Dawson Times

On the heels of controversy surrounding Georgia’s 2007-2008 school year CRCT scores, parents and educators alike are finding that adequate preparation for state-mandated tests is critical. And The U.S. Department of Education reveals that while most students make steady progress during the school year, they tend to fall behind during the summer months. A solution is needed that might help students continue academic progress during their summer break and achieve higher scores on the CRCTs and other crucial tests when school is back in session.

Qwizzy’s World – an innovative new online study tool that is revolutionizing the way kids study – might just be the answer. Qwizzy’s World helps students of all ages better prepare for all types of tests, whether they are classroom quizzes/tests or standardized statewide tests like the CRCTs. It’s also a fun way to keep kids from losing the valuable knowledge they learned during the school year. 

Qwizzy’s World was founded by Forsyth County resident and mother of two, Julie Wilson, who began finding homework time more and more frustrating.  As she explains it, homework time at the kitchen table brought on anxiety for both her and her son, who was struggling with a couple of subjects.  “Endless hours of verbally quizzing, creating quizzes on Microsoft Word and making flash cards left no time for the activities that my son should have been engaging in after a long day at school – like playing sports or playing outside with his neighborhood friends,” said Julie Wilson.

Online quiz sites Wilson explored offered rather ‘generic’ tests and didn’t correspond with what was being taught currently in her children’s classrooms. Plus, she had no idea how dated the test material was that was being presented online.  That’s when the light bulb went off and Qwizzy’s World came together.

Besides helping kids study more efficiently, Julie wanted to make parents’ lives easier, too, alleviating the stress of study time.  “The creation of Qwizzy’s World attempts to provide parents and students – elementary school to college – a web-based self-quizzing tool that reduces preparation time necessary for in-class testing,” explained Wilson.  The use of fun and magical characters throughout – like Qwizzy the Quiz Wizard, JennaBug, Geno the Dragon, Jacq the Snake and others -- makes the site fun to navigate.

Also available is a tutorial called “Wilson the Whiz Kid,” which teaches users how to organize their study materials and then create great quiz questions from those materials. “Students often have a hard time figuring out how to prepare for a test. By learning how to organize their materials, they will use their time more wisely – as most teachers and homeschoolers could tell you. Creating quiz questions is an art, and we hope our tutorial helps users get started in the right direction,” said Wilson.

Here’s how it works.  Potential users can establish an account on Qwizzy’s World by activating a 30-day free trial. Then they can begin creating their own tests using study materials from class, which only have to be entered one time.  ‘Qwizzy’ randomizes questions so that quizzes are challenging and exciting, and several quiz formats are available, including multiple choice, matching and others.  “You can even take a series of quizzes and create an ‘Ultimate Quiz,’ which is perfect for studying for final exams.  Both of my kids have had fun doing this, and I saw their efforts reflected in their grades this year,” commented Wilson. All quizzes are stored and can be used multiple times when brush-ups are necessary, like summer break. 

Below are just some of Qwizzy’s World’s unique features:

• The ‘Buddyshare’ feature is great for teachers and students alike, as they can create a quiz and share it with other select account holders.
• With all of the controversy surrounding the CRCTs right now, finding new ways to study and new ways to teach is going to be critical this upcoming school year.
• Qwizzy’s World is very affordable -- $55 per year, $35 for six months and $25 for three months.
• By students entering their own material to create quizzes, they are seeing the material again, and typing it, which helps in retention of information.  Plus, it makes study time more exciting, as students aren’t buried in a book trying to memorize material.
• It’s great for working parents who don’t have a lot of time to invest in helping their kids study.  In many cases, parents need to get involved just one time, when students are learning how to use Qwizzy’s World.
• Qwizzy’s World can create efficiency for teachers, as they can divide up material, create a multitude of quizzes for a particular grade, and then share them.  The randomizing feature is especially good, as it can help eliminate issues concerning “wandering eyes.” 
• Qwizzy’s World is a great tool for tutors and suits homeschoolers perfectly.

Families who use Qwizzy’s World help build their students’ test-taking confidence, relieving test taking anxiety.

Qwizzy’s World can be accessed from anywhere, any time, making study time and test-making convenient for all. “The educators I have invited to try Qwizzy’s World have given me nothing but glowing feedback, and they see this tool as a potential asset to their respective school systems,” commented Wilson. Wilson’s goal is to reach all school systems in Georgia and beyond, along with the growing home schoolers segment that may not have ready access to other teaching tools and can easily access Qwizzy’s World from their home computers or laptops.

To learn more about Qwizzy’s World and all its special features, or to sign up for a 30-day trial, please visit www.qwizzysworld.com.   Julie Wilson is available at Julie@qwizzysworld.com.