Isaiah Freedman staff writer
Rinesa Kabashi staff writer
Senior Cameron Smith had a time crunch. He wanted to get some exercise, but also had to study for a test on Quizlet. He was frustrated that no technology existed to allow him to do both, so he decided to build a website, QuizletToMP3.com. This website converts a student’s Quizlet flashcard sets into speech, generating an audio MP3 file.
Smith initially just made the website for himself, but soon realized there was a need for it within the student population, so he went to work on developing the tool.
“I’ve always been obsessed with maximizing the efficiency of each task so I could spend less time doing it,” Smith said. “As a student with a large workload, maximizing each minute is vital and it upset me when I calculated how much time is forfeited every week to driving, exercising and what not. QuizletToMP3.com allows students to study during those unproductive blocks of time.”
Smith maintains that the components of creating a website, coding and programming, are not as difficult as they appear.
“Most people perceive programming as a daunting and foreign skill limited to the smartest of people, but it really isn’t difficult what with the plethora of free resources available online,” Smith said.
The logic behind Smith’s new website has a practical use for potential customers. Time management is the nadir of many people’s lives and QuizletToMP3.com solves that issue.
“This website allows you to kill two birds with one stone, studying while you commute to school or work out or do a million other things. It frees up more time for you to do things you like,” Smith said.
Smith only just launched the website a week ago, and has already received glowing reviews from his peers at school, as well as students who have already moved on to college.
“I have a babysitting job that requires me to commute 30 minutes a few times a week, and I started using QuizletToMP3.com to fill that unproductive void in my schedule. I can study less when I get home and have more time to hang out with my friends,” Kayla Langer, a freshman at Cal Poly Slo, said.
Padideh Nazarian, a senior at USC, has also found the website extremely useful amid stressful times.
“I currently am so stressed for my DAT (dental exam), cramming so hard and spending every minute studying. It takes me 45 minutes to commute to school every day and it used to put me at such a disadvantage since all my peers could spend that time studying, but now I use QuizletToMP3.com to study every time I commute. It has helped me so much,” Nazarian said.
Smith’s website has already helped high school and college students within its first week. The contents of a QuizletToMP3.com could range from ordinary school-work to speeches and presentations.
“The support within this first week of launching the website has been overwhelming. I’ve had a ton of people connect with the objective of the website, and close to 10 people have already approached me within the first few days to tell me how my website has helped them,” Smith said.
With the website, Smith has not yet pondered what it could do for him financially. Smith claims he is not that invested yet with how much he could potentially profit, but he’s keeping an open mind for what the future holds.
“College is expensive and if this blows up hopefully it could help me pay for that. We’ll see, but for now, the response has been very positive and satisfying,” Smith said.
What started out as a solution to his time management problem has morphed into a fun and productive solution.
“I am fascinated with technology that empowers other people,”Smith said. “To actually create one and watch it come into fruition is amazing.”