Today the whole world faces and recognises the enormous force of information streaming via TV/cable, Internet, MP3, IPOD, radio, books, magazines, newspapers, smart cell phones, and handheld devices. People live in society of access to everything via the access to web pages and information searches such as google.
So how do we combat Information Overload? The answer is we change the way the message is delivered! How do we change the message delivery system? By Chunking - that is grouping larger bodies of information into smaller, meaningful segments which has certain advantages.
This article describes flash cards in terms of transferring content to pocket-sized cards as well as access to cards by mobile phone along with making own personal mobile flash card system.
Flash cards for learning
By definition Flash Cards are fast reading, pocket sized deck of cards that enable individuals, public and private enterprises to quickly tap into the best minds on business, professional development, communications, sales and marketing and host of other important content topics in work, occupation, organisation and or business. Flash Cards change the way the message and medium is traditionally delivered to one using innovative technological mobility tools in the communication age. It provides persons or enterprises to have ready access to information or serve as a learning tool for capacity building to raise their level of competence to perform tasks.
By chunking these flash cards can provide a learning platform for content dissemination that meets the needs of institutions – individual and companies alike.
Flash card application for bringing solution to learning
Flash Cards assist knowledge workers and learners to grasp main concepts without exhausting them with extraneous details.
Key ideas and important insights are extracted from CONTENT (published books, information material etc) and placed onto pocket-sized cards with benefits of saving learning time and helping learner grasp main concepts without exhausting them with extraneous details. Flash Card application enhances the skills and capabilities of organisations to access knowledge and information easily.
Best selling books (professional, business, wealth, sales, and personal development) with approval of authors and publishers are transferred onto physical reading cards and accessed them by mobile phone/PDA platform or by computer desktop/laptop delivery with user testing capabilities.
Flash cards make it practical that content needs to be learned, retained and delivered with real time access.
Flash card specifications
Flash cards fast reading pocket sized cards are presented with font colors and on the backside of each card there are motivations and quotations, and inspiring messages.
It's packed with the actual methods, strategies and techniques needed at the workplace or study environment. It allows the users to easily pull out a different card each day to read as daily business building subject matter.
The innovative applications for Flash cards:
1. Pocket size cards printed and delivered with the capability of mobile access using PDA, desktop, laptop and mobile smart phones
2. Twenty tools for individual and/or in groups for training situation exercises within the programme
3. Library of titles (250) available depending on number 25, 100, or 250 titles.
Access to professional books enables one to quickly tap into the best minds on business, management, professional development, and communication, sales and marketing and host of other topics important in the workforce or organisation.
Each title deck contains key ideas and important insights extracted from existing book or pre set content. There is a library of over 250 books available in flash card format that can be used by trainers; incorporated into corporate and government training activities, and as an individual training tool. Each plastic card is black, red and yellow colors with face card telling the reader an important component of the book with around 28+ cards per deck.
Experts hired to develop 20 ways and exercises on how to use flash cards. Each exercise has a unique way of learning content from a book, used individually or used in organisation by grounds or instruction.
The key features and benefits of mobile applications for Flash cards
1. Portability - The ability for learners to carry flash cards with/or mobile device within a learning environment or to different learning environments with ease.
"Over 50% of all employees spend up to half of their time outside the office." Statistics from Empowering Technologies Incorporated cited by Keegan (2003)
2. Social Interactivity - Sharing and collaboration between learners.
"The role of trainer changes from transferring knowledge to individual learners to a facilitator helping learners work together in the construction of their own knowledge." (Harasim, 1990)
3. Context Sensitivity - The ability of learners to gather and respond to real or simulated data unique to the current location, environment, and time using flash card content.
"Engages learners in the learning process and provides for immediate reflection of the effect of their actions on the system as a whole." (Harasim, 1992)
4. Connectivity - Learners are always connected to a shared mobile network for the purposes of data submission, data retrieval, and communication.
Author books are now available on mobile platform with ready access on smart phones, PDA, desktop/laptop or iPOD and can be saved onto personal hard drive.
Examples of Flash card applications including mobile access
1. Education Learning - access to professional books where each deck of cards contains key ideas and important insights extracted from a best selling book that will enhance training of government and enterprise staff and trainer resources
2. Human Resource Management – mobile delivered books and content can be displayed along with types of study aides such as Checklists, Reference Tools and Self Assessments, Tests and Quizzes, Refresher Tools, In Class Pre Test Preparation, and Best Practices.
3. Communications and Training – using mobile media audio, and video with superimposing instructors on top of power point slides, documents or graphics, real live training can be reproduced and integrated into Flash cards.
4. Making own mobile flash cards
StudyCell, a company dedicated to making educational software for cell phones operates mobile flash card system which offers pre-made mobile flash card decks for studying a variety of subjects (languages, math, history, etc.), in addition to its patent pending system for creating individualised flash cards on the StudyCell Web site for download to students' cell phones. Once created, these individualised "make your own" flash cards can be shared with other students and teachers.
Flash cards can serve as a advertising or marketing tool that can be used as quick reference, reminder and reinforcement learning and operating tool or buy them for the office, co-workers – trainers and educators, and they also can be used in trade shows/exhibitions or provide clients as an important product tool as a custom message that the institution wants to deliver.
http://www.digitallearning.in/articles/article-details.asp?articleid=962&typ=Regular%20Features
