6 ms·

Repetition, not repitition. I have tried Anki, one of the spaced repetition programs he mentions. There are lots of different decks available. Browse some here

by lvevjo 13y ago

Repetition, not repitition. I have tried Anki, one of the spaced repetition programs he mentions. There are lots of different decks available. Browse some here: https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/ https://ankiweb.net/shared/decks/ edit: Oh and this is a dupe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6461936 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6461936 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3129937 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3129937

kiba 13y ago
I found premade decks, except for the simplest ones, are of limited value as opposed to me making the deck and continously edit them. It's like taking notes, which enhance learning, as opposed to merely listening to the teacher. Also, just because it is dupe doesn't mean it is valueless. Far too few people are aware of spaced repetition as a principle to even begin using it. For example, Khan Academy have some form of spaced repetition, but it is incomplete. If people knows more about the idea, they would be more likely to implement a full system.
- lvevjo 13y ago
  You should share some of your decks. :) >Also, just because it is dupe doesn't mean it is valueless. Of course, but at some point dupes get to be annoying. I'm not saying it is breaking the rules (is there even a rule for that here?), just pointing it out. The last time gwern posted this it got a lot of attention.
hhm 13y ago
Anki is wonderful; I've been using it for a while. One nice feature of Anki is that it can sync between the web, desktop and mobile versions of the app.
- lvevjo 13y ago
  I stopped using it because I couldn't summon the time/willpower to work at it every day. When you leave a deck for more than a day, the work starts to accumulate like crazy and it takes much more effort to catch up.
  - wingerlang 13y ago
    I've set up a cron job to automatically open the app at 7 in the morning every day (and to minimise all other apps would be nice but I can't find anything to do it). I'll also set up the same functionality on my iPhone (jailbroken devices can do this with Activator). Maybe this would work for you.
    - rmc 13y ago
      Could wmctl on Linux allow you to minimise apps
      - wingerlang 13y ago
        Possibly, but I run OSX. Your reply did make me take another crack at it and I got it to work. The script if anyone is interested: http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv. It does do some specific-to-me things to close apps I usually have open that did not want to minimise.
  - Jach 13y ago
    It's important to remember that you don't have to review all your "due" cards at once. Just open it up and do one card per deck. Maybe you'll do more as you get going or if the next card after the first is easy. It accumulates, but over time as you actually memorize things you'll whittle the due set down as every card starts becoming "due" months into the future.
  - kiba 13y ago
    Don't study too many cards then. Nobody is saying that you have to finish all the dues.
- Osmium 13y ago
  I would like to try Anki on iOS but the developer has decided to offer it for a price of £17.50. Considering the web version is free and the desktop version is open source, I'm not sure what's motivated this decision, and it leaves a bad taste. I'm all for developers being paid for their time, but considering this is an app of most use to students (of which I am one) I can say for sure that I'm never going to be able to pay that much for it...
  - icebraining 13y ago
    It's only of use to students who can afford an iOS device. Probably a demographic with an higher income than the average student.
    - Osmium 13y ago
      It's this idea that really bothers me, I think. I don't know if the developer subscribes to this idea or not, but whenever I see an iOS app priced way differently to it's counterparts on other platforms I suspect it's either motivated by this idea or otherwise some principled stance against Apple. In either case, it isn't nice as an individual to be singled out as a target for extra cash because of the platform you run on. Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Even if that were true on aggregate, I still find it unpleasant, simply because there will be many exceptions.
      - icebraining 13y ago
        Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Assuming the iPhone is yours, sure it does; at least, more money than a student who can't afford £17 for a learning tool. The iPhone itself is an asset that is worth money.
        deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
  - 13y ago
jimeuxx 13y ago
I've used Anki for years to learn Japanese. It made learning to read relatively painless. You do need discipline to get far with it though. I managed to get my vocab deck up over 10,000 words, but leaving it for even a week is difficult. As far as language learning goes, you also need to realise that no amount of SRS'd words is going to make you a natural, fluent speaker, so don't fall into the trap of spending all your study time reviewing.
Steuard 13y ago
I started using Anki this year to help me learn my students' names and faces, and it's been glorious. I was able to recognize about 75% of them on the first day of class, and within a few weeks I was solid on nearly everyone. That has always been one of my biggest weaknesses as a teacher, and I'm feeling great about the change.
- mildtrepidation 13y ago
  This is a great idea! I'm terrible with names and faces, and this occurred to me as a way to improve that. It's definitely heartening to see that someone has done it with good results.

by lvevjo 13y ago

kiba 13y ago

I found premade decks, except for the simplest ones, are of limited value as opposed to me making the deck and continously edit them. It's like taking notes, which enhance learning, as opposed to merely listening to the teacher. Also, just because it is dupe doesn't mean it is valueless. Far too few people are aware of spaced repetition as a principle to even begin using it. For example, Khan Academy have some form of spaced repetition, but it is incomplete. If people knows more about the idea, they would be more likely to implement a full system.

lvevjo 13y ago
You should share some of your decks. :) >Also, just because it is dupe doesn't mean it is valueless. Of course, but at some point dupes get to be annoying. I'm not saying it is breaking the rules (is there even a rule for that here?), just pointing it out. The last time gwern posted this it got a lot of attention.

hhm 13y ago

Anki is wonderful; I've been using it for a while. One nice feature of Anki is that it can sync between the web, desktop and mobile versions of the app.

lvevjo 13y ago
I stopped using it because I couldn't summon the time/willpower to work at it every day. When you leave a deck for more than a day, the work starts to accumulate like crazy and it takes much more effort to catch up.
- wingerlang 13y ago
  I've set up a cron job to automatically open the app at 7 in the morning every day (and to minimise all other apps would be nice but I can't find anything to do it). I'll also set up the same functionality on my iPhone (jailbroken devices can do this with Activator). Maybe this would work for you.
  - rmc 13y ago
    Could wmctl on Linux allow you to minimise apps
    - wingerlang 13y ago
      Possibly, but I run OSX. Your reply did make me take another crack at it and I got it to work. The script if anyone is interested: http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv http://pastebin.com/pC9VTzjv. It does do some specific-to-me things to close apps I usually have open that did not want to minimise.
- Jach 13y ago
  It's important to remember that you don't have to review all your "due" cards at once. Just open it up and do one card per deck. Maybe you'll do more as you get going or if the next card after the first is easy. It accumulates, but over time as you actually memorize things you'll whittle the due set down as every card starts becoming "due" months into the future.
- kiba 13y ago
  Don't study too many cards then. Nobody is saying that you have to finish all the dues.
Osmium 13y ago
I would like to try Anki on iOS but the developer has decided to offer it for a price of £17.50. Considering the web version is free and the desktop version is open source, I'm not sure what's motivated this decision, and it leaves a bad taste. I'm all for developers being paid for their time, but considering this is an app of most use to students (of which I am one) I can say for sure that I'm never going to be able to pay that much for it...
- icebraining 13y ago
  It's only of use to students who can afford an iOS device. Probably a demographic with an higher income than the average student.
  - Osmium 13y ago
    It's this idea that really bothers me, I think. I don't know if the developer subscribes to this idea or not, but whenever I see an iOS app priced way differently to it's counterparts on other platforms I suspect it's either motivated by this idea or otherwise some principled stance against Apple. In either case, it isn't nice as an individual to be singled out as a target for extra cash because of the platform you run on. Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Even if that were true on aggregate, I still find it unpleasant, simply because there will be many exceptions.
    - icebraining 13y ago
      Just because I use an iPhone doesn't mean I have more money than my peers (and in fact probably means I have less!). Assuming the iPhone is yours, sure it does; at least, more money than a student who can't afford £17 for a learning tool. The iPhone itself is an asset that is worth money.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
- 13y ago

jimeuxx 13y ago

I've used Anki for years to learn Japanese. It made learning to read relatively painless. You do need discipline to get far with it though. I managed to get my vocab deck up over 10,000 words, but leaving it for even a week is difficult. As far as language learning goes, you also need to realise that no amount of SRS'd words is going to make you a natural, fluent speaker, so don't fall into the trap of spending all your study time reviewing.

Steuard 13y ago

I started using Anki this year to help me learn my students' names and faces, and it's been glorious. I was able to recognize about 75% of them on the first day of class, and within a few weeks I was solid on nearly everyone. That has always been one of my biggest weaknesses as a teacher, and I'm feeling great about the change.

mildtrepidation 13y ago
This is a great idea! I'm terrible with names and faces, and this occurred to me as a way to improve that. It's definitely heartening to see that someone has done it with good results.