We are at the dawn of a new approach to education. Rahim Hirji – Quizlet

Last updated on 12 May 2026

Quizlet is a digital platform that offers learning tools to more than 60 million users per month around the world. Quizlet’s ambition is neither more nor less than provide the necessary digital tools for all students to learn better.

Based on notions of cognitive science, artificial intelligence and knowledge sharing, Quizlet offers learners through memory cards, quizzes, and games, a wide variety of educational activities to enable them to better memorise and learn.

Rahim Hirji is General Manager of International Operations at Quizlet. He answered questions from Fidel Navamuel – Tice Tools.

 

Rahim you are a specialist in digital transformation, edtech and publishing. Quizlet, where you arrived a little over two years ago, is at the crossroads of all this? What interested you most about the Quizlet model?

Before joining Quizlet, I had already spent a lot of time in the field of edtech and online education for the first ‘start-ups’. I co-founded EtonX, a company that teaches soft skills online, as well as a number of other technology companies for education. Quizlet differs from its competitors for a number of reasons, the main one being that it places the student at the centre of its vision. While one might think this makes sense for any education technology company on the market, you would be surprised how many of them seem to forget this obviousness. What is most interesting about Quizlet is that it is both free at the time of use, but uses many very technical tools to allow students to make the most of the platform and maximise learning potential.

Quizlet’s learning assistant uses machine learning to offer a personalised experience to all students, providing advice on what to study, depending on the user’s level of understanding.

Today, Quizlet is used by 60 million learners every month. Quizlet has made tremendous progress and is a leader in digital transformation. We want to lead the way by helping to change the way we learn, from a fully classroom-based infrastructure to a blended infrastructure, which is better suited to the learning styles of today’s students.

What are the main advantages of the platform for pupils, students or learners more broadly?

From flashcards to quizzes to diagrams and interactive games, Quizlet combines cognitive science with artificial intelligence and machine learning to intelligently guide students through tailored study activities. And, as the largest user-generated learning platform, students and teachers can choose from over 450 million lists on Quizlet or create their own lists, giving access to documents on virtually every topic imaginable.

“As the largest learning platform we offer over 450 million lists on virtually every topic imaginable …”

 

Quizlet offers many different learning modes for students to learn when, where and how they want. A teacher can suggest that a student learn some physics on Quizlet as part of their homework, and that student can do so on their phone with small keys to optimise their learning according to their schedule. I am always encouraged to see the student home screens with the Quizlet app next to TikTok and Instagram. What is great is that the student does not need to wait for homework. If it is autonomous, it can use Quizlet to create its own flashcards. We are seeing this more and more, especially among students in high school, and of course also those in university. Students can also search for flashcards created by other students and related to the courses they take.

We can see what Quizlet can bring to students. But how can Quizlet help a teacher motivate and improve student outcomes?

Due to Quizlet’s inherently interactive nature, many teachers like to use it as a way to put the tools in the hands of students, in a much more fun way than handing out a worksheet. In fact, my daughters used Quizlet before me, as their teachers recommended that they use it for homework to help them learn key concepts in science and languages.

As a company, we are always listening to teachers and students to understand how the platform is used, what needs to be worked on and what students value. Quizlet allows teachers to track their students’ progress and see what they have managed to do, what needs to be improved. This allows them to provide personalised advice. We have often found that the most motivated students are those to whom their teacher has recommended Quizlet and who then use it throughout the school year.

Technology and knowledge work very well together. For example, Quizlet recently launched a full section of resources aligned with the school curriculum for the Bac, created by teachers. These resources are completely free and can help them and their students in class or remotely.  The development of educational content to be broadcast live or asynchronously will be a feature of education in the coming years. The role of the teacher will continue to be important in this new education landscape. Technology is one of the tools to support the educational process.

Every year, Quizlet publishes a major study on the evolution of new forms of education. The latest edition of course looks back at the effects of COVID-19 with the closure of schools. What do you think COVID has changed or will change in the long term in terms of teaching and learning?

The pandemic has highlighted the benefits of technology in education. Technology can be useful in improving the quality of teaching by using pre-recorded lessons and videos. It can also help increase teachers’ efficiency and productivity, helping them make the best use of their time in the classroom.

Technology can facilitate differentiated teaching and create personalised learning pathways for educators. It can foster student investment through interactive tools closer to play and fun – which also promotes learning.

I think it is important to highlight how much students have come to depend on tools like Quizlet. The use of our platform in autumn 2020, at the height of the pandemic, increased by 271 % compared to the previous year. This shows how much students and teachers depended on such tools to help them in this difficult time.

Rahim, you are very interested in how new technologies are changing and will change the way we learn and work. You are also the author of a newsletter in English Box of Amazing, on the latest emerging technologies and disruptive trends that I recommend reading. In your opinion, how will technology change the field of education in the coming years?

I think we are at the dawn of a new approach to education, where students will benefit in different ways from the support of the teacher, depending on whether the class takes place live or remotely.

In both cases, teachers can, and should, be supported by technology. Over the next two years, educational institutions will need to be able to provide quality education, whether students are at home or in a classroom. In many cases, teachers may be required to teach in both situations. Therefore, information and communication technologies are expected to become the cement of the process, thus promoting coherent learning.

I strongly encourage French teachers and students to use all the free resources and tools available in Quizlet, in particular the new collection of Bac preparation lists, created by French teachers in seventeen subjects and perfectly adapted to the curricula. Evidence of the effectiveness of tools like Quizlet is when students improve in the classroom to reach their full potential. I see a very promising future for French students who will use new technologies to stimulate their learning and prepare them for a constantly changing world.