User-Generated Digital Flashcards Yield Better Learning Than Premade Flashcards

Abstract

When using digital flashcards—which rank among the most popular e-learning tools available today—there is typically the option of making one’s own flashcards (i.e., by manually adding content) or using flashcards that have already been made by somebody else. Currently, the latter option, which is also known as premade flashcards, is more popular than the former option, which is also known as user-generated flashcards. Using premade rather than user-generated flashcards is more convenient, saves time, and takes advantage of the millions of premade flashcards sets that are freely available online. However, with premade flashcards, users miss out on learning experiences that might occur when making one’s own flashcards, and moreover, the quality of premade flashcards cannot be guaranteed. In this study, we investigated the learning of facts and concepts from premade versus usergenerated flashcards. In five out of six experiments, using user-generated flashcards improved learning relative to using premade flashcards. These benefits were especially pronounced for flashcards made via paraphrasing or copying-and-pasting materials and were observed relative to premade flashcards of high and low quality. Thus, making user-generated flashcards can trigger productive learning processes. Given a fixed amount of time, adding content to digital flashcards prior to using them is potentially more beneficial for learning than using flashcards made by someone else.