BOTH I hate Anki, am I crazy?

[Doc_Ock]

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I recently downloaded Anki and brosencephalon and good god do I hate this program. This softare has the least intuitive and user-friendly UI I've ever encountered. I've watched videos and read guides and for the life of me I still can't figure out how to use it or barely even navigate it. I don't see what the big deal is. Can someone help me here?

 

[deleted645092]

The thing about the pre-made decks is that they aren’t broken down by sub-deck, instead you have to rearrange them yourself. If you’re going to try and use it as a beginner you’ll have to try making your own, with a breakdown like Block 1 -> Anatomy, Biochem, Cell-Biology subdecks, with each having their own sub-sub deck for each lecture. Then once you’ve gotten the hang of it try and navigate the pre-made ones.

 

[catmans8]

You're not crazy! I found it super overwhelming at first. I think the key is to have a good setup, making your own cards, and using only the simplest features. I have two monitors, screenshot reference info using the windows snipping tool (it's easier than screenshotting on a mac and dragging files every time, you just ship and control v), and use only the very basic features of anki.

 

[libertyyne]

Nope, Anki is not optimized for learning. The UI is ancient and that actually matters

Why would the UI matter for learning?

You literally mash the spacebar and press numbers.

 

[macroorchids]

I tried Anki and found it overwhelming. I downloaded Zanki, read the Anki Manual, and watched a few videos on Youtube.
Hated it. Still have it but never use it though I would like to

 

[ugm12]

I'm in the same boat here. I'm preparing for step 1 and have tried using bros deck. But after reading many how-to guides I still feel completely lost with it.
Is this programme essential for scoring high? I find making my own flash cards too time consuming, passive, and a method I have never used. Though I can certainly appreciate the value in using a pre-made deck

 

[Stagg737]

I'm in the same boat here. I'm preparing for step 1 and have tried using bros deck. But after reading many how-to guides I still feel completely lost with it.
Is this programme essential for scoring high? I find making my own flash cards too time consuming, passive, and a method I have never used. Though I can certainly appreciate the value in using a pre-made deck

This was me when I was trying to learn how to use the pre-made decks. If it's too time consuming and you can't get the hang of it, don't use it. You're better off finding a method you're confident in that allows you to effectively utilize your time than one that you're constantly stumbling through and spending most of your time questioning if you're doing it right.

Anki is a great resource, but it is NOT the best resource for everyone and should be evaluated on an individual basis.

 

[Jesus1]

This is what I keep saying. We are definitely in an anki bubble. Anki is great and works extremely well for a given subset of learners. For the other subsets, anki can help you get to your goals in some cases but it usually represents an awfully inefficient means of acquiring this info. Before jumping ship into anki, evaluate your study style->auditory, note taking, reading books, etc. You see people crush things in undergrad not using anki and then they suddenly convert to 100% anki in M1 because "everyone is doing it"...
Study based on your strengths, not based on what others are doing.

 

[libertyyne]

This is what I keep saying. We are definitely in an anki bubble. Anki is great and works extremely well for a given subset of learners. For the other subsets, anki can help you get to your goals in some cases but it usually represents an awfully inefficient means of acquiring this info. Before jumping ship into anki, evaluate your study style->auditory, note taking, reading books, etc. You see people crush things in undergrad not using anki and then they suddenly convert to 100% anki in M1 because "everyone is doing it"...
Study based on your strengths, not based on what others are doing.

Type of learning styles is made up and complete bull****. There is no evidence to support that some people are kinesthetic or whatever learners. There is plenty of evidence to indicate that ANKI works.Forced retrieval works, feynman works, and Spaced repitition works, you can do it through anki or some other manner. UG studying is nothing like Medical school studying, not even remotely close.

 

[Deecee2DO]

This is what I keep saying. We are definitely in an anki bubble. Anki is great and works extremely well for a given subset of learners. For the other subsets, anki can help you get to your goals in some cases but it usually represents an awfully inefficient means of acquiring this info. Before jumping ship into anki, evaluate your study style->auditory, note taking, reading books, etc. You see people crush things in undergrad not using anki and then they suddenly convert to 100% anki in M1 because "everyone is doing it"...
Study based on your strengths, not based on what others are doing.

I agree with this. I see some of my classmates with 3 monitors set up in front of them anki cards and all these crazy apps. "Look I have a ton of stuff in front of me I must be studying a lot!". I legit use pen and paper and draw and write **** like theres no tomorrow. I'm oldschool and it works for me. Many people in med school try to make it sound like if you aren't doing what theyre doing, youre doing it all wrong and you'll fail. You'll even get some people that make it sound like youre lazy because you don't go to class, wake up at 5am or study in the library. I haven't gone to a single class, I wake up 10am most days, and I study at starbucks/panera all day unless I have OMM that day or On Doctoring. Who cares just do you

 

[Jesus1]

Type of learning styles is made up and complete bull****. There is no evidence to support that some people are kinesthetic or whatever learners. There is plenty of evidence to indicate that ANKI works.Forced retrieval works, feynman works, and Spaced repitition works, you can do it through anki or some other manner. UG studying is nothing like Medical school studying, not even remotely close.

I don't have to argue with you..Do what works for you..There's no competition here.

 

[AliBabaMD]

No you are not crazy. Anki is a pain to use and part of a tech revolution taking us into oblivion. Get some flashcards, make them your own.

 

[Major]

Anki is an absolute pain, but it gets the job done, especially for facts/details that are pure rote memorization. I've tried the infamous Zanki deck, then Bros, then Soze's Deck. I prefer Soze's Deck and supplement with Bros here and there. Then I add in my own cards from courses/BnB/FA into Soze's Deck.

 

[Doc_Ock]

I mean since first aid essentially has flashcards with a muuuuuuch better interface I'll just stick with those. I also use picmonic (not flashcards per se, but similar concept with spaced repetition).

 

[tealeafexplorer]

I mean since first aid essentially has flashcards with a muuuuuuch better interface I'll just stick with those. I also use picmonic (not flashcards per se, but similar concept with spaced repetition).

It depends what you mean by a much better interface. Sure Anki is much more complex, complicated, probably less aesthetically pleasing, and harder to learn, but I love the interface and program. It gives me the ability to combine and separate decks, adjust intervals, create custom study decks, sort by tags, track progress, plus use the many amazing decks the medical school community has contributed to all of us, which have been proven to provide fantastic Step Scores.

 

[jsplit]

Anki has been proven reliable for pretty much forever, but you are right @latinclubimperatus now that Picmonic has Spaced Repetition and the ability to do all the things @tealeafexplorer said about Anki, it is a good replacement and what makes Picmonic > Sketchy + Anki IMHO (plus Picmonic has 5x the content of Sketchy, way more beyond Micro & Pharm). You should also check out Osmosis which has flashcards and Spaced Rep too!

I'm glad to have something to add to the conversation enough for me to finally create an SDN account 🙂

 

[Doc_Ock]

Anki has been proven reliable for pretty much forever, but you are right @latinclubimperatus now that Picmonic has Spaced Repetition and the ability to do all the things @tealeafexplorer said about Anki, it is a good replacement and what makes Picmonic > Sketchy + Anki IMHO (plus Picmonic has 5x the content of Sketchy, way more beyond Micro & Pharm). You should also check out Osmosis which has flashcards and Spaced Rep too!

I'm glad to have something to add to the conversation enough for me to finally create an SDN account 🙂

Yep I use osmosis too. Flashcards get a little too into the weeds imo

 

[Doctor of Democracy]

Anki is an awesome tool but not very helpful for medical school. I just never could find anyway to benefit from using flash cards...take way to long to make. Using someone elses deck always seems to lack information and much of th learning is making the card yourself.

 

[ladysmanfelpz]

I'm in the same boat here. I'm preparing for step 1 and have tried using bros deck. But after reading many how-to guides I still feel completely lost with it.
Is this programme essential for scoring high? I find making my own flash cards too time consuming, passive, and a method I have never used. Though I can certainly appreciate the value in using a pre-made deck

This is exactly what I am wondering here. I've done a little sketchy and pathoma, but I don't have the decks really set up to optomize it. Is it essential, cuz if so then I'll really get going on it.

I've heard people say it is, but I've also heard not needed. Just recently we took a practice exam as a class and for the recall things, Pharm and Micro, I felt fine and just as confident as my peers who have only been doing sketchy/anki to study. In fact the other day I saw a thread on reddit about connecting anki facts to actual useful, testable knowledge. It seems like some kids are just going through thousands of cards of just pure memorization and not being able to apply it.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

For me it’s simple—> video/book—> questions—> make incorrects into anki—> use anki. Never miss that question again. I like prepare decks too. I don’t focus on them as much as my own cards but I definitely benefit from them. My scores have gone up significantly since switching over.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

How significant we talking here. Feel free to PM if you dont want to share here 🙂

10-15% on my Uworld scores and about 10 points higher on my comats. The things I miss are the things I consistently miss. So making flash cards and going over them daily means I won’t miss them anymore.

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

My current study schedule for step 2 is 1.5 hours of omed/secrets, 5-7 hours of Uworld and 1-2 hours of anki. As you can see I place a much higher priority to doing questions and much less time on anki. But anki definitely helps me remember all of the little details I may have missed when doing a question. The next day I don’t make that mistake again when I come across a similar question or I may be able to better recognize wrong answer choices to select the right one.
I think all study materials have their place and function. So I definitely don’t think you can just completely discount anki because you haven’t figured it out yet. There is a learning curve to it and making good cards takes practice. The ones I’ve seen on RX, firecracker, etc have all been terrible in my experience and you’re able to make a much better card that helps you remember a detail/concept.

 

[libertyyne]

How significant we talking here. Feel free to PM if you dont want to share here 🙂

my class scores went from mid 70's to mid 90s after incorporating anki.

 

[mohammad nazeer hazrat]

IMO anki is best for those stuff which require pure memorizations, and as for step1 is concerns, there are a lot of stuff with pure memorizations.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using SDN mobile

 

[Deecee2DO]

For those of you that do use anki what is the best way to make the cards? I've heard too much info on one card is not good. Do you limit it to one statement? do you put images if there are visuals involved? I do well in class without anki but I am figuring in the future for boards it may help and would like to know the most efficient/effective way to make them

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

For those of you that do use anki what is the best way to make the cards? I've heard too much info on one card is not good. Do you limit it to one statement? do you put images if there are visuals involved? I do well in class without anki but I am figuring in the future for boards it may help and would like to know the most efficient/effective way to make them

When you get a question wrong or find a topic that you find difficult, condense it into a 1-2 sentence card with the major definition or point in clozed deletion. Bold/italicize the important stuff in the card so you make the association with the answer. In the comments/id include images and as long of a description as you want. That’s what i do. I typically convert my books and PowerPoints this way too.

 

[Deecee2DO]

When you get a question wrong or find a topic that you find difficult, condense it into a 1-2 sentence card with the major definition or point in clozed deletion. Bold/italicize the important stuff in the card so you make the association with the answer. In the comments/id include images and as long of a description as you want. That’s what i do. I typically convert my books and PowerPoints this way too.

Dope! thanks a ton