Quizlet's popular learn feature includes flashcard, match, test, write and spell modes. The feature will cost the site's 60 million monthly users $35.99 annually to use at its full capacity. Graphic by Matteo Winandy
By Will Gaffey
Quizlet’s accessibility might be nearing its end.
Quizlet is a student-loved website which allows students to prepare for assessments by studying with digital flashcards. Recently, the website has locked many user-favorite features, such as its learn mode and the ability to add pictures to flashcards. This is part of the Quizlet Plus subscription, the company’s attempt to make more profit. While the changes are relatively new, some students began noticing changes well in advance.
“When I was taking Spanish 2 over the summer, we were required to make Quizlets for the class,” junior Fritz Griffin said. “Once I began making them though, I noticed that stuff was starting to become more limited.”
Griffin says the few changes were not enough to make him stop using Quizlet altogether although as more restrictions are added he finds it harder and harder to use.
I’ve heard a lot of my friends who use Quizlet get really frustrated with the lack of the learn mode whenever they want to do some last-minute studying
“Ever since they restricted the learn mode to five uses and then you have to pay for the rest, I've noticed that I can't use that,” Griffin said.
Since then, Quizlet has continued to limit more and more functions available to those who don’t pay for a subscription. Unless users pay the $8 monthly fee for Quizlet Plus, they will not be able to use the learn and testing mode more than three times per study session and will not be able to add photos to their flashcards.
“I’ve heard a lot of my friends who use Quizlet get really frustrated with the lack of the learn mode whenever they want to do some last-minute studying,” Griffin said.
However, because a majority of students depend on Quizlet for so much of their studying and see it as a reliable tool, they have managed to find loopholes and work around the company’s fees.
“I've been using Quizlet for years without ever paying for anything on their platform,” junior Calvin Bernstein said. “I even use AdBlock on Quizlet, [so] they haven't made a dollar from me.”
Others have not welcomed the changes and instead have turned to alternative websites that offer similar features without additional fees. One of these websites is Knowt.io. Like Quizlet it generates different quizzes and study sets and also gives students the option to type notes, import notes from Google Drive and even copy and paste content from other sites.
“It's basically a website that allows you to do the same stuff that Quizlet used to let you do before they [started charging for those features],” Griffin said. “Even better, they’re going to be coming out with a learn and test feature soon, which is super convenient.”
In addition to this website, the school district provides students with school-sponsored applications, which serve similar purposes through the HPISD portal.
I’ve noticed them slowly starting to develop similar features, but I feel like Quizlet is eventually gonna take legal action and students will be forced to pay the fee
“Quizlet is just one of multiple study tools that students can use,” Campus Instructional Technologist Amy Brown said.
“We also have flashcard options available with Flocabulary, Nearpod and Peardeck and all three have gamification options like Quizlet.”
That being said, there are certainly some downsides to using these alternative websites. Brown says these websites only started development after they discovered Quizlet had a ‘paywall’ therefore giving Quizlet more time to develop their services and leaving the other websites with older features.
“I’ve noticed them slowly starting to develop similar features, but I feel like Quizlet is eventually gonna take legal action and students will be forced to pay the fee,” she said.
Some teachers who make Quizlets for their students are worried about the changes as it prevents students from accessing materials which are meant to be built in with the course.
“As a teacher, I only use Quizlet as a vocabulary acquisition tool in my classroom,” Spanish teacher Suzanna Plemons said. “We use it to play Quizlet live and for flashcards to prepare for vocabulary quizzes. I did not realize students did not have the same access as before, but it’s concerning.”
However, Brown has a solution for these teachers.
“Any teacher can submit [a] Quizlet for review [to get a] subscription to help the students in their classes,” Brown said. “In this situation, our goal is really just to find the tool that works best for each student.”
Regardless of whether or not these efforts succeed, the situation begs the question of whether or not it’s moral to profit off of education. Bernstein believes the answer is no.
“Quizet was a major equalizer for students of different socioeconomic backgrounds,” Bernstein said. “No matter what your poverty status was, you could use this free tool to really help you study. Now that only people who can blow money on a monthly subscription are able to use this tool to study, I see a really bleak future ahead of us.”