Firecracker

[JackShephard MD]

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med.firecracker.me

New medical education website rooted in an adaptive learning platform. Looks impressive, check it out.

Cheers.

 

[surely]

Agree. Simply replying to a previous assertion that Firecracker runs on gimmicks and marketing.

Firecracker does run on marketing, to an extent. I liken Firecracker to a gym subscription. The user gets out of it what he or she puts in. Meanwhile, the company gets out of it the money that's paid by users, many of whom never end up actually utilizing the service fully. Am I wrong? I'd love to see transparency regarding the number of paid accounts vs the percentage of accounts that complete more than 5 questions per week.

 

[Hemorrage]

I recently purchased an account over the holidays due to Christmas present funds and although I'm now impressed with the flashcard content, I can't imagine why this is so complicated other than the scaling- which I know you guys have already partially solved by running on AWS.

Why is there so much confusion between what's going on in the "mobile"/beta whatever you call it app vs the actual home page/calendar version? Are there two separate databases for each version? Because that's the only conclusion I'm coming to at this point... And if that's the case, then why wasn't that explicated stated to existing users when the only iOS app was upgraded?

I understand the basis behind aiming for the 80 question mark as that's the measured firecracker average for success as opposed to the calendar system. Nothing wrong with this since anki also employs a similar tactic depending upon how you have the settings set up for a particular deck. I agree that this type of algorithm is most likely to be more successful than a calendar method that backs up if you lose time. Personally I'm just confused on the technical nature of how my data is being stored. Can you explain the above equations? I'd appreciate it.

PS: @jwfirecracks no one is saying you guys are doing a bad job with content, on the contrary that's the only reason why this type of software is worth >$100 since your team is constantly working to improve it. The concerns on here are technical because that's what's wrong or at least not well documented. Can you get some of the developers to get involved on here?

 

[jwfirecracks]

Why is there so much confusion between what's going on in the "mobile"/beta whatever you call it app vs the actual home page/calendar version? Are there two separate databases for each version? Because that's the only conclusion I'm coming to at this point... And if that's the case, then why wasn't that explicated stated to existing users when the only iOS app was upgraded?

You're correct. The mobile / beta are new / rebuilt programs designed for future scalability. The delay in porting features from web to beta is they have to be rebuilt in the new database.

I apologize for lack of transparency on this issue / many others. I'm working this week on developing extensive documentation / explanations on the beta, the algorithm, how to use the different sites, why they are different, etc.

I've asked one of our devs to reach out and answer your question.

 

[CaesarRO]

Question: the web beta is version 3.3.4 the android app on my phone is 3.3.2. Did you guys stop pushing the newest editions to the app stores? Should we be using the mobile app through our browsers only?

 

[ATypicalLymphocyte]

For what it's worth, I really like the rate '0' idea. 🙂
It'd also be nice for it to be easier to add new concepts/questions since the current interface is a bit uncomfortable for this. (No idea if this feature is being ported to the new version). Maybe even being able to edit flashcards as they are would be quite interesting.

 

[jwfirecracks]

Question: the web beta is version 3.3.4 the android app on my phone is 3.3.2. Did you guys stop pushing the newest editions to the app stores? Should we be using the mobile app through our browsers only?

There is a ~10 day lag between when we finish a release and the app is approved by Apple. Apple was also shut down for submissions during the holiday.

 

[surely]

There is a ~10 day lag between when we finish a release and the app is approved by Apple. Apple was also shut down for submissions during the holiday.

The poster was asking about the Android app, though, not Apple.

 

[midweststudent1]

There are additional questions within the beta/mobile version. Is there any way to get these extra questions on the original platform? i.e. If I answer them on the beta will I see them subsequently in the original platform?

 

[CaesarRO]

There is a ~10 day lag between when we finish a release and the app is approved by Apple. Apple was also shut down for submissions during the holiday.

I understood the previous explanations about the apple store. As surely pointed out, I'm asking about the Android version and the Google Play Store. Does the same time delay apply there?

 

[jwfirecracks]

The poster was asking about the Android app, though, not Apple.

Look for the updated Android app soon -- this week, as early as today.

I totally spaced that you asked for Android. It's a separate step to prepare the app for release on either store -- Android or Apple. The latest update to the web came right before Christmas so that step didn't occur. Assuming no bugs in the packaging it could hit the Android store today.

 

[Densetsu]

Definitely like the recall 0 idea. I would also like a one-click method of opening all the "more" tabs in a single card rather than having to click them individually.

I agree, being able to expand the whole card with one click will save tremendous time. It can take up to 5 seconds to expand an entire card when it should be taking less than 1 second. When we're going over thousands of these cards over the course of our prep, all those seconds add up. I'm all for anything that minimizes the number of clicks.

For what it's worth, I really like the rate '0' idea. 🙂
It'd also be nice for it to be easier to add new concepts/questions since the current interface is a bit uncomfortable for this. (No idea if this feature is being ported to the new version). Maybe even being able to edit flashcards as they are would be quite interesting.

This is another thing I can get behind. I tend to add my own concepts to some of the cards if I find a bit of info in a different source that I don't see in FA. Although the process of creating your own questions/answers is easy enough to figure out, it seems a bit clunky and it's not really intuitive.


Re: The "recall level 0" idea--
On second thought, instead of creating a new recall level, I think hitting "recall level 1" should just automatically put the card back on the stack. Then you can just keep clicking "1" until you either memorize the card, or you just get tired of seeing it, at which point you can just click "2" knowing that you'll see it again in the near future.

 

[seminoma]

The Firecracker editing team is larger than it's ever been, and they are focused on improving Step 2 content (http://blog.firecracker.me/2014/12/18/new-upgraded-step-2-topics-week-of-december-15/) and USMLE style questions (1000 new questions added last month).

What gimmicks, specifically in relation to our competitors do you speak of? Delivering a mobile app? It was a commonly requested feature. Firecracker has undergone growing pains during this transition yes, but it's been a learning process that will make Firecracker better suited to deliver an outstanding program to users.

You seem to be vehemently opposed to the beta site, so let me make it absolutely clear: the current version of the website will remain as is through Summer 2015. It will remain up through late 2015 at the earliest. In the meantime, all the features you love on the current site will be moved to the "beta." No popular features that users have begged for and use regularly will be removed -- they just haven't been moved over yet. This will be an ongoing process in 2015.

As for a 0 card / putting questions back into the stack, or a hotkey for more, those would be gimmicks, no? And those come from the tech team. As for our marketing team, our goal is to educate users, liaison with the community, get feedback and deliver it to the content and tech teams to ensure we're making a product that is best aligned with the use of students.

You would like Firecracker to provide more emphasis on learning improvements. I can deliver those requests and work to have them implemented. However, most feedback is of a technical nature. If you have ideas for how to improve the Firecracker content, please fire away. As stated, recent focus has been on an improved Step 2 product and improved USMLE style questions.

Signed @jwfirecracks -- AKA The Entire Firecracker Marketing Team.

As I mentioned in a previous post, "gimmicks" was a poor choice of word. Also mentioned in a previous post, it's more that I really like the current FC and less that I am "vehemently opposed" to the beta. Furthermore, I don't mind that the beta is available on desktop, although I would prefer if mobile wasn't limited to the beta. It's like your car dealer coming to your house, replacing your car with a bicycle because the country is calling for more people going green, and not refunding your money. Bicycle isn't bad, but you paid for the car and would prefer to commute via car than bicycle.

I don't think a 0 card is a gimmick. It's another grading option that adds to the learning process (like the "<1min" and "10min" options in Anki). Everyone's goal is to learn well. However, if you insist that a 0 card is a gimmick, then the 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cards are also gimmicks.. so basically the full site is a gimmick, no? Of course it isn't. The different options allow us to adjust the schedule based on what we think will be best for our learning. A gimmick would be something like changing the aesthetics of the site and advertising an "all new and improved Firecracker" (I know that's not what's going on). Again, using "gimmick" to describe the beta or whatever was a poor choice.

Regarding content improvements I do submit suggestions almost daily when I do questions. I understand it takes time to process all of the submissions, fact check them, etc. However, when there are comments asking for factual corrections (not "add x, y, z because I think they're important" or "please reorganize the card into a table rather than bullet") that are 5, 6, 7, 8+ months old I do wonder what's going on. I don't remember the exact card/concept, but yesterday one of the new cards I flagged had a 9month old comment asking to have the word "decrease" changed to "increase". It was an obvious error that was probably just a typo or something.. but still, it's a 9month old comment asking for a fix to an obvious factual error that doesn't require significant fact checking.

Re: The "recall level 0" idea--
On second thought, instead of creating a new recall level, I think hitting "recall level 1" should just automatically put the card back on the stack. Then you can just keep clicking "1" until you either memorize the card, or you just get tired of seeing it, at which point you can just click "2" knowing that you'll see it again in the near future.

This works too. What I've been doing is just hitting 'p' and moving onto the next card then refreshing my browser after 20-30 questions to see the "0 card question" again.

Edit: And by 'p' I meant 'n'.

 

[jwfirecracks]

I agree, being able to expand the whole card with one click will save tremendous time. It can take up to 5 seconds to expand an entire card when it should be taking less than 1 second. When we're going over thousands of these cards over the course of our prep, all those seconds add up. I'm all for anything that minimizes the number of clicks.

Will look into this and get back soon.

I don't think a 0 card is a gimmick. It's another grading option that adds to the learning process (like the "<1min" and "10min" options in Anki).

I'm open to this idea -- but there's a question of function / how to make it work. In the current system, questions are all prioritized, and when you rate a question a 1 for the first time, there is a good chance you'll see it again in your 80 questions for that day. We've actually had several users who complained about seeing questions again after rating them a 1 in one session. Many more than have requested a "see it again soon" feature -- though that faction is vocal as well.

So how to best incorporate it into the algorithm for those that want to see it again -- but not for those that don't?

Again, very open to working on this, just need more feedback from users.

Regarding content improvements I do submit suggestions almost daily when I do questions. I understand it takes time to process all of the submissions, fact check them, etc. However, when there are comments asking for factual corrections (not "add x, y, z because I think they're important" or "please reorganize the card into a table rather than bullet") that are 5, 6, 7, 8+ months old I do wonder what's going on. I don't remember the exact card/concept, but yesterday one of the new cards I flagged had a 9month old comment asking to have the word "decrease" changed to "increase". It was an obvious error that was probably just a typo or something.. but still, it's a 9month old comment asking for a fix to an obvious factual error that doesn't require significant fact checking.

Completely agree here. We've got a new person working on errors -- but here's the promise: if you submit an error with a screenshot / and or text of the question and point out the error and the fix, we'll have it changed within 72 hours (allowing for weekends here). The more vague the correction request, the more time it's going to take.

Still, Firecracker needs to be quicker with corrections from feedback.

 

[Hemorrage]

Isn't the point of rating a card 1 "I had no idea, ask me this again?"

What's the point of having a 0? It would be redundant. I think if the goal is to "remove" a topic from ones card lineup, I would imagine unflagging the topic would remove all the cards within that category.

 

[Densetsu]

Isn't the point of rating a card 1 "I had no idea, ask me this again?"

What's the point of having a 0? It would be redundant. I think if the goal is to "remove" a topic from ones card lineup, I would imagine unflagging the topic would remove all the cards within that category.

Some of us want to be able to see a card pop up multiple times in a single review session. If it's a particularly difficult card to memorize (such as a long list of symptoms, etc.), I like to memorize it in small chunks and see it again in a couple of minutes, then repeat the process until I know the whole card. The way FC is set up now, if you tag a card as a "1," you won't see it again until the next day. For some cards, that interval is too long and you'll have forgotten most of the facts by the time you see it again.

If we had a way to put cards back into the current stack, a card whose contents you are unfamiliar with could become a card you know front-and-back very quickly (as opposed to the process taking days).

Re: The "recall level 0" idea--
On second thought, instead of creating a new recall level, I think hitting "recall level 1" should just automatically put the card back on the stack. Then you can just keep clicking "1" until you either memorize the card, or you just get tired of seeing it, at which point you can just click "2" knowing that you'll see it again in the near future.

This works too. What I've been doing is just hitting 'p' and moving onto the next card then refreshing my browser after 20-30 questions to see the "0 card question" again.

That's actually a pretty good workaround! Thanks for that.

 

[olecranon4]

I've been using the "skip" button as a 0 card for a while. Just hit skip instead of rating the card. You'll see it again throughout the day as you do your cards- keep skipping until you know it cold, then give the card a "1" so you see it again soon. Definitely needed to do this for pharm side effects a lot

 

[andrewsmack05]

Is anyone having a problem keeping their stuff banked on the new beta version? I banked all of derm and some of Heme/Onc yesterday and now this morning, it says that I am not 100% with derm? Is there a button I need to push somewhere that I am missing?

@jwfirecracks ----- I just rebanked all derm and went and synced answers and clicked to update the app. I lost all that I banked on the derm section AGAIN. PLEASE FIX.

Alright, I do not understand what is going on now. It says on the right that I have flagged the topic (the entire derm organ system) but now I have 53 new questions????? What is this? I just did all of the questions it said. Is the 100% mark just there to mess with our heads?

 

[jwfirecracks]

Is anyone having a problem keeping their stuff banked on the new beta version? I banked all of derm and some of Heme/Onc yesterday and now this morning, it says that I am not 100% with derm? Is there a button I need to push somewhere that I am missing?

@jwfirecracks ----- I just rebanked all derm and went and synced answers and clicked to update the app. I lost all that I banked on the derm section AGAIN. PLEASE FIX.

Alright, I do not understand what is going on now. It says on the right that I have flagged the topic (the entire derm organ system) but now I have 53 new questions????? What is this? I just did all of the questions it said. Is the 100% mark just there to mess with our heads?

Can you elaborate? When you say "banked" -- what action are you doing? Are you flagging, or answering questions?

What do you mean "lost all that banked?"

Where did you flag the topics -- classic web or beta? Where does it say 53 new questions, classic web or beta?

 

[andrewsmack05]

Can you elaborate? When you say "banked" -- what action are you doing? Are you flagging, or answering questions?

What do you mean "lost all that banked?"

Where did you flag the topics -- classic web or beta? Where does it say 53 new questions, classic web or beta?

I have been using the new beta version on the web. When I do ALL of the questions (this is what I consider banked for a topic --- it tells me that I am 100% gone through ALL of the questions for that topic). When I go to sync the beta version (or press update the app for that matter), it resets what I have done back to 63% of questions finished for dermatology and I have no idea why. Let me get this right, if I have the topic flagged on the right hand side and I have not seen those questions as I review a concept, will I see those questions when I do a random review of the 80 questions on any particular day without seeing them when I go through each topic? I do not like the percentages messing with my mind if that is what is happening, if I see 63% it means to me that I still need to complete something, is this not correct?

 

[jwfirecracks]

You're correct -- if you have the flagged a topic, you'll get those questions in your "do today's questions" as they will have a high priority. You'll also get them when you go through the topics, which will affect whether you see them again on "do today's questions."

I'm sorry it didn't save -- we're looking into that / syncing issues.

Instead of hitting sync on the web -- can you try exiting the browser and going back to the page?

 

[andrewsmack05]

@jwfirecracks I logged out this time and closed out the browser. I logged back in to see that I now have 80% of derm questions "banked" unlike the 100% I had when I closed it out. My Heme/Onc progress disappeared as well. I did NOT hit sync on the web either.

Edit: I can get most of the questions to be banked if I use the iPad but I cannot get the questions that I have done to "stay done" in the beta version of the web.

 

[Elevencents]

I am in favor of the "0" button as well. I like the ability to see a particularly difficult card multiple times in one pass rather than the following day or two. Even seeing a difficult card every day makes it hard to lock it down, seeing it over and over during one study session is one feature of anki I really like.

 

[abolt18]

@jwfirecracks I logged out this time and closed out the browser. I logged back in to see that I now have 80% of derm questions "banked" unlike the 100% I had when I closed it out. My Heme/Onc progress disappeared as well. I did NOT hit sync on the web either.

Edit: I can get most of the questions to be banked if I use the iPad but I cannot get the questions that I have done to "stay done" in the beta version of the web.

Happening to me as well (sort of)

 

[jwfirecracks]

I am in favor of the "0" button as well. I like the ability to see a particularly difficult card multiple times in one pass rather than the following day or two. Even seeing a difficult card every day makes it hard to lock it down, seeing it over and over during one study session is one feature of anki I really like.

Explaining priorities / difference between web and mobile/beta -- this should help with the "0" card discussion.

The web works on a calendar based system. Based on all the input on a card -- the rating, how many times you've seen it, etc., every question is assigned a datestamp -- a day you should do that question. So when you come any given day, you have a set of questions to answer. If you miss Monday, on Tuesday you have to do Monday and Tuesdays questions.

The beta / mobile work on a priority based system, that updates constantly. Every card is assigned a priority value that constantly changes, based on your rating, how many seconds you looked at the card, and how long since you've seen that question.

So in the priority system, a card you've seen once and rated a 1 will be placed back in your stack and will have a high priority. Most people will see that question again very soon, but it depends -- how many other cards do you have rated a 1, or how long has it been since you've seen them? Questions you rated a 5 months ago will have a steadily rising priority as time goes by. And if you have a lot of questions you rated a 1 a week ago, they may come up before the card you just rated a 1.

So, if you rate a card a "0" or a "1" and want to see it again very soon -- when should you see that question? What if you are on question 78 of your daily 80 question goal? I've never used Anki so I don't know how they drop questions in (see it again in 10 minutes is what I've been told), but the way Firecracker's system works makes that a difficult inclusion. Some users could have 200 questions they just rated a 1 that have a higher priority than the card they just rated 1.

This change was not undertaken lightly -- we collected thousands of score reports this summer from users, and with their permission looked into how they actually used the system. We looked at the most successful users, how many questions they did a day, did they keep up with their calendar? We looked -- did the calendar accurately reflect the likelihood of a user getting a question right / rating it a 3-5 the next time? I.E. -- if a user did not answer a question on the day it was assigned, did that materially affect the likelihood of them rating it an improvement from their previous assessment -- raising the count by at least 1.

Our stats team believes the priority based system makes more sense than the calendar based system. So there is no "daily count" anymore within the system. Instead, all cards are prioritized, can you can just keep going.

Some things that are coming soon:

---You'll be able to change your daily goal from 80 to whatever you want, 1-999. Look for this in beta this week, then in Android, then iOS in a couple weeks.

---You'll be able to create custom playlists. So if you want a playlist of just renal, or a random assortment of topics for an upcoming class exam you'll be able to create separate stuff. "Do Today's Questions" will prioritize questions from all playlists. Shooting for January on this.

---You'll be able to set dates on playlists, such as the date of an exam, or the date of your USMLE. That will help to generate a "suggested daily goal" based on the number of questions and a multiple of how many times you should see the cards. Could come with the above feature in January, but shooting for next 60 days.

 

[ATypicalLymphocyte]

I actually really like the sound of the new algorithm, just wish notes were already working. Any idea when it's coming up? And do the questions we add via the content editor appear on the new site?

 

[jwfirecracks]

I actually really like the sound of the new algorithm, just wish notes were already working. Any idea when it's coming up? And do the questions we add via the content editor appear on the new site?

Notes + user generated content added are coming. I wish I had a more concrete time frame, but the features I listed above will come first. I am pushing for user-uploaded images to come soon as well.

 

[PL198]

Sticking with the current non-beta format for as long as it's available. I like how things are (which is why I paid to extend my subscription) and I don't want to start messing with a new interface without good reason. The previous version of mobile was significantly better than the current version and I was looking forward to using it on the wards during MS3 (for Step 2CK). If the current Beta ultimately becomes the new mobile I probably won't purchase an extension for MS3.

I think FC is caught in an identity crisis right now. Sure the current version could use a few tweaks here and there, but it seems like FC is more focused on the interface rather than the information on the cards. It's getting to the point where they're trying to draw in new customers with gimmicks (competing with picmonic, memorang, etc) rather than attempting to turn the website/app into a "must have" resource to go alongside FA, qbanks, pathoma, etc. In other words, I'm getting the feeling that the FC marketing team is slowly beginning to overshadow the FC content team.. which is unfortunate if true.

yeah I've never understood why the mobile version would be different than the computer. just give me an app that is literally the exact same thing as going on my computer, so I dont have to use the browser on my phone which is slower than an app would, and make it optimized for mobile devices. I don't know why thats so hard. I have absolutely 0 understanding of how they're essentially changing FC significantly by making changes to the mobile app and leaving the computer version the same? As soon as they started doing all this current BS with the mobile app is when I stopped using it.

 

[seminoma]

I'm open to this idea -- but there's a question of function / how to make it work. In the current system, questions are all prioritized, and when you rate a question a 1 for the first time, there is a good chance you'll see it again in your 80 questions for that day. We've actually had several users who complained about seeing questions again after rating them a 1 in one session. Many more than have requested a "see it again soon" feature -- though that faction is vocal as well.

So how to best incorporate it into the algorithm for those that want to see it again -- but not for those that don't?

Again, very open to working on this, just need more feedback from users.

Would it be possible to make the "0 button" exempt from the scheduling algorithm? So if you choose the "0 button" not only does the question stay in your review questions for today, but it also doesn't affect the scheduling. Instead, the question gets scheduled based on the 1-5 score you give it the next time you answer it.

So if I flagged a new card today and scored the same question "0" two times, then on the third time I scored it a 5, I would see it in 20 days just as if I scored it a 5 the first time. That way the "0 card" doesn't change scheduling, but offers me the opportunity to see the card multiple times even if I already know it and don't want to see it after today for another 20 days.

yeah I've never understood why the mobile version would be different than the computer. just give me an app that is literally the exact same thing as going on my computer, so I dont have to use the browser on my phone which is slower than an app would, and make it optimized for mobile devices. I don't know why thats so hard. I have absolutely 0 understanding of how they're essentially changing FC significantly by making changes to the mobile app and leaving the computer version the same? As soon as they started doing all this current BS with the mobile app is when I stopped using it.

I think the desktop "beta" is the same as the mobile. Not sure though since I've kind of been avoiding both.

 

[andrewsmack05]

Would it be possible to make the "0 button" exempt from the scheduling algorithm? So if you choose the "0 button" not only does the question stay in your review questions for today, but it also doesn't affect the scheduling. Instead, the question gets scheduled based on the 1-5 score you give it the next time you answer it.

So if I flagged a new card today and scored the same question "0" two times, then on the third time I scored it a 5, I would see it in 20 days just as if I scored it a 5 the first time. That way the "0 card" doesn't change scheduling, but offers me the opportunity to see the card multiple times even if I already know it and don't want to see it after today for another 20 days.



I think the desktop "beta" is the same as the mobile. Not sure though since I've kind of been avoiding both.

I really like the idea of the zero scoring and seeing it again that same day, that is much how ANKI works and I think that would be step in the right direction here as well. I like how the mobile is, but right now I am aggravated with the beta desktop version. I think the mobile is better than the original because it has some information that is very much what you find in pathoma and rapid review path. That is why I am gonna stick with mobile now.

 

[seminoma]

I really like the idea of the zero scoring and seeing it again that same day, that is much how ANKI works and I think that would be step in the right direction here as well. I like how the mobile is, but right now I am aggravated with the beta desktop version. I think the mobile is better than the original because it has some information that is very much what you find in pathoma and rapid review path. That is why I am gonna stick with mobile now.

Mobile has content that desktop doesn't?

 

[Hemorrage]

Mobile has content that desktop doesn't?

I think the answer lies within the question i posed earlier about the databases. As confirmed by jwfirecracks, the "mobile" version (iOS/android/m.firecracker.me) and the regular firecracker.me website are running on separate databases. This leads me to the conclusion that all the new content is being added to the mobile version database and would also explain why none of the progress made on the mobile version is reflected on the firecracker.me insights page. I hope they eventually migrate everything to the new database.. this whole new app situation is stupid

 

[seminoma]

I think the answer lies within the question i posed earlier about the databases. As confirmed by jwfirecracks, the "mobile" version (iOS/android/m.firecracker.me) and the regular firecracker.me website are running on separate databases. This leads me to the conclusion that all the new content is being added to the mobile version database and would also explain why none of the progress made on the mobile version is reflected on the firecracker.me insights page. I hope they eventually migrate everything to the new database.. this whole new app situation is stupid

I guess I better start using mobile... Thanks. Is the desktop beta version on the same database as mobile?

Also, how do you flag topics on mobile/beta? I read the instructions from the blog page:

6. How do I flag topics?
Starting a quiz now flags a topic. Navigate to the topic you'd like to add and start a quiz. At every level you can answer incomplete questions by clicking the "Percent Completed" icon.

But I can't figure out a way to navigate to topics on m.firecracker.me. All I can do is answer questions.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Notes + user generated content added are coming. I wish I had a more concrete time frame, but the features I listed above will come first. I am pushing for user-uploaded images to come soon as well.

I tried answering questions offline with app. When I got Internet access, none of the completed questions synced, and I had to do them again....frustrating

 

[seminoma]

I tried answering questions offline with app. When I got Internet access, none of the completed questions synced, and I had to do them again....frustrating

Well yeah... what did you expect would happen lol.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Well yeah... what did you expect would happen lol.

Wasn't the point of ability to do questions offline that your progress would be synced when you were connected again?

 

[abolt18]

Wasn't the point of ability to do questions offline that your progress would be synced when you were connected again?

You are correct in that it SHOULD work. I've been having sync issues with mobile both offline AND online. Using the normal website until the app updates.

 

[seminoma]

Wasn't the point of ability to do questions offline that your progress would be synced when you were connected again?

Ah, my fault. I didn't know that was (supposed to be) a feature. I would be annoyed too knowing that now.

 

[seminoma]

You are correct in that it SHOULD work. I've been having sync issues with mobile both offline AND online. Using the normal website until the app updates.

Would you mind helping me figure out how to flag topics in mobile/desktop beta? I can't even figure out how to view topics..

 

[ATypicalLymphocyte]

New questions are still being added to the (old) site. However, for some reason it seems as though the Mobile version has had much more questions since the beginning.

 

[surely]

What I've been doing is just hitting 'p' and moving onto the next card then refreshing my browser after 20-30 questions to see the "0 card question" again.

Edit: And by 'p' I meant 'n'.

Sadly, the beta version doesn't support the "n" and "p" keyboard shortcuts. Could that be added? @jwfirecracks

 

[ATypicalLymphocyte]

Got a question for FC users that have already taken the exam (as well as anyone able to provide valuable input). What has been your experience with flagging anatomy/taking the test? I just started reviewing anatomy and flagging the whole of it seems like an uphill battle (not a big anatomy fan). Tips?

 

[seminoma]

Still don't know how to flag topics in mobile/beta.

 

[jwfirecracks]

Still don't know how to flag topics in mobile/beta.

m.firecracker.me

Click browse. Click on the test you want to study for (USMLE Step 1), choose the level of the tree (Basic Sciences or Organ Systems) there are giant flags next to topics.

 

[seminoma]

m.firecracker.me

Click browse. Click on the test you want to study for (USMLE Step 1), choose the level of the tree (Basic Sciences or Organ Systems) there are giant flags next to topics.

Thanks! Feel really dumb now.

In my defense, I was thrown off by the fact that there is no change to the cursor indicating the presence of a link. Hovered over browse and goals before and just assumed they weren't functional yet.

Also sometimes when I do click 'browse' it takes me to "http://m.firecracker.me/#/tree?level=undefined&zoom=undefined", which is just a blank white page. This contributed to my thinking that it was a non-functional link to something that hadn't been implemented yet.

 

[seminoma]

Is it possible to adjust the schedule on beta? If I do 50 new questions today I don't really want them to all show up again 20 days or 53 days from now.

Also should we expect topics we complete in beta to sync with the old desktop site? I did Cardiology > Anatomy > Cardiac Anatomy 10 minutes ago at m.firecracker.me, hit sync, but on the old site it is still unflagged.

 

[seminoma]

Is there a way to do random questions drawn from the entire pool of only 1 organ system? For example, if I felt like doing 100 random questions of cardio the day before my cardio exam, could I do that?

 

[jwfirecracks]

Is there a way to do random questions drawn from the entire pool of only 1 organ system? For example, if I felt like doing 100 random questions of cardio the day before my cardio exam, could I do that?

Navigate to that topic and just do the quiz from that topic. In the beta, click browse, USMLE Step 1, Organ Systems, Cardiology. You can take a quiz of all of cardiology from there by clicking the top questions button.

From the mobile, click "Questions" at the bottom and navigate the same way. The terminology on web and mobile will align in a forthcoming app release (Android this week, iOS when it's approved).

Is it possible to adjust the schedule on beta? If I do 50 new questions today I don't really want them to all show up again 20 days or 53 days from now.

Also should we expect topics we complete in beta to sync with the old desktop site? I did Cardiology > Anatomy > Cardiac Anatomy 10 minutes ago at m.firecracker.me, hit sync, but on the old site it is still unflagged.

The web beta and mobile don't work on schedules. The card is not assigned a date with which to complete the question next. Instead it is assigned a priority. When you see it is determined by its priority relative to all other cards, and your own personal pace.

Currently topics flagged on beta won't flag on the desktop site.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

Navigate to that topic and just do the quiz from that topic. In the beta, click browse, USMLE Step 1, Organ Systems, Cardiology. You can take a quiz of all of cardiology from there by clicking the top questions button.

From the mobile, click "Questions" at the bottom and navigate the same way. The terminology on web and mobile will align in a forthcoming app release (Android this week, iOS when it's approved).



The web beta and mobile don't work on schedules. The card is not assigned a date with which to complete the question next. Instead it is assigned a priority. When you see it is determined by its priority relative to all other cards, and your own personal pace.

Currently topics flagged on beta won't flag on the desktop site.

When will the syncing problem with doing offline questions be fixed?

 

[Blue Blood]

To continue with the syncing problem. When ever I do questions on mobile, stop, and come back at a latter time, the app asks questions that I answered earlier but they don't count at all towards my 80. Is it supposed to do this?

 

[seminoma]

Lots of formatting errors on the beta. For example in the small-vessel-vasculitis card:

Wegener granulomatosis is a necrotizing medium and small-sized vessel vasculitis involving lung infarctions and glomerulonephritis.
HSP (Henoch Schönlein Purpura) is very difficult to distinguish from Hypersensitivity vasculitis. HSP is the most common vasculitis in kids.
HSP is a small vessel vasculitis characterized by IgA, C3, and immune complex deposition in blood vessels. HSP and IgA nephropathy are considered to be related disorders.
Wegener granulomatosis occurs nearly equally in males and females (slight predominance in males) at a mean age of 41.
Confirm diagnosis with renal biopsy demonstrating mesangial IgA deposition on immunofluorescence
Around 90% of patients with Wegener granulomatosis present with symptoms involving the upper or lower airways.
In about 50% of cases, the patient (usually a child between ages 2 and 11) will have a recent history of a upper respiratory infection (often viral or Group A Streptococcus)
Wegener granulomatosis symptoms include necrotizing granulomas in skin, upper and lower respiratory tract that can be seen as large nodular densities on x-ray.
Symptoms of HSP include:

The information is alternating between Wegener and HSP. This was a problem in the previous mobile version.