Using Tablet PC Flash Cards

The entire collection of CMU Tablet PC software is discussed in our Feb. 12, 2009 post (below). Here we showcase the Tablet PC Flash Card application. (I made a great Camtasia video of this, but blogger gives me error messages when I try to upload it...)


Using CMU's Tablet Flash Card program is fun and easy.


The program has an area for you to put the "question" on the left side of the screen, with the answer on the "back" or right side of the screen. As you make each card, you put it in the deck, and a thumbnail of it appears at the top of the screen with other cards (front only in this view)






We decided to make some Spanish Flash Cards based on drawings. We could also have imported JPEGS.

We drew a simple picture of an eye on the left side to be the "question" and we wrote the answer, "ojo" in the panel on the right for the "answer". It was easy to draw the eye using the stylus. Although we could have used any combination of black, blue, green or red, we kept it simple and used only black.




The program automatically put thumbnails of the fronts of our finished flash cards along the top of the screen. Above is our second card, for "nose."

Our third card finished, (see callout I added "3 made" showing the thumbnails), we can now PLAY GAME by clicking the green box in the lower left. We could have made more cards, but we can also go back later and make more if we want.

The program shows the picture. The student is supposed to write the answer in the answer box on the right.

Here's what a completed answer looks like (a different card from the last). The student wrote, "ojo" and then clicked on "SHOW ANSWER" to see in the small box that he was correct. He then clicks a button verifying that he was indeed correct (alternately, he can click "I was wrong") and the app keeps score in an area in the middle by advancing green bars (or red, for wrong).

This program is even more effective if the student makes his or her own cards. My 4th grader and I made flash cards for the 50 states and their capitals together by tracing the states outlines onto the flash cards. In case you have never tried this, it is easy to place a paper drawing on top of your tablet and trace right through the paper with your stylus.

I wish I could provide the source code for download here, but the bugs are still being worked out. I'd appreciate any comments. A real exciting possibility is for kids, parents, and teachers to share their decks of flash cards by use of some kind of education social network.