One of the most popular websites at my college for studying for classes is Quizlet, as it is easy to create and search for flashcards across a wide variety of subjects, especially in majors like data science, information technology, and data science. I often turn to Quizlet for studying in my general education courses as well as classes related to my major, but it’s also come in handy for studying subjects outside of class in topics I am interested in, as well as assisted me with research for blog posts. Here is how I use Quizlet with low vision, as well as how Quizlet works with assistive technology.
Quizlet overview
Quizlet is a free website that provides users with access to digital flashcards, textbook solutions, and other study tools that is frequently used by college students, though anyone 13 years of age or older can create their own flashcards and study guides. Users have the option to create their own flashcards or browse sets created by other members and review flashcards, complete practice tests, or play other learning-based games. Quizlet Plus is also available for about $36 a year and get unlimited access to practice tests and additional study tools.
Quizlet flashcard sets can be viewed with or without a Quizlet account, though a free account is needed to access the Quizlet mobile application, to create flashcards, or to use additional study tools.
Related links
- Learning tools, flashcards, and textbook solutions | Quizlet
- Quizlet: Learn with Flashcards on the App Store (apple.com)
- Quizlet: Languages & Vocab – Apps on Google Play
Finding Quizlet flashcards
Quizlet users have the option of adding the name of their school and the classes they are taking to their account so that they can find flashcard sets for their specific classes, or they can search on the Quizlet website or application for flashcard sets. Many users will label the name of their flashcard set with their course number (i.e CS 105) along with their college’s name, so this makes it easier to locate relevant flashcard sets. I’ve also seen users add the course name/number along with the name of the unit or test that they are studying for- for example, MATH 125 Test #3.
Related links
- How To Run Effective Web Searches
- How To Choose General Education Courses In College
- How To Schedule College Classes
- College Scheduling Hacks For Students With Chronic Illness
Creating Quizlet sets
When I was studying for an Ethics final, I created a set of flashcards within Quizlet based on a study guide provided by my professor that contained all of the vocabulary and concepts I would need to know for the final. Quizlet flashcards are broken up into two sections, Term and Definition, and users can either type or copy/paste text into each field, customizing the language if needed. Quizlet Plus users can add additional content to flashcards such as images and custom audio recordings, though images do not support alt text.
The Quizlet set authoring tool supports large print and screen magnification tools, but does not support keyboard access as it skips over the text boxes for adding terms and definitions. An alternative to typing out terms/definitions manually that also works for screen reader users is to use the Import tool, which supports creating flashcards from a Word document, spreadsheet, csv file, or txt file. The import tool uses field separator characters such as tabs, commas, semicolons, or custom delimiters to create new flashcards.
Related links
- Common File Types For Vision Impairment and Print Disabilities
- Designing Accessible Documents With Microsoft Word
Viewing Quizlet sets in the web browser with assistive technology
Quizlet sets can be viewed as individual flashcards or as a list of terms, both of which can be enlarged with the browser’s zoom feature, magnified with screen magnification, or read out loud with Quizlet’s voice synthesis tool. Starred cards are bookmarked for additional review, while cards that are marked as “know” are displayed less often or not at all. Users can configure additional options for the set to change the order of how cards are displayed, whether the term or definition is displayed first, and whether audio is played automatically or not.
Outside of flashcards, users can study Quizlet sets using the Learn and Test tools- the Match option is not accessible with assistive technology. Learn cycles through the various flashcards to help users retain information, while the Test tool creates a practice test with multiple choice questions, with Quizlet plus users having the option to access unlimited tests and varied question types. I prefer to use the Learn tool with Write mode enabled in Options as a way to study for tests, since the multiple choice answers are generated from other definitions in the set and make it obvious what the answer is.
Keyboard shortcuts available for Quizlet sets include:
- Still Learning- 1
- Know- 2
- Flip- Space
- Star- S
- Shuffle- H
- Audio- A
- Term- D
- Definition- T
Related links
- Ways To Read Webpages Without A Traditional Screen Reader
- The Best Study Tips For Low Vision Students
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
Viewing Quizlet sets on mobile applications with assistive technology
Quizlet’s mobile applications feature a small amount of ads for free users but still provide a lot of awesome features for studying with assistive technology. Quizlet sets support Dynamic Text/system font sizes so that they can be displayed in large print or magnified further with screen magnification. The Match study tool can be used with screen magnification but does not support system font sizes or screen readers.
Quizlet’s screen reader integration with tools like VoiceOver is not super straightforward, but Quizlet can be used with screen readers. Flashcards are read out loud with Quizlet’s speech synthesis tool, not VoiceOver, and users will need to enable the full screen Flashcard view in order to read through terms- the complete list of terms is somewhat tedious to navigate otherwise. Users can enable audio autoplay within the Flashcards and Learn tools so that they don’t have to manually select the audio option for each card. The Test tool is fully accessible with VoiceOver and TalkBack and does not use the Quizlet speech synthesis tool.
Related links
Does Quizlet work with Amazon Alexa?
There is an unofficial Quizlet skill for Amazon Alexa, but I have not used it myself as I prefer the custom flashcard skill available through Alexa Skill Blueprints, which provides options for creating nonvisual flashcards and spoken answers. I have an entire post about creating custom flashcards linked below.
Related links
Other tips for using Quizlet with low vision
- Users can set their Quizlet sets to be public and searchable by anyone, or set them to be private and only visible to them
- Some professors will create their own Quizlet sets and share them with the class, or allow students to share links to Quizlets on the course website- I have had a few professors do this and it was really helpful
- Math/symbols are a supported language on Quizlet, and can be used to make it easier to format equations
- Quizlet sets can have an unlimited number of flashcards- most sets that I would use had around 100-150 terms, though this may vary depending on the subject
