MindDate Software
Stackz
Flashcard Organizer
7.1
User Manual
V 1.0
MindDate
Software
www.stackz.com
info@stackz.com
The Stackz flashcard visualization concept helps to keep the overview over a large amount of words to be learned by representing your current proficiency state with one intuitive view using piles of colored flashcards. The cards are distributed according to the 'mastery level' and colored according to the 'date of the last mastery' - they become darker over time. This system allows distinguishing easy cards from difficult ones immediately, and simultaneously seeing which cards must be refreshed because they have not been reviewed for a long time.
Integrated dictionaries for Japanese and Chinese simplify the process of generating new wordlists from scratch, or automatically from web pages. The dictionaries are also directly available for looking up information during the process of learning words of any of these languages.
Stackz supports any other Unicode language of the Widows operating system as well. The constantly growing online wordlist archive currently contains over 200 wordlists for Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Thai.
A Pocket PC version of Stackz is also available, bringing the Stackz flashcard system to virtually any place. The wordlist files can be directly downloaded to the Pocket PC, which guarantees seamless synchronization of the learning status between the platforms.
Stackz 7.0 is a major upgrade from earlier releases. It features a completely new user interface with new icons and dockable windows. A new tool called Retention Manager was introduced to simplify the handling of the most frequent tasks.
Stackz 7.1 is a maintenance release with enhanced contol in the Learn Dialog (automatic replacing of removed entries can be disabled), an improved Repeat Advisor ColorMode (the refresh interval in the rightmoust column doubles on each consecutive success) and some other small fixes.
1.2.3. The Role
of the Computer in the Study Process
1.4.3. Expanding
the Retention Manager Dialog
1.5.
1.6.
1.8. Studying
with Stackz: Best Practices
2. The Stackz Computer Representation
2.1.3. Working
with Lessons and stacks
2.3.2. Adding
new entries manually
2.3.3. Adding
new entries automatically
3.4. Details of
the ColorModes
3.4.1. ColorMode
1: RepeatAdvisor
3.4.2. ColorMode
2: RefreshDate
3.4.3. ColorMode
3: SuccessRatio
3.4.4. ColorMode
4: FailureCount
3.4.5. ColorMode
5: SuccessCount
3.4.6. ColorMode
6: DefinedOrder
4.1. What is a
"Skill" in Stackz?
5. Importing and exporting lists
9.2. Other edit
control specific issues
III.G Dictionaries
(dictionary edition only)
Stackz helps to control large set of items that must be learned. To get an immediate overview over all the included material, the observed entries are classified according to two fundamental aspects:
Mastering Level: Location (i.e. the “column”)
every entry is located in a container corresponding to its mastering level.
Unknown entries are on the left side, known ones on the right side.
Additional Characteristic: Color
the color represents an additional characteristic of the entry, typically
its last positive test or the delay until repetition is advised.
Fig. 1: The Stackz Concept
The Mastering Level is a widely used technique in the traditional flashcard approach (Sebastian Leitner system) where paper flashcards are moved up and down the levels in the box. The Stackz visualization system goes one step further by also showing additional information of the cards using colors.
The colors can show which cards have not been repeated for a long time or other relevant characteristics. This aspect is crucial to keep the overview over the content if the amount of entries is considerable, or if there are long breaks between the learning sessions.
This integrated representation uncovers the entire proficiency state at a glance. After detecting one's weak spots, reducing them is immediate: Unknown cards (left side) must be learned in any way, and thereafter be promoted to higher levels with the integrated Test Dialog. Mastered but old cards (right side, dark color[1]) must be refreshed with the Test Dialog.
How can a computer help in the learning process? After all, learning is hard brain work which can’t be delegated to a machine. The distinction between learn and test is crucial to understand how the computer can be used to improve learning efficiency.
The term “learn” refers to the process of assimilating information in the brain. Information is passing from immediate memory to working memory, and finally entering long term memory. Learning requires a fresh mind; best results are achieved with short and frequent learning sessions covering the critical items.
Learning is hard work that can’t be delegated to a computer – but the computer can identify the critical items.
Stackz supports this process by easily identifying the cards that are not yet mastered (i.e. must be learned), and offering tools to start working on the said content: Learn Dialog, Match Dialog, or even print as list or paper flashcards.
Stackz intends to track the proficiency state, which is only indirectly linked to the learning process itself. For that reason, the Stackz tools do not aim to track the learning effort, and the offered tools try to avoid altering the proficiency state.
Learning is recommended to take place in as many different situations as possible (class, reading, listening to tapes, watching TV, conversation etc). One very efficient way is using a mobile device with one of our mobile products (Pocket PC or Palm OS), which allows to automatically filling short learning sessions with the most relevant content (i.e. the currently unknown words) into one’s daily life anytime, anyplace.
The cards are classified by testing, an activity that differs a lot from learning. A positive test moves the card to a higher proficiency level, and a negative test has the opposite effect[2]. The card also changes color according to its characteristics after the test.
Testing itself does not improve proficiency. It merely assesses the proficiency state, which is a prerequisite for efficient learning.
Testing is used to assess the proficiency state of the entries. Because it obviously does not make sense to base the proficiency state assessment on short time memory, new words should not be tested (i.e. assessed) directly after learning them. Re-testing the same words quickly should be avoided too.
As introduced above, the Learn and Test processes complement each other. The computer is used differently in both processes, according to its strengths:
Computers are good at laborious, repetitive and memory intensive tasks; humans are good at creative, inter-personal and tasks requiring broad knowledge, common sense and judgment.
The computer builds its proficiency representation based on the test results. It then uses its strengths to quickly sort and visualize the proficiency state. Several aspects can be examined in order to find one’s weak spots.
However, the computer does not decide what actions need to be taken to improve the situation. The user is in a much better position to decide on his next steps, based not only on the proficiency state indicated by the system, but also on additional information like available time, required grade in the next test, estimation what content is more important, and many other things. After all, the student should decide himself where he wants to put his effort in. Merely satisfying the computer’s requests leads to a too passive student behavior. In any case, the visual representation of the proficiency state is a very important motivation to learn the words!
Fig 2:
Visualization of the
The Stackz study processes work on a subset (the “study set”) of the entries in the currently active Stackz Document. All selected entries (i.e. the entries of the selected stacks) except the masked ones (cf. 3.3) are included in the study set.
Study Set = Entries of all selected stacks except the masked entries.
Since the entries are processed in the order defined by the current ColorMode (cf. 3), the ColorMode has an important impact on the usage of the study set.
Stackz is a very flexible tool. Its basic elements can be combined in many ways, allowing determining the study set in many different ways. This flexibility introduces the drawback that new users may find it confusing to choose the best elements for their individual learning task, and experienced users may find it inconvenient to repeatedly manipulate the elements manually.
The Retention Manager lowers the entrance barrier into the Stackz system by automating the definition a study set for three frequent tasks and presenting an easy way to launch a study tool.
Fig 3: Retention Manager – collapsed state
The Learning Task buttons on the left side prepare the study set in the active document, which will include the number of entries shown parenthesis. The buttons on the right side allow launching the desired tool to work on the prepared study set.
The three study tasks are described in detail below.
1) Introduce New Cards
This learning task concentrates on entries that have never been positively tested before. This button switches to the SuccessCount ColorMode and masks all cards that have been positively tested before (i.e. the non-grey ones).
If the student has never been exposed to these entries, the most appropriate study tool is the Learn Dialog or also the Match Dialog. If the entries may be known by the student (e.g. content introduced at school) the Test Dialog can be used as well for an initial classification.
2) Examine Expired Cards
As memory research indicates, the optimal delay until a card is presented again depends on its difficulty for the student (“spaced repetition”). Stackz handles this requirement with a special ColorMode called “RepeatAdvisor”, which highlights all expired cards with an orange color for easy identification (c.f. 3.4.1).
Therefore, the learning task “Examine Expired Cards” switches to the RepeatAdvisor ColorMode and masks all non-orange (i.e. non-expired) cards.
The ideal study tool for this learning task is the Test Dialog. The Learn Dialog may be appropriate if the expired cards are likely to be forgotten so that they must be learned again.
3) Bulk Refresh Cards
This Learning Tasks refreshes all cards that have been declared as known previously. It switches to the RefreshDate ColorMode and masks all cards that have never been known.
The typical study tool for this learning task is the Test Dialog.
The Retention Manager Dialog can be switched to an expanded mode with the button in its bottom right corner (cf. Fig 4). In this mode the internals of the automatically selected study set become visible, including a graphical representation of the number of included cards of a certain characteristic (color) above a ColorBand with masking sliders.
The masking sliders of the Retention Manager ColorBand work in the same way as the masking sliders of the main ColorBand on the upper edge of the active Stackz Document. Moving a slider in either of the ColorBands also moves the slider in the other ColorBand, and the masked entries are displayed with a light color in the Stackz document.
Only the ColorBand in the extended mode of the Retention Manager directly shows the amount of entries that correspond to a certain position on the ColorBand.
Fig 4: Retention Manager – expanded state