| Studying with Flash Cards: |
The basic idea of studying with traditional flash cards is to use a deck of cards with a question and answer on opposite sides. You pick up the card from the top of a starting pile, look at the question and think to yourself: "The answer is...". Then you turn the card over to see the correct answer. You decide if you answered it correctly or not. You then separate the cards you answered correctly and incorrectly into two separate piles.
When the original starting pile of cards is done, you pick up the deck with the questions you didn't know and start to study them again. Every time you study the ‘don’t know’ pile – the ‘did know’ pile should be getting bigger. By using flashcards you will be surprised at how quickly you learn the material you are studying!
With PC Flash Cards you simply create the flashcards on your computer. You categorize them by subject/topic/course/chapter/etc. In the testing mode, you can determine if you answered the question correctly, almost correct, or totally wrong. Then you go back and re-study the ‘almost’ and ‘totally wrong’ piles.
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| Here are some tips on studying and making flash cards: |
 | Convert your personal notes, lecture notes from the teacher or text book information into summary ruled notes. Then create flashcards for each piece of material you need to learn. Exclude any frivolous, ‘Did you know’ information. |
| Many teachers will hand out "chapter objectives" or "learning objectives" – these are great tools to make flash cards with. |
| It is suggested that if you are studying a new subject, you should limit yourself to a maximum of 100 cards for each topic. |
| It is best to keep the information on the cards short and precise. This will let you process the information easily and at one glance. Too wordy of a question or answer can be distracting and you will loose site of what you are trying to learn. |
| Try to write the Question and Answer so that you can test yourself on either side of the card. A good example would be the state capitals. The Question could be, “What is the capital of New York?” and the answer would be “Albany”. In PC Flash Cards, you can ‘flip’ the cards so that you can test yourself by seeing the answer first. Using the state capital example, you will see “Albany” and then you need to think of what state that is the capital of. |
| You can attach pictures to cards in PC Flash Cards. Pictures sometimes can easier to remember than either words or numbers! |
| Have variety! Don’t just create cards that ask you to define something…. throw in some True/False, multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc. |
| Don’t spend all your time making the cards – make sure you leave enough time to study them. |
| Keep the list of cards within the categories short. It has been said that the first and last items on a list are memorized best. The shorter the list – the less cards will be in the middle. |
| Study your cards often! You should review all flash cards 5-10 minutes each day. Rehearsal of the information is the key to successfully understanding it. Once you memorize information you will be able to recognize, recall, and apply the information you've studied. |
| Avoid “cram sessions”! This will lead to not fully understanding the material and ‘blanking out’ on tests. Breaking up your study sessions is called “distributed practice”. This is much more effective than a mass hysteria the night before an exam! |
| There are plenty of opportunities throughout the day that you can study your cards in little ‘spurts’! Carry your flash cards at all times so that you can make use of these times. In line at the post office, at a red light, right before class, etc. In PC Flash Cards, there is a printing module that allows you to print your flash cards to paper or index card stock. You can also narrow down the cards you print to the ones you keep getting wrong. Even better – use PDA Flash Cards and transfer your cards from your PC to your Pocket PC and study hundreds of cards in the palm of your hand! |
| Share and exchange cards with classmates. Your classmates may ask a question in a different way than you would have thought of…. just like your teachers usually do! Use our exchange site to download cards from other students! |
| Try using mnemonics. Mnemonics are memory "tricks", such as rhyme schemes to help organize information before you attempt to store them in your long-term memory system. The classic example is how to remember the colors of the rainbow; ROYGBIV. |
| Memorize all your flashcards so well that you can go through the entire list of cards (hundreds of cards) – at least twice – without getting any wrong. Make sure you can do this a few days before the exam and continue to do it every day up to the exam. Every time you rehearse your cards, you are putting it in long-term memory and the likelihood of blanking out on the test decreases. |
| Before the test, review any flashcards that keep ‘getting you’ or that you have to think extra hard on. Chances are, if you don’t know it at that time, you will never know it – so don’t wait to the last minute to study. This time should be for a quick review! |
| Test anxiety is a problem for many students! Try different things to help alleviate the problem. Some people like to study in the room they will take the test in. Whatever works for you! |
| When studying in groups, be prepared and have a list of questions that you are having problems with. A study group is to be used to help solidify the material and test each other – it is not the time to learn the material for the first time. Having a list prepared will also help keep the group on track. Too many times, groups of students will get distracted from studying and talk about other things. |
| Arrive to class early and prepared. The last thing you need is stress right before sitting down and being late or coming ‘close’ to being late can really throw you off your game. Leave early enough to get the seat you want and be comfortable and not rushed. Make sure you’ve got whatever is required for the test; pen, pencil, eraser, calculator, scantron, etc. |
