How exactly does Anki work?

[up40loves]

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Like after lecture/class, you take your course notes and make flashcards on Anki and then continually review them? Is that basically it? Does anyone here actually use Anki?

thanks

 

[pdxhopeful]

That's it in a nutshell, though there's a lot more to be said.

Main Benefits: after a while with a deck it's really not that big a deal to keep up, since you see cards less often the more times you get them right (I get only 10 cards a day or so out of my first decks from this year, ~500 cards to the deck), and there's no scrambling to review for cumulative tests

Main Drawbacks: takes time to set up, and it takes a bit to work out what's Anki material and how best to present it; the rate limiting step of the TCA cycle and its inhibitors and activators is a good card, trying to get the whole TCA cycle on one is bad.

 

[up40loves]

Do you think taking the time to write out an Anki card is efficient?

 

[pdxhopeful]

As with anything, depends on the person.

I find having to go through and determine what's really important and how best to test myself on it useful, and I'm not someone who remembers details from just reading over notes a few times like some of my classmates seem to be able to - I need the recall practice. The time investment is worth it for me, and substantially raised my grades. For others, like those classmates with the steel trap memories, it would be inefficient.

 

[xffan624]

Do you think taking the time to write out an Anki card is efficient?

This is where copy and paste and screen captures are your friend.

 

[lovemango]

I use Anki and I love it. I watch lectures at 1.75-2x speed on Tegrity, annotate class notes, and then turn the material into flashcards that I continually review. There's a learning curve to Anki, but once you figure out how to set up your cards, it's awesome. I use it in conjunction with Firecracker and it's really worked for me. In undergrad, I always wrote out my notes but that takes way too much time and there's too much info in med school for me to keep up with that.

I use Anki for studying for class/exams; I rarely go back and look at my decks once I'm done with a test, but I use Firecracker for long-term retention.

 

[Arkangeloid]

I used Anki in Anatomy, and was the most abysmal student of my class. But I know some people swear by it, so there you have it.

I think it's one of those things that works for some and fails other people. IMO any flash card system takes some finesse to pull off successfully, because you need to strike the balance between dumping walls of text on your card (and thus defeating the purpose of the exercise) and putting too little on there (and thus excluding some high yield information).


Personally, I like to make lecture outlines. However, when I first watch the lecture (on 2x), I take no notes because I want to focus on what the lecturer is saying (and I find that focusing on your notes makes you focus on the slides rather than the lecturer's words). I'll usually watch some of the lecture again (on 2x) when I make an outline. Then I'll review those outlines later.

Of course, I'm not a great student, so you probably won't take my advice, but I thought I would share it, because it turned me from a failing student into an average-ish one. If you were a solid student already, it might make you AOA material!

 

[m0biusace]

I haven't written a single word of notes since August, I do everything via Anki.

 

[gregoryhouse]

I used anki exclusively for note taking for my last test and almost had a flawless score. Its definitely worth it if you put in the time.

 

[eefen]

Anki is awesome. Won't work for everyone, but if you're a flashcard person anyway, it's an excellent tool. See the link in my sig about studying in med school for more about how I use it.

 

[chronicidal]

The first key to making Anki work for you is following the 20 rules of formulating knowledge: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm

• Learn before you memorize - only make cards for facts that you understand and connect to larger web of other facts
• Minimize the information tested on each card - no more than one question per card, avoid answers that require large sets and enumerations
• Use mnemonics - organize, visualize, elaborate
• Optimize wording - ask the most clear and specific question possible
• Prioritize - only make cards for knowledge that is high yield; make a clear rule for yourself what counts as high yield (e.g. only facts found in First Aid)

The second key to making Anki work for you is to use it consistently. Anki is for efficient retention. Retention requires long-term persistence.

• Review every single day, including weekends and vacations.
• Get the phone app, so you can do cards during random downtime in the day like waiting in line or sitting on the can.
• Continue to make better cards. It took me several months to get the hang of making good quality cards.
• Do not try to add too many cards at once. Binging will burn you out. Spread it out. Keep a reasonable new card limit, like 40/day.
• Continue to review even though your block exams have past and you do not get consistent gratification for the durability of your knowledge. It's easy to lose morale when you realize that you're spending time reviewing last block's materials while your classmates are spending less time studying and getting as good grades. Remember that it will pay off down the road, when you take the cumulative exam known as Step 1, when you get pimped, when your classmates have to re-learn stuff for clerkship shelf exams that everyone already learned once for Step 1 but forgot soon thereafter. Anki is for retention more than it is for cramming (though it can do that too).

Here's how I view using Anki. I use Anki to manage all my knowledge. For those things I learn and cram for my exams but don't keep up with in Anki, I know I'll forget half or more after a month or two and I'll have no control over it. For those highest-yield things I learn and do keep up with in Anki, I know I will forget only 5-10% at any given time.