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/

iTunes Link: Click Here

Integration Suggestion: Create a Custom Flashcard Set with Google Docs

  1. Choose the appropriate template from the gWhiz website.
  2. Once selected, you will be able to view the spreadsheet but you will need to sign in to your personal Google Documents account to make any changes.
  3. Once you’re signed in, select “File” and “Make a copy…” from the drop down menu.  At this point, you can rename the file as you would like it to appear on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  4. You should now see that gWhiz has pre-populated the template with labels indicating where your custom data should be entered.
  5. Questions should be placed in Column A, answers in Column B. If you’re using the multiple choice template, other incorrect responses can be entered in columns C-F.
  6. Once you’ve created your custom Google Spreadsheet, it’s ready to use on your device.
  7. Open the gFLash+ program on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  8. Select the MENU button from the top left hand corner of the app.
  9. Select the MENU button from the top left hand corner of the app. Select the “Get My Google Data…” or “From Google Docs” option on your device, log in to your account, and select the spreadsheet you have created to download directly to the device.
  10. Now you’re ready to run the cardset on your handheld.

This app review is cross-posted at the I Education Apps Review website. A special thanks to Scott Meech for all the work he does to make iear.org a great resource for educators who are interested in taking a closer look at the educational value of ITouch / IPhone / IPods in the classroom.