Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Flashcards are used as a popular method of teaching children basic mathematics and language skills. They typically work by printing a question on one side (such as 2+2) and an answer on the reverse (such as 4). Traditional flashcards have received some criticism as a self-learning method because small children may become bored as they have limited attention span. They may also become distracted and go off task, forget the answer, or peek at the answer.
Previous inventions have tried to overcome the problem of peeking through coding answers on the flashcard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,587 describes the use of a special holder with a numerical digital array that enables coded flashcards to provide the answer after being inserted into the holder. Another invention, U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,741, uses a receptacle for holding an information bearing card, with both a decoding display window and a moveable writing screen that enables the child to write down the answer before checking.
In an effort to overcome the monotony of flashcards, Dunn and Dunn (1993) presented a teaching method (referred to in their book: Teaching elementary students through their individual learning styles, Boston: Allyn & Bacon) where a flip chute is constructed by teachers as device that can flip the card over for the user. This flip chute can be constructed from a milk carton, where two slots (input and output slots) are cut, and two internal cardboard pieces are attached to connect the input slot with the output slot, creating a slide between the two that enables the flashcard to flip over after it is inserted, and then be ejected out of the bottom. The child can work with a packet of flashcards, entering the flashcard into the flip chute, saying the answer, and then self-checking with the correct answer that appears below (as the card is now flipped). However, a limitation of this device is that the card is flipped vertically (not horizontally), meaning the flashcard has to be printed with the answer upside-down on the reverse side for it to be in the correct orientation after being flipped. As the cards have to be flipped vertically, these flashcards can be counterintuitive to young children when they are used on their own. There are further complications for alphanumeric characters that may become spatially ambiguous when flipped the wrong way (such as 6 and 9; or d and p).
What is desired is a flip chute that is compatible with traditional flashcards (that are printed with question and answer on the same orientation) and enables the flashcards to be flipped horizontally.
The present invention is a learning device for use with a set of flashcards where the question is presented on one side and an answer is presented on the other, each displayed in the same orientation. The learning device comprises of a tower with an input slot for placing flashcards and output opening for receiving flashcards.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is a plastic platform inside the input slot that receives the flashcard and facilitates a horizontal rotation of the flashcard, by an adjacent opening that enables the flashcard to drop to the right (or alternatively to the left in an opposite design), in comparison to the prior art where the flashcard would follow a slide to complete a vertical flip. In the current invention, the flashcard performs a horizontal flip by dropping to the right, being collected by runners, and finally moving down a plastic gradient to exit the flip chute in same orientation as it entered, but horizontally flipped.
These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which: