Use flashcards to Prepare Exams

Passing IT certification exams needs remembering and recalling a lot of information, besides understanding the technology. Most of the exams are questions and answers. It is not wholely rote, but the basic quick recall of pertinent knowledge makes the candidates pursuing the exam to incorporate flashcards in preparing life-cycle.

When studying with flashcards, the practice is all too often one of flipping through the deck one by one and perhaps sorting the flashcards that a person has studied well and knows well from the flashcards that need continued study and time. Whether you are using physical or digital flashcards, there are paradigms and algorithms to make the study time much more effective.

When using any type of flashcards, do not settle for using them straight from front to back. You may divide the pile into two piles, known cards and unknown cards, but even that does not fully engage your learning process as well. A decent learning method will make your study-time much more efficient and proficient. Flashcards representspaced repetition learning method. Several approaches to spaced repetition improve the learning curve and retention than pure flashcard flipping.

One classic method, theLeitner system, helps increase the quality of learning by progressively sorting the flashcards from the cards not as well known to those that are well-known. As you learn, you promote cards to other piles or boxes with greater known material. You can have a pile you don't know, a pile you barely know, and a pile that you know very well. You can have as many groups of cards as you want, as long as you repeat the progressive difficulty of each group and process all the cards in all groups. This method improves the speed of retaining information for learning with flashcards. The Leitner method is so effective in its simplicity that computer programs have been written that follow the same algorithm.

Computer-assisted learning methods improve the classic flashcard study style. They can manage the information more easily, track your performance and shuffle the study material in more intelligent ways than only the Leitner system. Severalcomputer-assisted flashcard-based software packages exist to aid in your intellectual efforts. There are software packages for most all operating systems, the web, and mobile devices. They will differ in presentation and algorithms. Some use the basic Leitner system, others use a system based on the a variation of the SuperMemo algorithm,Algorithm SM-11. SuperMemo Algorithm SM-0 is simple enough to use theSuperMemo algorithm without computer-aid. The SuperMemo algorithm uses advanced spaced repetition that has a lot of science and math to best engage you with the learning process. It claims rapid retention and emphasizes long-term memory. Still others use a neural-network focused algorithm that learns what is optimal for you over time. And then there are a few that use a mix of methodologies to maximize studying's effectiveness. Overall, a computer-aided study method should be preferred for their myriad of maximum benefits.

Use flashcards to prepare certification exams, it is a better, more efficient way to use those flashcards to prepare the exam. Rotating through the cards is not suggested. Use the Leitner system, or even Algorithm SM-0. If you are using digital flashcards, you are suggested to choose a system with advanced algorithms. This system can intelligently decide what and when you need to study.