Challenge C substantive post

The source I picked to speak out is called Anki, this is a free open source flashcard program that specializes in spaced repetition with many multi media options. I have very strong personal ties to this program because I use it to study for the mcat and it has been very effective for me. One reason why it is a very good tool to use is because it is an open resource. I am able to use pre-made decks specific to my mcat study books that already have thousands of flashcards created by another user, saving me time and stress.  The core of anki is active learning that supports self regulation and metacognitive awareness. From an educational and cognitive perspective the program is built around supporting active learning. It uses the spacing effect to support memory consolidation and flashcards format supports active recall. In fact a study found that anki had been shown to improve recall and exam performance among medical students (levy et al., 2023). Anki uses several different principles to promote engagement and learning; it gives thee option to include different styles of learning depending on what the user needs from videos,animations and small to medium infographics. The way I use anki an example of Merrill’s first principles and ICap framework:  I would read a textbook chapter using passive learning to absorb information then undergo active manipulating to highlight important areas and take notes of vital formals then move onto constructive generating flashcards finally interactive where I woul use the flash cards an apply my new knowledge through flashcards that I would do every day. To improve this learning the flash cards created can be created to reflect real life situations to improve engagement by applying the new knowledge to the world which also reflects Merrill’s First principles. Further reasons why Anki is such an effective product is because it users Allan Paivo theory of dual codding by being able to use words and visual information to help connect the working memory to the long term memory. Through this process it is easy to use the segmenting principle to not create extraneous cognitive load and increase learning efficiency. The one flaw with Anki that I found was that the interface is not user friendly for a novice user. Card creation takes time and skill and to get the most out of it the use must it activity almost daily. 

Levy, J., Ely, K., Lagasca, G., Kausar, H., Patel, D., Andersen, S., Georges, C., & Simanton, E. (2023). Exploring Anki Usage Among First-Year Medical Students During an Anatomy & Physiology Course: A Pilot Study. Journal of medical education and curricular development, 10, 23821205231205389. https://doi.org/10.1177/23821205231205389