Anki Central

[pepocho]

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[mehc012]

Hey guys I was wondering if there was a way to "reset" you deck. I usually go through the whole deck at once, especially before exams. Or does just "reviewing ahead" by 999 days do the same effect?

For that situation, it is far FAR better to do a 'Cram' deck...described above. You can either have this reschedule your cards as it would for your normal reviews or just be a cram study session which doesn't affect your Anki scheduling at all.

 

[swolebrah]

In on thread, useful links (I currently use this in undergrad, MS friends state its a lifesaver as well):

http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm

http://www.gwern.net/Spaced repetition

 

[sazerac]

Hey guys I was wondering if there was a way to "reset" you deck. I usually go through the whole deck at once, especially before exams. Or does just "reviewing ahead" by 999 days do the same effect?

It is possible, and if you google enough you will discover how. They make it very difficult for a reason.

In 99.9 out of 100 cases, including yours, you do not want to reset the deck because a better alternative exists. In your case, you would want to create a Cram deck.

 

[mehc012]

It is possible, and if you google enough you will discover how. They make it very difficult for a reason.

In 99.9 out of 100 cases, including yours, you do not want to reset the deck because a better alternative exists. In your case, you would want to create a Cram deck.

Pretty easy, actually...2 ways I can think of off the top of my head.
1: Browser, select all cards, "Reschedule", "Add to end of 'new'
2: Export deck wo scheduling information, delete all cards, import deck.

I have done it once, when I stopped reviewing for months and got super screwed up and wanted a refresh.

 

[type12]

Pretty easy, actually...2 ways I can think of off the top of my head.
1: Browser, select all cards, "Reschedule", "Add to end of 'new'
2: Export deck wo scheduling information, delete all cards, import deck.

I have done it once, when I stopped reviewing for months and got super screwed up and wanted a refresh.

This is a good thing to know, for the very case if you've been gone too long. The issue is less about review (since the cards will just adjust), but the leeches feature: mature cards will be taken out of circulation because Anki believes you shouldn't be screwing up, unless the card is poorly constructed.

So if you have the leech feature disabled, it's best to keep working even though you feel a bit fragmented for a little bit. If you don't, then a reset is the best bet.

And honestly, no one should have the leech feature disabled.

 

[mehc012]

This is a good thing to know, for the very case if you've been gone too long. The issue is less about review (since the cards will just adjust), but the leeches feature: mature cards will be taken out of circulation because Anki believes you shouldn't be screwing up, unless the card is poorly constructed.

So if you have the leech feature disabled, it's best to keep working even though you feel a bit fragmented for a little bit. If you don't, then a reset is the best bet.

And honestly, no one should have the leech feature disabled.

I have leech disabled because I don't like my deck being changed without ME actively changing it. That being said, I tend to suspend/mark my own cards before leech would've kicked in anyway...I'm a bit of a perfectionist about them.
In my case, I started over because I had entirely reworked my deck options and was far enough behind that I wanted to just restart my cards so that I could be sure I went through them all in an organized fashion, and I wanted my new deck options to be in effect. At that point, I knew that when I had reviewed, I had been doing a shoddy job, and I had 'crammed' in hundreds of new cards just before going on my several-month hiatus, meaning that I had several hundred cards up for 4mo review which I had only seen once or twice. At that point, I didn't want to get them right, as I needed to see them more, and I didn't want to get them all wrong, either...plus I use my percentages to adjust my settings and it would have messed up that metric for a loonnnnng time.

 

[type12]

I have leech disabled because I don't like my deck being changed without ME actively changing it. That being said, I tend to suspend/mark my own cards before leech would've kicked in anyway...I'm a bit of a perfectionist about them.
In my case, I started over because I had entirely reworked my deck options and was far enough behind that I wanted to just restart my cards so that I could be sure I went through them all in an organized fashion, and I wanted my new deck options to be in effect. At that point, I knew that when I had reviewed, I had been doing a shoddy job, and I had 'crammed' in hundreds of new cards just before going on my several-month hiatus, meaning that I had several hundred cards up for 4mo review which I had only seen once or twice. At that point, I didn't want to get them right, as I needed to see them more, and I didn't want to get them all wrong, either...plus I use my percentages to adjust my settings and it would have messed up that metric for a loonnnnng time.

Haha, you sound like an advanced user. Yeah, leeching is really for people who are new to building cards, as it identifies cards that need to be reworked.

 

[pepocho]

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[pepocho]

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[circulus vitios]

Anki sounds great except for the whole having to make your own flash cards. I really don't feel like making monstrous five thousand card decks for med school or hoping that someone's pre-made deck covers all of the minutiae that my particular med school professor will test on.

 

[type12]

sorry to bother you guys with another question, but I nearly had a heart attack right now because my anki was being a little buggy. So I was wondering if there was a way to have a back up of my cards in case some thing goes wrong

In perferences --> network, there is an online sync. Damien (creator of Anki) currently offers this option for free, and hosts your deck privately for you. You just need to signup for AnkiWeb.

The other possibility is Dropbox (preferences --> backup), where you just delegate your backup folder as something within dropbox. This used to not work before Anki 2, but Damien has consolidated the decks into single databases (i.e., all cards can be used in all decks), so you're safe in this backup. However, I recommend using the online version as that's a syncing of your current status (e.g., use on phone, continue on computer), whereas the backup is just that, an archive of past instances (e.g., computer blows up).

Anki sounds great except for the whole having to make your own flash cards. I really don't feel like making monstrous five thousand card decks for med school or hoping that someone's pre-made deck covers all of the minutiae that my particular med school professor will test on.

I agree that medical school is definitely not the best time to learn Anki or any flashcard construction. However, if you are making notes and reviewing material, it doesn't make sense to do it as inefficiently as everyone currently does. Anki is actually a shortcut. You writing notes down is basically the same thing as making flashcards. The time it takes to construct meaningful cards is equal to the amount of time trying to grasp the concept (I'd argue they are achieving the same thing through different means).

My recommendation is to read some of the articles here on deck construction and memory:
http://www.supermemo.com/

Specifically, this is a great primer:
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm

Now, if you are just learning Anki or any SRS, you will definitely take longer than average to construct a deck. Med school is definitely the riskiest place to start changing up what has been working for you for so long.

That being said, there's no reason you can't learn something else and use that as a way to first learn. I recommend a language you've always been meaning to learn, because you won't be graded if you get bored or failed, or frustrated. It's the perfect playground to master Anki.

A final note: remember, Anki adheres to SM2 algorithms, and I believe in the SM3/SM3+ algorithm. There are multiple tweaks and fixes you can make to match your style, so if something just feels off in terms of what works for you, look around, and I'm sure you'll find it.

 

[lovemango]

I agree that medical school is definitely not the best time to learn Anki or any flashcard construction. However, if you are making notes and reviewing material, it doesn't make sense to do it as inefficiently as everyone currently does. Anki is actually a shortcut. You writing notes down is basically the same thing as making flashcards. The time it takes to construct meaningful cards is equal to the amount of time trying to grasp the concept (I'd argue they are achieving the same thing through different means)...Med school is definitely the riskiest place to start changing up what has been working for you for so long.

Gonna have to disagree, many people come into med school and quickly find out that what worked for them in undergrad no longer works in med school due to the volume of material and speed at which it's presented. I never used Anki before - I hand wrote all of my notes in undergrad - and I realized the first week of med school that method wasn't going to cut it for me anymore. Anki wasn't that hard to pick up, although it did take me a week or two to figure out how to make good cards without putting too much information on there.

 

[mehc012]

Gonna have to disagree, many people come into med school and quickly find out that what worked for them in undergrad no longer works in med school due to the volume of material and speed at which it's presented. I never used Anki before - I hand wrote all of my notes in undergrad - and I realized the first week of med school that method wasn't going to cut it for me anymore. Anki wasn't that hard to pick up, although it did take me a week or two to figure out how to make good cards without putting too much information on there.

That's why I've been trying to train myself to Anki effectively during my post-bacc...hopefully it works for me in med.

 

[Girly X]

Hey everyone, quick question. How do I increase the "randomness" with which cards pop up? Seems like the larger the deck gets the more similar material topics pop up back to back. I'm sure it may be something with my settings. Help?

 

[type12]

Hey everyone, quick question. How do I increase the "randomness" with which cards pop up? Seems like the larger the deck gets the more similar material topics pop up back to back. I'm sure it may be something with my settings. Help?

Anki is not supposed to be random. If two cards are related/same, they should be on the same sheet/concept. When you "Add" a concept, you see a "Fields" section and a "Cards" section. So, to keep it simple:

Fields:
Front #1: blah
Back #1: blah blah
Front #2: blah2
Front #2: blah2 blah2

Now, click on cards, and create two cards from the same concept: Front#1/Back#1 and Front#2/Back#2. Anki has a spacer for cards that come from the same concept, so you should be good to go then.

For these types of cards, I recommend a "Concept" field that is never shown on any cards (it can be shown if you want). That way, you can keep track of things.

The more descriptive your field names, the easier Anki gets to build.

EDIT: Just a thought/note, probably the reason related topics appear to crop up in groups is, you are testing the same concept with different cards, but your proficiency of that concept is the same. So, the cards start coupling together. All the more reason to approach things the way I listed above.

 

[Girly X]

Anki is not supposed to be random. If two cards are related/same, they should be on the same sheet/concept. When you "Add" a concept, you see a "Fields" section and a "Cards" section. So, to keep it simple:

Fields:
Front #1: blah
Back #1: blah blah
Front #2: blah2
Front #2: blah2 blah2

Now, click on cards, and create two cards from the same concept: Front#1/Back#1 and Front#2/Back#2. Anki has a spacer for cards that come from the same concept, so you should be good to go then.

For these types of cards, I recommend a "Concept" field that is never shown on any cards (it can be shown if you want). That way, you can keep track of things.

The more descriptive your field names, the easier Anki gets to build.

EDIT: Just a thought/note, probably the reason related topics appear to crop up in groups is, you are testing the same concept with different cards, but your proficiency of that concept is the same. So, the cards start coupling together. All the more reason to approach things the way I listed above.

Thanks!

 

[voicesinmyhead]

Thanks @mehc012. Great help!

Writing Step1 in 2 weeks time, and saw a lot of good decks of first aid floating around.

Cant get myself to read FA again. So i thought I'd hit a few good premade decks that i found instead.

Writing the exam in 2 weeks,
I hope to rush through all cards of this deck,
suspend all those i seem to know using @ shortcut.
mark good cards for review in 3 days,
and hard ones for review the next day.

If its not much bother, could you suggest me a setting for this purpose? [I cant understand how to add days as steps (all i can find are minutes)]

Also, I hoped to ask you, if you thought its realistic to think i could finish a 1800 card deck in a week (with a 2 hour commitment everyday).

Thanks again.

 

[mehc012]

Thanks @mehc012. Great help!

Writing Step1 in 2 weeks time, and saw a lot of good decks of first aid floating around.

Cant get myself to read FA again. So i thought I'd hit a few good premade decks that i found instead.

Writing the exam in 2 weeks,
I hope to rush through all cards of this deck,
suspend all those i seem to know using @ shortcut.
mark good cards for review in 3 days,
and hard ones for review the next day.

If its not much bother, could you suggest me a setting for this purpose? [I cant understand how to add days as steps (all i can find are minutes)]

Also, I hoped to ask you, if you thought its realistic to think i could finish a 1800 card deck in a week (with a 2 hour commitment everyday).

Thanks again.

Yeah, it's realistic...you just won't get to go over each card that many times. Just set your 'New' card limit high, and bump up your Review steps pretty high so you don't get slammed in frequent reviews.

As for the days thing...there are 60min/hr and 24hr/day...that's 1440min/day, multiply as needed to set your Steps!

If I were you, instead of suspending the ones you know, I'd set them for a 1wk 'Easy' interval so you see them at least 1 more time before your exam.


Steps: 120min*
Graduating interval: 3d
Easy interval: 7d

You can either hit 'BURY' (the dash, or '-' key) for hard cards, or you can treat all 'hard' cards as 'unknown'. Buried cards will not be seen again until the next review session, or until you click 'Unbury cards" (though that also reveals siblings).
Cards marked as wrong will be seen next review session, but will graduate probably with shorter intervals, and your %correct for Learning cards will go down.
Neither of these options' cons is a huge issue at this point, but it's worth knowing what you're choosing.

Either way, a card you hit 'wrong' for you would see in your next review session. If you hit 'good' you'd see it in 3d. If you hit 'Easy' you'd see it in 7.
If you bury, you'll see it tomorrow...analogous to hitting 'wrong' but without the stats hit.

* or 1d if you prefer...I always see 2hr as my de facto 1d interval...chances are, 2hr later you will be done reviewing, so it won't come up until your next session. You could choose to do that a few hours later, that evening, or the next morning and you'd get to see the card at any of those times. If you just do 1d you may not see it if you happen to do a late-night minireview session.

Again, set your daily limit low, otherwise you'll get overwhelmed. To see EVERY card once before D-day, you'd have to do 150 new cards/day. That's a bit overwhelming, but doable.

Even better, review once in the morning and once in the evening. Any you got wrong (or 'hard', if you do the 'mark wrong for hard' option) will show up in the evening. After your evening review session, build a Custom Study deck to 'Increase New Card Limit' to whatever you feel you can handle.

Even even better, review once in the morning (for review cards and your normal New limit), once in the afternoon (for those you got wrong in the morning + however many cram cards you can fit) and once in the evening (for those you got wrong in the afternoon.)

 

[voicesinmyhead]

Thanks a lot mehc!! really appreciate the help. will keep in touch in case any doubts come up!

 

[mehc012]

Thanks a lot mehc!! really appreciate the help. will keep in touch in case any doubts come up!

fwiw, I don't like messing with my deck settings for deadlines, so I prefer to leave my settings be and do frequent 'Cram' sessions prior to a big exam. If you're adding a bunch of new cards, have it reschedule cards. Then, after your deadline, you'll still have a slow learning curve with Anki to solidify everything so it's not binge-purge. Seems silly to force Anki into a binge-purge setup when its strength is that it avoids that.

 

[bretonnia]

Has anyone tried using anatomy tables to make a deck? I've followed the advice here: http://drwillbe.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-anatomy-anki-deck.html.Is there a way to label each answer so I know what the term is referring to?

Thanks!

 

[moisne]

Maybe I missed something... what is "due count"?

 

[mehc012]

Has anyone tried using anatomy tables to make a deck? I've followed the advice here: http://drwillbe.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-anatomy-anki-deck.html.Is there a way to label each answer so I know what the term is referring to?

Thanks!

I made my entire Anki anatomy deck (almost 2k cards!) using the tables. My approach was a bit different - I like to make custom Notes with Fields corresponding to the Table entries...then I just have to make one set of cards using that information, go down the tables, and voila! several hundred cards!

 

[Pose]

I made my entire Anki anatomy deck (almost 2k cards!) using the tables. My approach was a bit different - I like to make custom Notes with Fields corresponding to the Table entries...then I just have to make one set of cards using that information, go down the tables, and voila! several hundred cards!

Can you post an example of one of your cards using tables?

 

[mehc012]

Can you post an example of one of your cards using tables?

One of my cards wouldn't show you anything about the table. They all just look like normal cards.
I'll try to give you a better response when I'm off work.

 

[meander]

Wondering how you guys would approach this situation:

I'm a non-trad/postbac, just finished gen chem and plan to take the MCAT in about 9 months. I've used Anki very successfully so far and I was thinking I would continue to review my Chem I and II decks for the rest of the year (probably with a lower daily review limit to keep it manageable relative to my "active" classes) so that the material is relatively fresh for MCAT. On the other hand, I know that a lot of the material in my class decks won't appear on the MCAT and might not be worth continuing to review. I have Examkrackers and was considering making a new gen chem deck based off of that, only containing content that is relevant to the MCAT, but then I would lose all of the scheduling I've built up thus far. Is there a preferred approach for this kind of situation?

 

[Pose]

It might take some time/effort, but you could add an "MCAT" tag to the relevant cards (per the AAMC MCAT content outline) in your existing deck either as you review, or by browsing the cards in the deck and editing them. You can create a Custom Study Session with the cards that contain those tags. Though I'm not sure if there's a way to then retain the scheduling you've built...

 

[brownbaglunch]

When I was studying for the mcat, I created a separate deck and moved cards into it that were relevant. The scheduling is preserved.

 

[mehc012]

It might take some time/effort, but you could add an "MCAT" tag to the relevant cards (per the AAMC MCAT content outline) in your existing deck either as you review, or by browsing the cards in the deck and editing them. You can create a Custom Study Session with the cards that contain those tags. Though I'm not sure if there's a way to then retain the scheduling you've built...

That is exactly what I did - added tags according to the AAMC content outlines. However, when I went into serious MCAT study mode, I simply searched by tag and moved all cards tagged 'MCAT' into my MCAT study deck. If you also tag them by the current deck name, you can move them back afterwards, no hassle. Scheduling is retained when you move cards between decks.

 

[Pose]

When you create cards from tables, are you entering the info for each muscle individually? I've created a custom card type with the fields for Muscle, Innervation, Action, Blood Supply, and Origin...but when I try to import the spreadsheet data from the tables (as .csv, or UTF-8 .txt, no matter) it won't create cards.

Edit: @surely answered my question exceptionally well here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-official-anki-thread.1061415/page-2#post-15542046

 

[mehc012]

When you create cards from tables, are you entering the info for each muscle individually? I've created a custom card type with the fields for Muscle, Innervation, Action, Blood Supply, and Origin...but when I try to import the spreadsheet data from the tables (as .csv, or UTF-8 .txt, no matter) it won't create cards.

Edit: @surely answered my question exceptionally well here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-official-anki-thread.1061415/page-2#post-15542046

Nice. I just do each one individually; I don't find that it speeds anything up to make a separate table and then import everything. Also, I'm REALLY picky about my formatting and question phrasing.

 

[surely]

How was I not subscribed to this thread?! Anki's like my favorite thing.

At this point, I've mastered some of the more advanced Anki features, like importing cards from a text file, creating custom fields and custom cards, using conditional replacement/conditional card generation for my multi-field input, and the obvious (and amazing) cloze deletion feature... What else am I missing? Any great add-ons other than image occlusion and hierarchical tags?

(I've tried googling "Anki advanced" and "customize Anki" and that kind of thing, but all the tutorials I've come across seem to be targeted towards people who have never used Anki or SRS before. If one more person tries explaining the forgetting curve to me again... mrrr.)

 

[Pacna]

I thought I'd post this for ya'll, as it helped me a lot. Terrance, the maker of this and a couple of other Anki videos, does a great job explaining how to install and use image occlusion 2.0:

 

[type12]

How was I not subscribed to this thread?! Anki's like my favorite thing.

At this point, I've mastered some of the more advanced Anki features, like importing cards from a text file, creating custom fields and custom cards, using conditional replacement/conditional card generation for my multi-field input, and the obvious (and amazing) cloze deletion feature... What else am I missing? Any great add-ons other than image occlusion and hierarchical tags?

(I've tried googling "Anki advanced" and "customize Anki" and that kind of thing, but all the tutorials I've come across seem to be targeted towards people who have never used Anki or SRS before. If one more person tries explaining the forgetting curve to me again... mrrr.)

Suggestion about the forgetting curve: did you ever modify the default spacing multipliers to fit your own memory? By now, you should have enough Anki data so you can minimize review times. I actually am working on a "super" multiplier that adjusts the multipliers based on topics (aka tags) you have difficulty with. I've been sidetracked by life though, lol.

EDIT: actually, if anyone wants to take it over, let me know, the code is all set. Only two things are left: getting the algorithm right (i.e., when, how, and how often it modifies), and speed optimization (runs every time a card is complete - seems too frequent).

 

[mehc012]

Suggestion about the forgetting curve: did you ever modify the default spacing multipliers to fit your own memory? By now, you should have enough Anki data so you can minimize review times. I actually am working on a "super" multiplier that adjusts the multipliers based on topics (aka tags) you have difficulty with. I've been sidetracked by life though, lol.

EDIT: actually, if anyone wants to take it over, let me know, the code is all set. Only two things are left: getting the algorithm right (i.e., when, how, and how often it modifies), and speed optimization (runs every time a card is complete - seems too frequent).

I have definitely tweaked the spacing multipliers...the default works reasonably well for me, though, so I mostly stick to using interval multipliers on decks I want to learn quickly! Let me know if you ever get that rolling!

How was I not subscribed to this thread?! Anki's like my favorite thing.

At this point, I've mastered some of the more advanced Anki features, like importing cards from a text file, creating custom fields and custom cards, using conditional replacement/conditional card generation for my multi-field input, and the obvious (and amazing) cloze deletion feature... What else am I missing? Any great add-ons other than image occlusion and hierarchical tags?

(I've tried googling "Anki advanced" and "customize Anki" and that kind of thing, but all the tutorials I've come across seem to be targeted towards people who have never used Anki or SRS before. If one more person tries explaining the forgetting curve to me again... mrrr.)

My tweaking has mostly stuck to the Note template/spacing front...I don't like importing cards and I'm not hugely enthusiastic about Image Occlusion, though I do have it and use it occasionally.
I make a LOT of adjustments to my Notes so that they're super versatile, though...you can put in typing hints, shorthand typing responses (so you don't have 8 lines of green including your explanation), etc...optional typing in Cloze, etc.

I'll have to look up Hierarchical tagging, sounds like exactly what I've been looking for!

 

[Greasy Pete]

I downloaded this thing once but I coulnnd't get itno it. I want to have something where I can make two columns in excel, "front" and "back", then have the program suck up the two coumns as either side of the card. Otherwise its just not as fast or good as using paper cards.

 

[mehc012]

I downloaded this thing once but I coulnnd't get itno it. I want to have something where I can make two columns in excel, "front" and "back", then have the program suck up the two coumns as either side of the card. Otherwise its just not as fast or good as using paper cards.

I just don't understand how that's any quicker than adding them?
Excel:
Front (Tab) Back (Enter)
Anki:
Front (Tab) Back (Ctrl+Enter)

It is literally ONE extra key, which you press simultaneously with another key.

Not to mention that if you learn some of the ins and outs of Anki, you can make templates where you type in 2-3 words and it makes cards with full sentences for you, or you type 4 Fields and it will turn it into as many Cards as you want using those 4 bits of info. Say, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4, 3-4, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 (forward and backwards between all four pieces of information, for example).

 

[type12]

I downloaded this thing once but I coulnnd't get itno it. I want to have something where I can make two columns in excel, "front" and "back", then have the program suck up the two coumns as either side of the card. Otherwise its just not as fast or good as using paper cards.

You can import into Anki from Excel just fine, just make sure it's a txt file first:
http://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#importing

 

[mehc012]

You can import into Anki from Excel just fine, just make sure it's a txt file first:
http://ankisrs.net/docs/manual.html#importing

It still makes zero sense as a time saver.

 

[Greasy Pete]

It still makes zero sense as a time saver.

why not?

 

[mehc012]

why not?

For everything I said in response to your first post:

I just don't understand how that's any quicker than adding them?
Excel:
Front (Tab) Back (Enter)
Anki:
Front (Tab) Back (Ctrl+Enter)

It is literally ONE extra key, which you press simultaneously with another key.

Not to mention that if you learn some of the ins and outs of Anki, you can make templates where you type in 2-3 words and it makes cards with full sentences for you, or you type 4 Fields and it will turn it into as many Cards as you want using those 4 bits of info. Say, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3, 2-4, 3-4, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3 (forward and backwards between all four pieces of information, for example).

 

[Greasy Pete]

Oh I just read your post. I guess I didn't read the keyboard shoartcuts of anki. Once you have your deck made is it trivial to use the deck with an iphone. Thats where the real money is at. studying on the train and stuff like that.

 

[mehc012]

Oh I just read your post. I guess I didn't read the keyboard shoartcuts of anki. Once you have your deck made is it trivial to use the deck with an iphone. Thats where the real money is at. studying on the train and stuff like that.

It is trivial - just make sure you sync whenever you finish on any given device (it will figure it out on the next sync, but in the interim you may repeat some cards). The only downfall is that, unlike the computer and Android versions, the iOS Anki costs money (a lot for an app, but not much if you think of it as a computer program + sync service + mobile, which is what you really get).

And yeah, without keyboard shortcuts I'd go mad...I HATE using the mouse!

 

[type12]

It still makes zero sense as a time saver.

Agreed.

Oh I just read your post. I guess I didn't read the keyboard shoartcuts of anki. Once you have your deck made is it trivial to use the deck with an iphone. Thats where the real money is at. studying on the train and stuff like that.

Yes, but you need to purchase the mobile version, which is the only version that is pay-for. There's a web-based version (go on your browser), but you lose a lot of the UX that goes into making Anki fun to use.

If you need help making a deck, just ask. I think, front-back is great and all, but Anki really shines when you learn to parse information into discrete, reviewable packets, and that usually results in multi-dimensional cards.

 

[mehc012]

Agreed.

Yes, but you need to purchase the mobile version, which is the only version that is pay-for. There's a web-based version (go on your browser), but you lose a lot of the UX that goes into making Anki fun to use.

If you need help making a deck, just ask. I think, front-back is great and all, but Anki really shines when you learn to parse information into discrete, reviewable packets, and that usually results in multi-dimensional cards.

It's funny, I think Clozing is the most UI-friendly way to add multi-faceted cards, but after seeing a lot of people's decks, I'm beginning to think that it's better to start with Custom Notes, because many people don't seem to parse the Cloze ones into useful sentences. I think starting with more discrete cards (compared to Cloze) helps people get into the right mindset for making well-delineated cards!

 

[type12]

It's funny, I think Clozing is the most UI-friendly way to add multi-faceted cards, but after seeing a lot of people's decks, I'm beginning to think that it's better to start with Custom Notes, because many people don't seem to parse the Cloze ones into useful sentences. I think starting with more discrete cards (compared to Cloze) helps people get into the right mindset for making well-delineated cards!

Yeah, cloze deletion is like a sword: use it right, and you will cut everything perfectly; use it without knowing what you're doing, and you'll cut yourself. This is a very good point!

 

[mehc012]

I know I let this thread lapse, but I have this semester off, academically, so if anyone has any specific questions on using Anki, feel free to post them here!
I will be updating my original posts as planned in the next few weeks!

 

[surely]

I know I let this thread lapse, but I have this semester off, academically, so if anyone has any specific questions on using Anki, feel free to post them here!
I will be updating my original posts as planned in the next few weeks!

So Firecracker has an explicit option to deal with the use case where you took a break from flashcard review for a few days, only to come back and have an overwhelming card count. There's a "reschedule cards over 7 (or 14 or 30) days" option. Anki doesn't have anything similar, right? So the best thing to do would be to just tackle as many of your backlogged cards as possible and then take care of the rest the next day (or on subsequent days) - It seems like this accomplishes the same thing as the "reschedule cards" feature in Firecracker, but I wanted to bounce it off of you guys and hear your thoughts.

 

[mehc012]

So Firecracker has an explicit option to deal with the use case where you took a break from flashcard review for a few days, only to come back and have an overwhelming card count. There's a "reschedule cards over 7 (or 14 or 30) days" option. Anki doesn't have anything similar, right? So the best thing to do would be to just tackle as many of your backlogged cards as possible and then take care of the rest the next day (or on subsequent days) - It seems like this accomplishes the same thing as the "reschedule cards" feature in Firecracker, but I wanted to bounce it off of you guys and hear your thoughts.

You can reschedule cards in Anki...actually, you have a few options here.

1) Ignore it.
Keep your Review count at a manageable level for you, and just crank through that many every day. Perhaps lower your 'New' card count to avoid contributing to the Review backlog. Eventually you will catch up, though your stats will likely dip.
2) Binge them
This will get rid of the backlog, but it will give you hellish due counts for the next week and your stats will almost certainly dip as you relearn 80 cards at once.
3) Reschedule them
You do have the ability to reschedule them...just Browse for cards which are Due, and select "Reschedule cards"...you get to pick an interval at which to reschedule them (aka between 7 and 14 days, for example).
This will reset the interval for that card, though, which means if it used to have a 30d interval and you reset it to 14, it will take a few reviews to bump it back up. However, remember that if your card was supposed to be due after 5d and instead you didn't get around to it for 35d, Anki will say "hey, you remembered it after 35d, let's crank the interval up like whoa!" which is fine for a few cards, but will be a bit overwhelming if you do it for a bunch, because when those cards all come due 60d later you realize that you only saw them once or twice before and they didn't quite solidify.