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My high school study skills teacher reminded us as often as possible that "Repeated exposure creates long-term memory." In all levels of education, we all have to perform rote memorization of some kind, whether it is multiplication tables, states and capitals, biology terms, or words and phrases in a foreign language. One of the best ways of doing this is writing the material on note cards and reviewing them until we know it by heart. We learn by writing the questions on one side and the answers on the other, as well as reviewing the cards repeatedly. I cannot tell you how many times I used this strategy in college, but I know many trees lost their lives for the sake of a passing test grade. The only problem was that my handwriting was not always legible. Sure, I could have asked someone to make the cards for me, but much learning comes from actually writing the material. Shuffling through the stack of cards was difficult also. Sometimes I remembered a specific item just from the way I had crinkled the card! Students with physical and learning disabilities who have access to a computer have an alternative means of doing the note card shuffle--electronic note cards. This week, I downloaded and tried several of these programs and share my findings here. Windows I like the premise of The Dictator. It plays back a question the user has recorded through the computer microphone, and the user must type the answer. However, this free program is ad-supported which means an Internet connection must be constantly up. Not only is this inconvenient, having ads scrolling by at the bottom of the screen is distracting and not conducive to concentration. If the ads could be removed, this would be a great program for students with learning disabilities who learn best through auditory material. This program comes with pre-made cards for multiplication and US state capitals. It allows users to mark items that they know, so that they can focus on ones they do not have memorized. It is free! This program is worth its $24.95 fee. Users can create cards with pictures as well as text. In study mode, the "front" of the card is displayed, the user answers the question mentally, and then the card "flips" over to reveal the answer. The sample driving test, economics, and nautical flag card sets demonstrate the versatility of the program. The font size and type can be changed for easier reading This program is also worth the shareware fee, $17.95. Each time the program starts helpful study tips pop up. The program features a wizard Go To Page: 1 2
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