how to study to remember

In my adult life I continue to love learning new things. Practicing rock climing being an example of a physical skill while studying Japanese requires that I memorise words and phrases.

As a Scotsman living in Japan it is only proper that I learn the language. To be honest it took me a while to discover the most effective way to memorize things I want to remember. It reminds me of how I used to study when I was at school. Studying things I knew least well the most intensively while simply revising areas where I was more comfortable. But in the 21st century there is of course a computer based technology that is here to help.

The application that I use to retain new knowledge is called Anki. On the website it states:

Anki is a spaced repetition system (SRS). It helps you remember things by intelligently scheduling flashcards, so that you can learn a lot of information with the minimum amount of effort.

That concise description sums up what Anki and spaced repetition systems in general can help us accomplish. I continue to use it for my Japanese language studies. Last year it was very effective in helping me prepare to pass the Cisco CCNA exam. It is perfect for any topic where there is new information to be learned, quickly and effectively.

It is a platform independent application and is currently free, although the designer does accept donations. One of the features I love about it is the ability to run it from a USB memory stick. This gives me the freedom to study at work and home without having to install the application on both machines.

I would have loved to have been using the Anki SRS as a high school student. It would have saved me countless hours and ensured higher examination scores too!

24.09.2009. 01:41