About a month ago, my friend, Rick, K8BMA, turned me on to a program called Anki. Anki is an app for developing and studying “smart” flash cards. These aren’t traditional flash card that simply grill you on the questions and answers. Instead, Anki uses a technique called active recall testing. Anki will ask you a question from the question pool and then wait for an answer. Research has shown that active recall testing is far more effective at building strong memories than passive study. There are two reasons for this:
The act of recalling something strengthens your memory, increasing the chances you will be able to remember it again.
If you are unable to answer a question, it tells you that you need to return to the material to review or relearn it.
