Spaced repetition digital flashcard app
Anki is a free educational app that serves as a digital flashcard tool, designed to aid in studies. It operates on the principles of spaced repetition and active recall for easier and more efficient memorization. It’s particularly suited for medical students and those trying to learn a new language.
Comparable to programs like Kado or Quizlet, Anki is a highly customizable study tool that lets users create custom cards and group them into different categories based on their needs. It also has media support, including images, videos, and more, to make memorization more engaging and interactive.
Long-term knowledge retention
As mentioned earlier, Anki works on the principle of spaced repetition, which is a studying technique that has you review what you’ve learned at increasing time intervals. It has been shown to increase knowledge retention, since it triggers active recall just as you’re about to forget it. You will need to create an account before getting started, which is needed later to sync data across multiple platforms.
A group of flashcards is referred to as a Deck, and you can create one based on a specific subject, theme, or language. From there, add a flashcard, which can include various types of media files to serve as prompts. While reviewing, it will ask you to input how hard or easy it was to answer. It will ask the former more often to encourage better recall and retention.
Other features include using a reverse or cloze flashcard for added variety. Use the Browse section to look for a specific flashcard, and check your Stats to see how well you’re doing over a period of time. You can also share Decks with others, which is nice for interactivity and collaboration. Now, given its wide feature set, there’s a steep learning curve that you’ll need to overcome in Anki.
Robust and very capable
Overall, Anki is an impressive study aid tool that allows you to create flashcards of various types and about pretty any subject you want to learn. You will have to learn how it works, though, to maximize its full potential, but it will be well worth it for all that you can do with it. Check it out now and see for yourself.
