Flash cards for the new millenium
3x5 index cards are so last millenium.
The version of Linux I use has a few different flashcard programs that are easy to use. Good, but I want to Web 2.0 my flashcards. The answer: Flash Card Exchange. I've already created several of my own decks for the Bar Exam, you can see them here. They also have hundreds of thousands of decks in different subjects - I found multiple decks for each of my law school subjects.
You can search everyone else's deck by keyword and bookmark the ones you like. You can also see how many other people have bookmarked each deck, so you can tell how popular that deck is. True Web 2.0 functionality, and now your flashcards are available wherever you can get internet.
And of course it's free.
But even that's not good enough; what about when I'm waiting at the bus stop? I've got my fancy smartphone right here, why can't I do flashcards on it? It does have a web browser, but Flash Card Exchange doesn't look good on it (the site's one failing). What about flash card programs for my cell phone? But of course. Here I've reviewed three different programs: Mobile Prep, StudyCell, tx2ph, StudyStack. Let's see how they, ah, "stack up."
All the services I tested are free. You sign up and create flash card decks on a normal, computer-based web page, which is a lot easier (I just copied and pasted cards from Flash Card Exchange). Once a deck is done, you download it to your cell phone using the client program they give you. That way it will work in the subway when you lose reception. The client program is a simple java program so it should work on every phone made in the last 5 years. But that's where the similarities end.
It tries to be easy to use but tries too hard. I kept getting lost and had to wander around in circles before figuring out how to make a deck. Once you've finished making a deck you can't edit it (boo!). And to check out other people's decks, you have to pay (another boo!). That being said, when I finally fought through the cludgy web interface and got the client installed on my phone, it was fast, easy to use, and feature rich.
This service gets bad marks because the web interface is so difficult, but it may be the best of a disappointing lot.
Much better web interface. You can edit decks whenever you want. The phone client installed easily, but got stuck "building cards." What's so hard about this? They also have a web-based version meant for your tiny cell phone web browser, which worked, but had no features (such as "I've learned this card") and relies on you having phone reception. No good in the subway.
This program gets bad marks because I never got it to work on my phone.
This is actually a free eBook service. They have a large library of public domain literature, and you can upload your own. They also have a flash card function, but they only give you one line for each answer. That might be enough for foreign languages but it's not enough for law flash cards. I was able to paste in multi-line answers, but it smushed them to a single line. Boo. Also, you can read things off their mobile web page, but they don't have a client to let you download the stack to your own phone. So, won't work on the subway. Also, it asked me to re-log in after every other card.
Looks like tx2ph hasn't put enough effort into their flash card offering, but I'm sure it'll be better once they work on it.
Funky web interface but better than Mobile Prep. Lets you input many flashcards at once, which is great. They don't have their own phone client, but instead have a list of all the clients available for Java, PalmOS, and Windows Mobile. Awesome. You can even download your stacks straight to your computer for free, which even Flash Card Exchange won't let you do (unless you pay them). But, I couldn't get the java program to work and I don't have a Palm Pilot or Windows Mobile phone, so . . . boo.
Conclusion: Mobile Prep wins by default. It's the only phone client that really worked on my phone. Still, their web interface leaves a lot to be desired.
Do you know a better program? Please, share it.
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