. The copy will be added to your list

From within the practice set

  1. Click on the triple dots menu at the top right corner of your screen

  2. Choose "Duplicate Set" from the drop down list

  3. The copy will be created and added to your list

Send Copies of Practice Sets to Other Teachers or Students

Now that the practice set is ready, you can send copies of it to other teachers and to students. There are two location from which to send copies from:

From within the practice set: Click the triple dot menu at the top right corner of your screen, and choose "Send a Copy"
​

From the main "Activities" tab: Check mark the box next to the practice set and select "Send a Copy" from the menu at the bottom of the screen
​

  1. In the pop up window, proceed to click on "Copy Link". Wait for confirmation that the link was saved to your clipboard
    ​

  2. You can now send this link to your colleagues and students. Some of the recommended methods are:

    1. Paste the link into an item on an activity that is related to the topic, along with any needed instructions to your students. You can add the link and instructions into any text field within the activity

    2. Paste the link in an email along with instructions and send to your students

    3. Paste the link into an external assignment posted to your preferred LMS or Google Classroom

    4. Paste the link along with instructions into a post on Social Media groups for your students to access

Collaborate with Colleagues (School & District license only)

If you're a member of a School & District licensed organization on Formative, you can collaborate with your colleagues on practice sets. Please refer to this help article for full details and instructions

Assign Practice to Classes

Ready to post the practice set to full classes? There are several ways to assign the practice to your class(es):

From within the Practice Set

  1. Click on "Assign" at the top right of your screen

  2. Check mark the class(es) you wish to assign this practice set to (you can also use the "select all" option to assign to check-mark all classes at once)

  3. Confirm by clicking "Assign" at the bottom of the pop-up window (wait to receive confirmation the set has been assigned)

The practice set will be added to the Practice tab of all the students in the class(es) you chose. Students will not be able to edit or copy the set you posted to them, they will only be able to view it and practice it.

From the main "Practice" tab

  1. From the main Practice tab, locate the practice set tile

  2. Click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of the tile

  3. Select "Assign" from the list

  4. Proceed to check mark the class(es) you wish to assign this practice set to (you can also use the "select all" option to assign to check-mark all classes at once)

  5. Confirm by clicking "Assign" at the bottom of the pop-up window (wait to receive confirmation the set has been assigned)

From the "Activities" tab

  1. From your Activities tab, locate the practice set

  2. Hover over the grid cell aligned with the class you want to assign the practice set to, and click on the displayed plus sign

  3. In the pop-up window, the selected class will already be check-marked, you can check-mark additional classes at this time (you can also use the "select all" option to assign to check-mark all classes at once)

  4. Confirm by clicking "Assign" at the bottom of the pop up window (wait to receive confirmation the set has been assigned)

Preview Practice

You can experience the same workflow your students will experience by starting a practice with your newly created set

Access Preview

  1. Click into your created Student Practice set

  2. Click on the "Preview" button at the top right of your screen

  3. Choose your practice mode (Flashcards, Match, Quiz or Write)

  4. You will be redirected into the Practice experience

5. On the Start page - if you've practiced this set before with Flashcards, Quiz or Write modes - you can view your past performances. Accessing the Start page on the Match mode, you can even see how others who practiced the same set performed (names will be blurred out).
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Flashcards/Quiz/Write modes:

Match mode:


If the practice type and the cards can support it, an option to select which side of the card to display first will appear on this screen as well. Please note that this option may be disabled if the type of practice and/or the content of the cards do not support displaying the back side of the card first.
​

6. Click green "Start" button to begin your practice immediately.

Alternatively, you can first adjust the practice settings: change the background color you prefer within the Preview mode (mimic the student experience), enable/disable sound effects, and enable/disable auto-play of audio files.

Accessing the settings is either by clicking the 'Settings' button at the top of the screen, or by clicking on 'more background' next to the recently selected backgrounds displayed on this start page.

Once you are satisfied with your selections, click the blue "Start" button from the settings window to launch the practice session.
​

Use Preview in Flashcards mode

Follow the instructions below to use the practice set just as your students would to check their knowledge:

  1. Based on your earlier selection, either the Front side or the Back side of flashcards will be presented to you one at a time

  2. Try to answer to yourself

  3. Click on the flashcard to turn it over to the other side

  4. 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)

  5. 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

  6. 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

Clicking the back arrow at the top left corner of your screen will redirect you back to your Practice page. This back arrow will function differently on a student's account. When students click on the back arrow they are redirected to the student practice page which acts differently.

🙋🏼 What if my students don't get all their flashcards right and they need to take a break, what do they do?

If a student needs to take a break, they simply click on the "Back" arrow at the top left corner of their screen which will return them to the main Student Practice page. Students' practice will save from where they left off, and they'll be able to see which flashcards they've mastered and which flashcards they're still in the process of learning. Clicking on the corresponding category will take them back to reviewing the front and back sides of the flashcards for additional memorization. When ready, they can click on "Practice" again to resume their practice.

Note: After pausing practice once, resuming the Practice will take into account the category of flashcards they were viewing. If they were revewing the flashcards they're still learning, only these flashcards will be presented to them when they re-click "Practice", and if they were reviewing the flashcards they already learned or those they haven't started yet - clicking "Practice" will present the corresponding flashcards as well.

If they want to practice the full set again, they should make sure they are viewing the "All" category.

Use Preview in Match mode

  1. 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!)

  2. 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

  3. Watch the timer on the right side corner

  4. Collect points as you go!

    1. 100 points for matching on first attempt

    2. 75 points for matching on second attempt

    3. 50 points for matching on third attempt or more​
      ​

  5. When you're done - your score and time will be presented in a summary screen. Switch over to the leaderboard tab on the summary screen to see how others scored on this practice set!

  6. Click 'Practice again' to try to beat your record, or try another set by clicking on one of the suggested practice sets displayed on the right side of the summary screen. If you're done practicing for now, simply close the preview window.

  7. You can even share your score externally to encourage others to try to beat your record.

Tip: Enable or Disable sound affects and/or auto-play of audio files by clicking on 'Settings' at the top of the screen

Use Preview in Quiz Mode

  1. Depending on your selection earlier, either one Back side card or one Front side card is presented on the left side of the screen, along with four options of the other side of cards on the right side of the screen

  2. Choose the option on the right that matches the card displayed on the left

  3. Quiz mode will show you if you got it right or wrong. Click 'Next' to view the next card

  4. Incorrect selections will be presented to you again later in the practice

  5. Continue practicing until you get all the matches correctly

Use Preview in Write Mode

  1. The Front side of flashcards will be presented to you one at a time, with blank fields representing the amount of words expected to enter (Note: if both sides of the cards are supported for Write mode, our system will allow you to select between displaying the Front or the Back side of the flashcards, otherwise only the Front side will be presented)

  2. Type the words into the text field, one at a time, clicking either the Enter or Spacebar keys on your device's keyboard or the online submit button after each word

  3. Check yourself:

    1. If the word typed into the field matches, it will be entered into the blank and marked green

    2. If the word typed into the field does not match, a red incorrect icon will appear. Check your spelling or try a different word

  4. Each card must be answered successfully to move on to the next one. If you do not know the answer, click "I Don't Know" at the bottom left of the screen to skip the card. The system will show you the correct answer and then allow you to move on.

  5. Any card skipped with "I Don't Know" as well as cards that were not solved on first try - will be presented again at random and the practice will continue until you get all your practice cards right on the first try

Deleting Student Practice

There are several locations from which you can delete a previously created practice set:

From within the practice set

  1. Click into the practice set

  2. Click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of your screen

  3. Select "Delete set" and confirm

From the main "Practice" tab

  1. From your main Practice tab, locate the practice set tile

  2. Click on the triple dot menu at the top right corner of the tile

  3. Select "Delete" and confirm

From the "Activities" tab

  1. From your Activities tab, locate the practice set and check mark the box next to it

  2. Select "Delete" from the menu and the bottom of the page and confirm

Pro-Tip: Embed a Practice Set in a Formative! (Paid Teacher/School & District license Feature)

If you are a subscriber of a Paid Teacher plan or a member of a School & District licensed organization on Formative, you can use our Embed feature to give your students access to a practice set right within an activity assigned to them!

To do this:

  1. Click into your created Student Practice set

  2. Click on the "Preview" button at the top right of your screen

  3. Choose your practice mode (flashcards, match, quiz or write)
    ​

  4. You will be redirected into the Practice experience

  5. Copy the URL from the browser's URL bar
    ​

  6. Use an iframe code generator to generate the Embed code (for example iFrame Generator)
    ​

  7. Within the activity you are creating for your class, choose the Embed item and paste the Embed code you generated into it

  8. Adjust the window's sizing by changing the height and width px (we recommend using height=“500px” width=“800px” though this may change depending on the browser you are using)

  9. You can test the practice within the embed window, and also within the student preview mode

  10. Once you assign the activity to your class(es) your students will be able to use the practice set within the activity itself!
    ​

Reporting on Student Practice

Teachers can see key data points on their students' activity with practice sets at the click of a button!

  1. From your main Practice tab, locate the practice you want to view the data for

  2. Click on the graph icon at the bottom right corner of the tile
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    ​

  3. Scroll the table of classes and students to locate the following data points:

    • Total Practice Time

    • Total Sessions

    • Last Practiced

    • Last Performance (percentage)

FAQ & Troubleshooting

🙋🏿‍♂️ I'm trying to import a file to create my practice set, what type of file or format is needed?

The best way to import a file is to save it as .csv or .tsv. However, you could use other file types as long as they follow what is commonly known as CSV or TSV format. The modal expects a string of delimited text to parse:

  1. It expects two columns, first column being the fronts of each card to import, and the second column being the backs.

  2. The import logic will try its best to guess which delimiter the string you paste is using

  3. The supported delimiters can be commas ,, tabs \t, vertical bars |, semi-colons ;, record separators (ASCII code 30), or unit separators (ASCII code 31)

  4. Each row should be separated by a newline character \n

Premade Practice Sets

Head over to https://www.formative.com/practice to find some premade practice sets to share and assign to your students:

Related Articles
Delete a student's response
View Student Activity
Setting up classes and adding students
Students: Working with Student Practice Sets
School & District License: Collaborate on Practice Sets!
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