Anki Flashcards and Anki Pro: Let’s Get Clear What Is What

November 5, 2024

6 min read

You probably heard a lot about «anki something»: anki flashcards, anki, Anki Pro. But what is anki and how does it work? Let’s find out.

What Does «Anki» Mean

The word comes from the Japanese word for «memorization» or «learning something by heart».

No wonder why different apps connected to memorization are named like this.

What is Anki

Anki is an application created in 2006. It is an old-fashioned program with an open source code that is actually hard to use for an ordinary person. Anki was a pioneer of digital flashcards and we respect him for opening the way.

Creating flashcards in Anki is a bit complicated and requires some technical knowledge.

Anki is free for Androids and Web, but paid for iPhones and other Apple devices.

What Is Anki Pro

Anki Pro has a more modern design and extra features, which makes it a great choice for people looking for a more up-to-date and improved experience. How does Anki work? It’s still free to use when you study up to 50 flashcards per day and offers a more advanced alternative compared to the traditional Anki.

Anki Pro has a better-spaced repetition system and will help you to learn faster.

Also, Anki Pro has an offline mode to allow you to study somewhere you don’t have good internet access or if you want to turn on airplane mode if you want no one to disturb you.

Creating flashcards with Anki Pro is as easy as creating a simple PowerPoint presentation or structured document. Let’s go into it and find out how does anki flashcards work.

How Does Anki Flashcards Work?

To begin studies, you have two options: study with pre-made flashcards or create your deck.

There are a lot of community-made decks online, you can choose any of them, at least for the beginning. But decks you find online may not always be the highest quality, have mistakes, or simply be made in a way you don’t like.

Making your decks helps strengthen memory and makes learning more intentional. Especially when you study some uncommon topic or prepare for a specific exam, it is better to spend time creating your own deck.

How to Make a Deck?

To understand how does anki work you better get a first-hand experience of creating a deck. Let’s check how to do it.

Step #1: Choose a Topic

Decks are like folders on your phone, with each one dedicated to a specific subject, such as history or biology. Choose a topic for your deck precisely, so you will not get confused or lost.

If you need you can easily add new material whenever you need and add sub-decks for a better structure.

Step #2: Create a New Flashcard

Once you’ve selected the deck, hit the “Add cards” button to start making your flashcards. You’ll enter a rich editor that lets you customize the flashcard to fit your needs.

While creating cards on the web version of Anki Pro is faster and more convenient, the mobile app is great for making flashcards on the go. For an even quicker option, just type “flashcards.new” in your browser to jump straight into flashcard creation mode. And you will see how does anki flashcards work.

Step #3: Add Text

You’ll see two text fields: one for the front and one for the back of your flashcard.

To keep things effective, follow a simple rule: keep it simple!

Break down complex ideas into multiple flashcards to avoid overwhelm.

Before making a card, check if you fully understand the concept. If not, re-read that section or ask a teacher or friend for help.

Step #4: Add Images

It is not just for beauty. Research shows that visuals significantly improve memory retention. So use this option!

You can upload pictures you like or even draw your own illustrations! If your card involves charts, tables, or diagrams, include a screenshot.

Step #5: Use Advanced Features for Better Learning

Anki Pro has several features that can boost your learning experience. The “Fill-in-the-Blank” (Cloze) feature hides certain terms, dates, or numbers for targeted practice in context.

The “Reverse Cards” feature lets you study information from multiple perspectives, helping your brain absorb details from different angles. It is one of the best options of how does anki work.

What Is a Spaced Repetition

When you think of anki how does it work the main point that is coming to your mind is spaced repetition.

The key idea of spaced repetition is to review the material more often at first and then gradually increase the time between reviews as you start to remember it better. It is based on the concept of the forgetting curve, which shows how quickly we forget new information.

When you review material just as you’re about to forget it, it strengthens your memory and helps push that information into long-term storage.

For example, you might review a flashcard:

Day 1: Right after learning
Day 2: The next day
Day 5: A few days later
Day 10: A week later
Day 30: A month later

Each time you successfully recall the information, the interval between reviews should get longer.

Anki Pro creates a special algorithm for you based on your answers: after checking each card, it asks you how well you know this topic (or how well you remember the word).

There are four options:

Again
Hard
Good
Easy

Based on your answers, the system will create for you an algorithm: when to show you the card again to make sure you memorize it well.

What Are Study Algorithms and How to Choose Them

One of the key features of how does anki work is study algorithms.

There are four different study algorithms on Anki Pro. If you don’t choose any, you will use general which is fine, but better to choose the one more suitable for your case.

🖋️ The general algorithm is the one without spaced repetition. It just assists in recalling cards within a brief timeframe, allowing for multiple reviews until you’ve memorized everything. You go through 3 stages: “not studies”, “not quite” and “got it”.

Your goal is to achieve “got it” for every card. That is how does anki work! Еasy and cool, right?

🖋️ The general algorithm with spaced repetition is a classical regime for learning. You need to go through 4 stages (Again Hard Good Easy) to get to the point where you remember your card even after a long time. It means it got stored in a long memory.

🖋️ The study languages algorithm is specially created to help you to learn new vocabulary. It shows words more frequently at the beginning and makes intervals longer with the time.

🖋️ The study medical materials algorithm is designed for medical students who need to learn a lot of information in a short period of time.

You can try all of them and change one into another. You can start with spaced repetition or special options and then go to a general algorithm to double-check yourself and get more confidence.