Development of a new study mode for cramming is complete! Cram mode is variation of the traditional flashcard study program, optimized for learning large amounts of data as quickly as possible. Cram mode is essentially a streamline version of the long term study tools. Read the long term memory section for full details.

Here is a summary:

1. Flashcards start in the first of 5 cram levels.
2. When a flashcard is answered correctly it moves to cram level 2. Incorrectly answered cards stay at cram level 1.
3. When you have promoted all the flashcards out of cram level 1, start studying cram level 2. Correct cards move to cram level 3. Incorrect cards are demoted to cram level 1.
4. Continue until all flashcards are promoted beyond cram level 5—these flashcards are now considered memorized. If a flashcard is ever answered incorrectly it will return to cram level 1.
5. You are finished when all flashcards have been answered correctly 5 times in a row.
6. There is no faster way to learn!

Navigation on the main study page has been changed to hade much of the complexity. No functionality has changed but the buttions have been replaced with a dropdown menu system. Explore the menus!

I have added a new section in the My Stuff area for study history. A bar graph visuall represents recent study activity, grouped by day. Below the graph is a list of recent study sessions. The study history page will allow you to restart your study sessions in a variety of ways—check it out!

I have also added an new study option which allows you to set the default correct/incorrect setting to incorrect. This is useful when studying material you do not know very well.

For the past month or so I have been had at work rebuilding the Flashcard Exchange printing engine. The new system is more flexible and now includes the following features and updates:

• Images are automatically scaled to fit on the card.
• Multiple TrueType fonts are now available.
• Answers can be printed upside down for more natural card flipping.
• Index card size paper is supported for printing directly on cards—no more paper cutting!
• Other small enhancements are also complete. Check it out!

I have added a new study option that facilitates studying a group of flashcards indefinitely. When you get to the end of the cards you will start over automatically. This works in slide show mode too.

I have added a new study option for scaling large images down to a manageable size. On the study options tab changing this new option will set the max width of any question or answer images to the value specified.

Two new study options have been created to facilitate three sided flashcards. If you have been using the hint / note field for your flashcards you can now include this field when cycling through your flashcards. View question first, hint second then answer last. Or view hint first, then question, then answer. Or any other order possible-- you choose.

To create three sided flashcards:

• Make sure your flashcards have hint data.
• When studying, click on the options tab.
• Click the “include hint / side 3” checkbox.
• Set your Hint / Side 3 Placement option.
• Save your preferences.

A new link has been added to the study page for shuffling flashcards. Clicking this link will randomly shuffle the flashcards without requiring a page refresh. This option has also been added to the “With Selected” list on the Card List tab. Want to just shuffle cards 2, 18 and 37 among themselves? Go for it. For all you geeks out there, this feature is using the Fisher-Yates algorithm.

I have set up a twitter account. It will mostly be used as a “lite” version of this feed but it will also be used as a means of keeping people updated when there are server problems.

The latest batch of updates to the study page have enabled study on your iPhone or iPod Touch by directly browsing the website. Browse the site, find the flashcards you want to study and click study. Work your way through the cards by simply taping the flashcard area!

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I have completed a major update to the main study page. The tabs have been updated and the card list tab is working properly again. I will be working next on a list of additional enhancements and new features for flashcard study. If you have any ideas/requests for the study page, now is the time!

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You can now move flashcards between card sets.

• Click on “My Flashcards” in the My Stuff header.
• Click on the title of the card set you want to move flashcards from.
• Click the “List/Edit Flashcards” button.
• Check the box next to the flashcards you wish to move.
• In the dropdown list titled “With selected Flashcards:” choose Move. screenshot
• You will be shown a new page listing all your available card sets. Select the set you want to be the new home for the flashcards in question.
  
  
  
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In January, 2009 I transitioned to working half time on Flashcard Exchange and there have already been a considerable amount of changes. Because the site is changing more frequently, I have created this news page to record the updates as they happen. Check in regularly if you are interested in modifications to the site. My hope is to convert many of the entries here into permanent help topics.