I'm a little disappointed. Unless I'm missing something, I don't see a way to pick which quiz you want to take (Study Questions / Review Questions / Catchup), which is a feature on both the full website and the mobile one.Anyone else think the iOS app is extremely mediocre? To me, it's only a very small step,above the web-based app. I think they could have done a lot better with it.
I agree with DOC209, I would like to know if FC was helpful in increasing scores. I have invested a bit of time in it so hopefully it pays off.
In addition, I would like to hear from someone who has near 100% of the concepts flagged. I am sitting at 5379 concepts from 690 flags. I obviously have 430 flags left, but I was wondering about how many concepts I have left.
Summary of the post: About how many concepts are there in firecracker for Step 1?
If you take a look at the 2014 experiences thread there are a few people who have done well already and noted that they used Firecracker, including Kirbymiester who posts in this thread.
I don't think the concepts number is really all that important. Just focus on the topics flagged. I quit with ~1000 topics flagged, so I finished around 90% of it. I take my exam tomorrow though, so you can expect my write up in about 3 and a half weeks. In short, I believe it helped me immensely. There are others who think it's a huge waste of time. You just have to know what fits your style best.
Anyone else think the iOS app is extremely mediocre? To me, it's only a very small step,above the web-based app. I think they could have done a lot better with it.
Does this mobile app let you use it offline? Or do you still need to connected to the internet?
As MS1 approaches for me I am just wondering what advantages FC has over just making one's own Anki Decks? Trying to curb my spending and save occasionally.
Perhaps a good approach is to use Anki for class material and make cards for subjects as you go to help with exams. FC could be just a resource to keep the boards relevant material fresh along with class work.
Can any other users of FC comment on how they liked it? I'm about to start M1 and interested, but have only heard a handful of opinions on it.
Does anyone have an estimate of what you think someone's Step 1 score would be if they only flagged all the topics in FC? I'm looking for some motivation to get through all the material, and I'd like to go into my dedicated period with a solid foundation.
I did exactly the above.
Good to see my idea has actually been implemented successfully before. I was curious about just this exact thing in how I'm going to approach my studying.
Good to see my idea has actually been implemented successfully before. I was curious about just this exact thing in how I'm going to approach my studying.
Does anyone have an estimate of what you think someone's Step 1 score would be if they only flagged all the topics in FC? I'm looking for some motivation to get through all the material, and I'd like to go into my dedicated period with a solid foundation.
If they did nothing else but FC? That would be a bad idea, but I'd say like 240-250 if you were an excellent student in pre-clinical classes, and 220-240 if you weren't. You'd get a lot of value by just adding Pathoma and UWorld into the mix.
Going off this discussion... Does anyone religiously use Firecracker's "write your own topics" feature to save material from class rather than making a separate Anki deck?
If no, is it because Anki is a better platform for topic creation or for topic review?
If Anki is better for topic review (and Anki's offline access alone seems like it'd be a killer feature in the Anki vs FC discussion, since both my internet connectivity and Firecracker have occasional periods of downtime), then I'm considering going through FC and exporting the questions to Anki manually. (I've already paid for two years' access, so this shouldn't be a particularly unethical approach, just a time-consuming one.) A student could even do this in a topic-by-topic manner as he/she goes along flagging topics mid-year. I think what you'd get out of it in terms of availability, stability (no worries about Anki losing your progress for the day, as FC is purported to do on occasion) and speed of card-flipping (especially with the gestures in the app) would make it a worthwhile time investment. And then you'd be one less student taking up space on FC's servers, reducing the load for everyone else!
(I mapped a game controller to my PC which makes it even faster)
FC is very much a living body of work that's always getting improved, and I don't know that you'll totally get your money's worth by treating it as a static bank of flashcards.
I mapped a game controller to my PC which makes it even faster
In terms of waiting for the best deal - I know I just missed a good sale, should I do 12 months for $259 or hold out for a better deal?
I mapped a game controller to my PC which makes it even faster.
I can see the HTML code in places where they tried underlining or bolding text. Sometimes I can see the code for new paragraphs and line breaks, too. Wondering if it's just a display issue on my phone rather than a global issue.
It could be better, but I'm just glad to have that god-awful mobile interface be obsolete. Thing was buggy as hell for me. And I like how this app has one-click 1-5 ratings...the main site should be quick like that, honestly.
The iOS app is essentially identical to the beta, which surprised me. It gets the job done and I am very happy to be using it on the go (****ing NYC man). It's worth using daily.
I am hoping it gets aesthetically cleaned up with some updates and features in the future but it is simple, usable, and allows you to knock out questions as is.
Yes! Please keep working on it! Offline/sync functionality would be appreciated as well.That's the plan! The mobile app has been highly requested so we wanted to get iOS and Android versions out quickly. Then focus on adding more functionality and improving the experience. We've very excited for the next phase of the mobile app as we have quite a list of cool features we want to add. And expect the app to get a whole lot more beautiful and polished. Maybe I can leak a couple screenshots 🙂
Unfortunately, it looks like it lets you use it offline but secretly isn't saving your feedback score. :/
Just tried a test run: Disconnected my phone, used it, refreshed on my laptop --> Nothing. Reconnected phone, used it, refreshed laptop --> Change logged.
Kind of annoying, especially if you're on a subway or something and aren't sure if your 3G is working...ah well.
Yes! Please keep working on it! Offline/sync functionality would be appreciated as well.
That's the plan! The mobile app has been highly requested so we wanted to get iOS and Android versions out quickly. Then focus on adding more functionality and improving the experience. We've very excited for the next phase of the mobile app as we have quite a list of cool features we want to add. And expect the app to get a whole lot more beautiful and polished. Maybe I can leak a couple screenshots 🙂
We're working towards an app that will function fully offline but for version 1 you will need an internet connection. I'll prioritize a fix that will handle this 'subway issue' so that we can replay your recalls to the server once you reconnect.
Will do! (it's my job) Once we implement offline it'll allow us to build out a bunch of awesome stuff.
No, it's not redundant. Rx is MCQs.Would it be redundant to use both Firecracker and USMLERx doing the school year for MS2? I know they both use FA as the basis for their questions - is there a lot of overlap?
Would it be redundant to use both Firecracker and USMLERx doing the school year for MS2? I know they both use FA as the basis for their questions - is there a lot of overlap?
We're working towards an app that will function fully offline but for version 1 you will need an internet connection. I'll prioritize a fix that will handle this 'subway issue' so that we can replay your recalls to the server once you reconnect.
Summer is basically over and I didn't touch FC.. kind of disappointed in myself, but I did enjoy the summer off.
Really enjoying the iOS app. Someone said earlier that they did not like the look of the app, but I personally really like the simple color palette this has. Just black and white, with a pleasant-to-the-eyes light green to highlight cards being tested. Here is how it looks like on iPhone for those who haven't downloaded it yet:
I have noticed that the app has helped me answer 20-30% more questions daily than I normally do, and this can be explained by two aspects of this app:
By the way, for those of you wondering about using FC for STEP 2 CK, I have to say that so far it has been a really valuable tool for helping me remember workup algorithms and treatment guidelines. The cards are also considerably more organized and up-to-date than the STEP 1 material (I am currently doing my internal medicine rotation and have been going through FC together with Step Up To Medicine and Pocket Medicine. So far only one out of the +80 subjects I have flagged has outdated info, which was later corrected).
- Unlike the mobile version of FC, the app does not load each MCQ independently, making it easier to flash through a quiz without having to weight for a new question to load (a problem when you do not have a reliable internet connection).
- After you grade your recall effort, the app automatically transitions to the next question. On the web version of FC, one has to click on the appropriate numerical grade and then click on the right arrow/hit the n (next) key to move on. It's amazing how just removing one step can make such a big productivity improvement.
I have a few requests I would like to see the FC team incorporate into the app on future updates:
Great job with V 1.0 of the app and the excellent effort being put into improving the STEP 2 material. I am really happy to see FC continuing to improve. I used FC MUCH more often than First Aid throughout second year and my STEP 1 dedicated study period. I scored a 251 (not impressive by SDN standards, but nevertheless a good score) and think FC was the best way (based on my style of learning) to keep facts/memorization-heavy topics fresh in my mind. My only regret was that I started it rather late, and only managed to flag ~65% of the STEP 1 content.
- Ability to change font (it is really small and does not obey Apple's "dynamic font" functionality)
- Ability to display one's notes (I tend to use the note space for mnemonics)
- Ability to select "never see again" for cards that, well, we do not wish to see again.
Summer is basically over and I didn't touch FC.. kind of disappointed in myself, but I did enjoy the summer off.
know that feel
Hello all. Disclaimer: I did a search for "legendary mode" before writing this post.
Many students say that they've used FC starting in first year, then in second year transitioned to uWorld/Pathoma etc. and eventually scored well on the boards. It it understood that everyone that uses FC is referring to legendary mode? @mcloaf said no one he knows uses normal mode. What is the primary mode for those who score well? Did you switch modes as your test date approached (i.e. switch from legendary to normal in order to have more time for uWorld, Pathoma etc.)
Legendary mode is a new term they implemented a few months ago, but it is the same as the old"normal" mode. The new normal mode is the same as the old "lite" mode. People that used it for this past exam probably didn't even realize their mode switched from the old normal to legendary, because none of the content changed. The new normal mode doesn't include any of the information from the "more" buttons on each of the cards, which really is where all of the meat is.
I stopped using the app due to this issue.Is anyone else having an issue with the new app syncing with the online site? I switch around a lot and I find myself doing the same questions when I do...
No, the changes will be incorporated into your routine.When FC updates/edits their content, is it necessary to unflag the topic and flag it again to see the changes?
No, the changes will be incorporated into your routine.
No, the changes will be incorporated into your routine.