Taglearning

iKnow!

Some folks are asking what this whole iknow thing is about as I apparently set it up to link with Facebook/Twitter when I created my account, so I thought I’d put a a thingy about it here.
iKnow! (or Smart.FM as they’ve changed their name) is one of the coolest sites I’ve come across of late. If you need to learn something (language, history, science, whatever) you make a list of questions/answers, or use one that someone else has shared, and the site makes a sort of game of it. I’m using it for Japanese and someone has even shared the textbook we are using in class. There are three knowledge acquisition methods on the site: iKnow is multiple choice to/from Japanese (in your choice of Kanji, Kana, or Romanji), as well as text entry of the same. I have not fiddled so much with the other two, but they are dictation/listening practice and a Brainspeed game where you madly try to beat the clock with your answers. All of this is quite amazing, but what really sets the site apart is that it lets you set goals and keeps track of when, for how long, and what progress you’re making in your studies. It’s also not restricted to the strictly serious, but is open to anything which has a question and an answer … say you want to be a wiz at your favourite tv, anime, movie, blah blah blah trivia. It is “smart” because it uses the spaced repetition system (SRS) to not only ask you new questions, but to ensure you remember the old information by intelligently bringing it back in intervals. So, if there’s anything that you wish to know, do check it out! (feel free to contact me – and we can ‘follow’ each other).

Oh, and yes, it’s no-strings attached free. Not an ad or annoyance in sight. Don’t know how they do it. And still better than sites I’ve already paid for by a long shot.