About a week ago, a friend told me about Anki, a powerful new flash card application. My friend is using Anki to help him learn Morse Code, but after reading about it, I decided to work on a set of flash cards for the amateur radio license exams.
Anki uses two simple concepts: active recall testing and spaced repetition. Active recall testing means being asked a question and then being prompted for an answer. According to the Anki website:
Research has shown that active recall testing is far more effective at building strong memories than passive study. The act of recalling something strengthens the memory, increasing the chances we’ll be able to remember it again. By not turning the card over until you’ve thought about the answer, you can learn things more effectively than passive observation allows.
Spaced repetition means that questions are repeated periodically. Anki will, however, repeat the questions that you’re having problems with more frequently than the questions that you have down pat.
One of the cool features of Anki is that you can embed audio clips, images, videos and scientific markup on your cards and precisely control how the media is shown. So, for example, I’ll be able to include the images from the question pools on the appropriate flash cards.
The app is a totally free download and allows you to use flash card decks developed by other users and develop your own. I’ve already started working on flash cards for the General Class exam. Since I have more than a month before the new question pool goes into effect, I think that I’ll be able to have it ready by then.
I’d like to sign up four or five beta testers. If you’re interested in doing this, please get in touch.