Anybody here used Anki or similar program?

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The idea of the program is that it reduces the world of learning to question-and-answer flash cards and reminds you of any given answer just before you're about to forget it, which is supposedly a very efficient way to learn. It's called a "spaced repetition system."

https://apps.ankiweb.net/

For me it was something of a learning curve figuring out how to use it. Manual wasn't much help to me. The program's menus were pretty baffling and weird for some time. But once I got used to it I noticed that it does seem to work, and it's actually quite easy to use once you know how. I loaded up a 100-card deck, and initially it was going to take ages about it, showing me only ~10 new cards per day, but I figured out how to tweak it to get it done faster. It certainly seems much easier than manual flashcards where you have to decide for yourself when to look at any given question. It's difficult for me to trust it because I tend to imagine it's going to miss some questions out, but I don't think it will. It does seem to be getting results. I rather quickly found myself getting most of the questions right, including questions I'd been having trouble remembering.

So I was wondering if anybody here has any views about Anki or about these SRS methods in general?

My son used it heavily to pass senior (4th year) biology classes in college. I don’t think he could have gotten his degree without it.

I talked to my niece who was in medical school and she said she didn’t use it but a lot of her fellow medical students did.

Good to know I'm not the only one using it, and that it likely works well for some folks.

I still have trouble getting it to ask me enough questions per day. Currently I've got a 100-question test loaded up, and at the default rate of about 10 per day it would have taken weeks before it had finished. There seems to be no way of telling it that I've not got that long. After a few days it would only let me choose between asking again in 10 minutes or asking me after several days. And it won't easily let me have more than one study session per day. OTOH, it does seem to make learning easier, and does the donkey-work of keeping track of which questions are easy and which are hard.

There is an faq here

https://faqs.ankiweb.net/getting-help.html

And a manual

https://docs.ankiweb.net/

It does work. It seems to be a favorite of med students who have not only to remember piles of facts and must retain everything (not just cram for the test amd then forget - what you learn in one class you must really know for the next and the next) and are smart enough to deal with the quirky free open source software.

There are imitators that use the name but aren’t the real thing and that matters of you want to share decks etc.

https://faqs.ankiweb.net/anki-knockoffs.html

There are youtube how-to videos.

For example use google video search for

anki anking videos

My son found free decks for things like “molecular biology” with something like 1000 cards that really helped.

Some med schools have created their own docs

https://tech.medicine.wsu.edu/technology/anki/

Which version are you using?

This guy looks like he is using the desktop version on a mac

https://zhighley.com/anki-settings/

^
Thanks for the info

I'm using version 2.1.35. It offers me an update every time I open it, but judging by Zhighley's web pages the basic way it works is still much the same. I should try updating it just to see.

I strongly suspect my concerns are mainly down to three factors:
1. The default timing assumes the student has many weeks before the exam. It attempts to ingrain the memories permanently. I'm often more interested in cramming-and-then-forgetting. It looks like a few wise tweaks to the settings would speed things up, and Zhigley may have the info on how to do that.
2. It may be that I need to trust my memory better. Every time I have the slightest trouble answering a question correctly, I want to be tested on it rather more often than default Anki thinks is necessary.
3. There seems to be no easy way of fathoming how to use Anki. The info out there is probably correct and ultimately useful, but it's an awful lot to take in.

Just make sure you read this

https://faqs.ankiweb.net/anki-knockoffs.html

I've tried Anki on & off for over a decade, but I always go back to physical handmade flashcards & posters. I've found that even making the cards can be enough to cement something, especially if it takes multiple tries to make a good card (accurate, legible, etc). And I think the digital break helps me too.

I've also found that being able to make cards so easily can lead to too many cards. It's easier to force myself to focus on only making useful & needed cards when I'm offline. I can always add more cards.

Thanks. The program I'm using isn't called AnkiApp or Anki Pro, just plain Anki, and I've seen no particular evidence of it being a fake. The version number certainly exists in the collection on uptodown.com:
https://anki.en.uptodown.com/windows/download/2992906

Real cards have the advantage of complete control over the delay time between showings. I don't like how Anki makes me choose between "show me again in under 10 minutes" and "show me again in 5 days" or whatever, with nothing in between. I know I can change the delay times, but not on a per card basis, only globally AFAIK. And even if I could, I don't know what it would do to the supposedly optimised algorithm that synchronises the delay time with scientifically-determined human learning curves.

If I get a hard question, it's easy enough to get Anki to ask me again during the session, as many times as I want, but once the session gets near the end, that's the only card left, so there isn't enough time between asking it to be of any benefit. But if I got a hard question with manual flashcards, I'd just add it to the pile of failures and try those cards again a bit later.

Certainly writing cards out helps me to remember them, though the same applies if I create my own Anki cards from scratch.

Given that ASD often has an impact on memory, I wonder whether that means we're not quite the right animal for Anki?

The entire point of anki is that it uses phased repetition also called spaced repetition. That is the only reason it exists.

The method used by Anki is called spaced repetition. A piece of software, or even a pencil and paper system that uses spaced repetition is called a spaced repetition system (SRS). More specifically, it is based on the concept of the “spacing effect”, which refers to the idea that information is more easily retained in long-term memory when reviewed at increasing intervals over time.

This approach is optimized using an algorithm that determines when a card should be reviewed based on how easily it was recalled during previous sessions. If you remember a card easily, the interval before the next review is increased; if you struggle to recall it, the interval is shortened. This method ensures that you spend less time on material you already know and more time reinforcing the material you are likely to forget.

More info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition

^
Yes that's pretty much what I've read. There are some interesting criticisms of the method on the page you linked to. Apparently some research suggests there's no benefit to increasing intervals, that the absolute spacing was the only thing that had any effect.

I guess there are a lot of different brains. Most of the user base thinks it works, and there is a big user base.

Hope you find what works best for you.