We all know that technology changes quickly. With mobility and cloud computing I’ve never seen things move faster. The rate of change is astonishing. How do we keep up?
I like to use flashcards. Specifically the Flashcards Deluxe app on iOS. It’s easy to use and powerful. Plus it has a spaced repetition mode that is a learning technique that maximizes long term retention. It also has a cram mode based on the Leitner system.
There are loads of flashcards on many topics available on sites like Quizlet.com or Flashcard Exchange.com. It’s easy to import the cards into the Flashcards app.
Because I’m usually learning bleeding edge tech, I often have to make my own cards. Again, this is easy to do but time consuming. My preferred method is using a Google Docs spreadsheet. Column A is for the front of the flashcard and column B is for the back.
Inside of the Flashcards app, you connect to your Google Drive and select the Spreadsheet that represents the deck. Here’s the app’s website for more info.
Ideally I would have someone assemble the spreadsheets (aka decks) for me. I could then focus on the learning, but given the technical nature of the material it might be hard to find someone.
I push articles to my Kindle using Klip.me and then highlight things I need to remember. Somehow I’d like to get all of my highlights to someone on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk or oDesk. That someone would assemble my decks and I’d be off to the races.
How do you learn new things and make them stick? Let us know.
-Rich
