While final exams are approaching in the Southern Hemisphere, students in the Northern Hemisphere have most of the school year ahead of them. To help them with their exams vLet's make a couple of recommendations for Linux applications to study with spaced repetition.
As new imaging diagnostic tools allow us to better understand the functioning of the brain, new study techniques are developed that are capable of taking advantage of them and, soon, new applications appear to be implemented on our device
What is spaced repetition
Currently, most university students must divide their time between studying, working and, in some cases, raising a family. In the case of high school students, the load of extracurricular activities is greater than that of 20 years ago while the load of schoolwork is greater. And, as adults, the need to keep up to date persists. Clearly a better method than simple memorization is needed.
Pierce Howard. Author of the book Brain Owner's Manual, explains:
Work that involves higher mental functions, such as analysis and synthesis, dshould be spaced out to allow new neural connections to solidify. New learning displaces old learning when time does not intervene.
In other words, The things we study must be re-studied periodically so as not to be forgotten.
Although the intervals between study sessions will vary depending on the person and the complexity of the content, according to research, the recommended deadlines are as follows.
- If the exam is in a week, schedule the repeat of the study one or two days after the first.
- If the exam is in a month, the repeat study should be in a week.
- If the exam is in 3 months, do the repeat two weeks later.
- If the exam is in 6 months, every 3 weeks.
Regarding additional sessions, the ideal is to try different extensions of the interval.
A complementary method to spatial repetition is the active recall test. It involves reading a question and trying to remember the answer. The advantages of this system over the traditional method are:
- The effort to remember strengthens memory.
- What we cannot remember tells us the need to review a topic again.
Linux applications to study with spaced repetitions
We are going to recommend two very similar applications, Anki and Space. Both are multi-platform and allow us to create decks of multimedia memory cards that make it easier for us to assimilate information easily. Both are based on the traditional analog card system in which the questions were written down on the front and the answers on the back.
Anki
Es an app open source for creating memory cards. Synchronization between devices can be done by downloading the deck or uploading it manually or synchronizing it if we register on the project website.
The basic unit of study is the card that is made up of a pair of questions and answers. For each type of letter there are two templates; one for the questions and one for the answers. The cards are grouped into decks.
The program has pre-set review deadlines depending on the difficulty we encounter in learning.
Anki is in the repositories and in the store flat hub. There are also versions for Windows, Mac and mobile devices.
Space
This is the name by which it is identified in the store. flat hub although la web It is called Tubecard since it is thought of as an auxiliary tool for learning with educational YouTube videos. Despite what it says on FlatHub, the project is now open source.
The program can be used without registering, although by doing so we can synchronize with other devices. Like Anki it supports multimedia contentHowever, at least the Flatpak package does not take advantage of the entire screen and does not have as many options or as complete a manual as Anki.