How to make flashcards from a lecture
Long educational notes are difficult to repeat in its entirety. Choose from it concepts and actions that need to be remembered yourself, and make short checkable cards.
A good card can be checkedThree elements that help learn by record
Short response
To make memorization cards from the lecture, check the text first, highlight individual concepts, and convert them into “Question-answer” pairs. Check one small task on one card. Save the source, add examples of application and return to the cards at intervals. Below is a sample deck, edit rules, and a template for copying.
Contents
What to Turn into Cards
Not every offer of the lecture deserves a separate card. Introductory stories, greetings and repeated explanations will increase the deck, but will not necessarily help to understand the subject. Start by explaining or doing after class.
- Concept: What the term means and how it differs from the neighboring one.
- Condition: when the rule applies and when it is not suitable.
- Action: What step to take and how to check the result.
- Communication: Why one fact follows another.
- Typical error: where it is easy to confuse meaning.
The big topic is first analyzed in the summary. The “Tell me all about photosynthesis” card is overloaded: it is difficult to understand which answer is to be considered sufficient. Cards are suitable for individual elements of knowledge; long reasoning and solving entire problems require separate practice.
In the Anki Guide Two principles are described: trying to restore the answer to the prompting and distribute repetitions over time. To begin with, you can use them with paper cards, without a special application.
Five steps from the recording to a small deck
- Select a fragment of the lecture. One topic is easier to check and edit than the whole course at once.
- Get and read the text. Check terms, signs, numerical examples and exceptions especially carefully.
- Make a list of training goals. For example: “find a share in percentage” and “distinguish interest from percentage points.”
- Make a couple of questions and answers. Each question should have a clear criterion of correctness.
- Pass the deck yourself. Rewrite the ambiguous questions before the regular repetition.
Save the class code and timecode next to the answer. If the formula or diagram was only on the slide, add a link to this material. Automatic speech transcription does not guarantee that the content of the image will fall into the text.
If the source material is still too large, first prepare educational notes of the lecture on recording. The deck is built on an understandable material, rather than replacing its primary analysis.
Example of cards for a short lecture
Below is a training example on arithmetic. The story of the lecture and the time marks are fictional.
Imagine that the teacher explained the share, interest change and percentage points. Instead of one "All about interest" card, we will make several checks. Try to answer before revealing each.
What does 1% of the value mean?
One hundredth of this magnitude. Source: training fragment, 02:10.
40 out of 200 is how much percent?
20%: 40 / 200 × 100%. Source: 04:30. The ability to find a share is checked, not just to remember the definition of interest.
How to find 20% of 200?
Multiply 200 by 0.20. It will turn out 40. Source: 05:20.
The figure rose from 10% to 15%. How many percentage points?
By 5 percentage points: 15 - 10 = 5. Source: 08:15.
The same figure rose from 10% to 15%. What is the relative growth?
50%: (15 − 10) / 10 × 100%. It's another way to describe the change, so it can't be confused with 5 percentage points. Source: 09:40.
The number 100 decreased by 10%, then increased the result by 10%. What happened?
99: first 100 × 0.9 = 90, then 90 × 1.1 = 99. The second 10% is taken from 90. Source: 12:00.
The last card checks the understanding of the changing basis of calculation. When you remember numbers, replace them with a new example. Otherwise, you can learn to learn a specific answer without mastering the action.
How to distinguish a good card from overloaded
| Weak option | What prevents | How to Improve |
|---|---|---|
| “Percentage?” | It is unclear what exactly is required. | “How do I find how much 40 percent is from 200?” |
| “Name all definitions, formulas and exceptions” | There are too many independent parts in one answer. | Divide into a few questions with a common topic. |
| “Isn’t 40 out of 200 20%? | The answer is already shown in the question. | Remove the prompt and ask for a calculation. |
| “What did he mean at the end?” | The question depends on the invisible context. | Name the concept and condition directly on the card. |
| On the back a whole paragraph of the lecture | It is hard to check what needed to be remembered. | Highlight the main answer, and the explanation and the source put below. |
The short answer is not always equal to one word. If the approval becomes incorrect without condition, the condition must be preserved. For example, the question of the median for an odd number of values and the rule for an even amount is better not to mix.
Card template and draft request
The frame is suitable for a paper deck, table or application. The names of the fields can be changed; it is important that the source is not lost.
Theme: [small section].
Question: [what needs to be restored without a hint].
The answer: [exact meaning and necessary conditions].
A short explanation: [why so or an example].
Source: [occupation, timecode, page].
Check: [response checked/need to be clarified].
If you use AI for the first option, give it only a verified snippet and ask to explicitly note the lack of data. For example:
“Compile the card on the text below. One card checks one small task. Don't add facts from memory. For each, specify a question, answer, fragment-base and source timecode, if any. If the text does not have enough answer, put the question in the list for clarification. Keep the conditions and exceptions. Don’t put the answer to the wording of the question.”
The list is a draft. Check it with a lecture and check the examples yourself. Do not transfer the automatically generated timecode to the deck if there is no such mark in the source.
How to repeat and update cards
Read the question, formulate the answer, then open the back. Celebrate the result honestly: “on your own”, “with a hint”, “did not answer”. Learning the correct phrase after opening is not equal to an independent answer.
Go back to the difficult cards before, to the resistantly familiar – after a longer period. If you use an application with a repeat schedule, follow its queues and evaluate the actual response. There is no need to assign the same formula a universal schedule for all people.
If the card constantly causes a mistake, check two reasons: you did not understand the topic or the question is bad. In the first case, return to the explanation and decide on a new example. In the second, add context, split a few tasks, or clarify the response criterion.
- The question is clear without an open record.
- The answer is verified by source.
- Conditions and exceptions are retained.
- There is application in the deck, not just definitions.
- One thought repetitions are removed.
- Complex tasks are worked out separately from the cards.
Frequently asked questions
Are paper or electronic cards better?
Choose the format you will use. Paper is easy to start without setting up; the electronic format is convenient for finding and managing repetitions. The question and the quality of the inspection is more important than the design.
How many cards to make from a lecture?
Depends on the content and the learning purpose. Start with a small completed section. Do not turn the number of minutes of writing into the number of cards.
Can you only teach cards and not give a lecture?
For a separate repetition, sometimes. But if the topic is unclear, short answers will not replace explanation and practice. Go back to the source on the saved link.
Transkribator creates a ready-made training deck?
In this process, it is needed to receive the text of the record. The selection of training goals, drawing cards and checking the answers you perform separately on transcription.
Principles of repetition: Anki Manual — Background. Cards, numerical examples and template in the article are created by the editorial office.
Turn the entry into the material for repetition
Get the text of the lecture with timecodes in Transkribator. From the verified fragments it is more convenient to collect questions, keep definitions and find an explanation when the card causes difficulty.
Get the text of the lectureCheck the important wording and timecodes for the original record before using the text.