What is the ideal SRS software?

What is the ideal SRS software? - Printable Version

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What is the ideal SRS software? - zaydana - 2012-09-20

I'm assuming most people in here already use SRS software and have things they wish were different and things they really like about it. So I'm wondering, if you could have your ideal SRS software, how would it be different to Anki, Mnemosyne, SuperMemo, etc.?

For example, I think one of the more common things would be not having to put in decks but just being told what to learn (at least I wish I could do that). But what about everyone else?

What is the ideal SRS software? - partner55083777 - 2012-09-20

I wish something like dict-scrape already existed and I didn't have to write it myself. I also wish it supported many more dictionaries and languages.
http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=9652&page=1

I also wish there was a feature where I could put in my goal percentage for remembering mature cards and anki calculates the intervals in such a way that I end up meeting that goal.

For instance, I want to just be able to open my deck settings, put in the number "90", and then slowly watch my Mature Cards Recall Percentage climb to 90%.

Can anyone explain why this functionality doesn't already exist? Why do I need to fool with the interval modifier when all I care about is the desired retention rate?
http://ankisrs.net/docs/dev/manual.html#_reviews

Edit:

zaydana Wrote:For example, I think one of the more common things would be not having to put in decks but just being told what to learn (at least I wish I could do that). But what about everyone else?

I also agree with this. It would be nice to have decks for different languages that included everything and basically take you from zero to 上級. I'm imagining something like a combination of the Genki textbook series, RTK, TaeKim's guide, core 6000, more grammar, plus some cards made from subs2srs. Plus some extra sentence cards for good measure. Of course listening cards as well.

What is the ideal SRS software? - Inny Jan - 2012-09-20

In your question you are asking about two things at the same time. One is a tool the other is content.

My wish list won't be long – from the tool I expect:
1) an open (aka plugin) architecture (what Anki has and SM doesn't);
2) efficient spacing algorithm (SM v15 is better in that regards from Anki, although I wouldn’t say it's a deal breaking factor...);
3) user friendly UI (Anki beats SM easily here).

Good content is a very subjective matter and that should do for the comments on content.

partner55083777 Wrote:I also wish there was a feature where I could put in my goal percentage for remembering mature cards and anki calculates the intervals in such a way that I end up meeting that goal.

You are asking about FI (Forgetting Index) which is what SM always had and I hear has come with Anki 2.0.

What is the ideal SRS software? - partner55083777 - 2012-09-20

Inny Jan Wrote:You are asking about FI (Forgetting Index) which is what SM always had and I hear has come with Anki 2.0.

As far as I can tell, Anki2 only has an "Interval Multiplier", which will only indirectly let you change your desired retention rate.

Check out this page under "Interval Multiplier":
http://ankisrs.net/docs/dev/manual.html#_reviews

Unless you're talking about something else...?

What is the ideal SRS software? - resolve - 2012-09-20

Early Anki 2 betas did allow you to just input a desired forgetting index, but I found people expected it to be a magic bullet and didn't realize how much it could impact their workload. By making it an interval multiplier, you can still achieve the same thing, but it's now clear exactly what modifying the value causes Anki to do.

What is the ideal SRS software? - partner55083777 - 2012-09-20

resolve Wrote:Early Anki 2 betas did allow you to just input a desired forgetting index, but I found people expected it to be a magic bullet and didn't realize how much it could impact their workload. By making it an interval multiplier, you can still achieve the same thing, but it's now clear exactly what modifying the value causes Anki to do.

Oh, wow, Damien, I didn't expect you to be reading this. Thanks for the answer! That clears it up.

By the way, good luck with the Anki2 and mobile app release! I really love Anki and have been using it everyday for the past 2 years or so (as I'm sure a lot of people on this forum have).

What is the ideal SRS software? - resolve - 2012-09-20

Thanks! We're nearly there with the 2.0 release. Glad to hear you're finding Anki useful. :-)

What is the ideal SRS software? - overture2112 - 2012-09-20

zaydana Wrote:For example, I think one of the more common things would be not having to put in decks but just being told what to learn

What exactly do you mean by that?

What is the ideal SRS software? - Zarxrax - 2012-09-20

overture2112 Wrote:
zaydana Wrote:For example, I think one of the more common things would be not having to put in decks but just being told what to learn
What exactly do you mean by that?

Sounds like he wants either a teacher or a textbook.
There is more to learning a language than just rote memorization in an SRS. And the path to fluency is so long, there is no one resource that is going to get you there.

What is the ideal SRS software? - zaydana - 2012-09-21

Zarxrax Wrote:Sounds like he wants either a teacher or a textbook.
There is more to learning a language than just rote memorization in an SRS. And the path to fluency is so long, there is no one resource that is going to get you there.

I think you're pretty close there. The kind of thing I think I want is halfway between a teacher/textbook and an SRS - i.e. an SRS which tells you what to study and helps do more than just memorize vocabulary in a single context. I guess I couldn't just call it a normal SRS in that case though, it would most certainly look quite different to Anki, for example.

What is the ideal SRS software? - Oniichan - 2012-09-21

zaydana Wrote:
Zarxrax Wrote:Sounds like he wants either a teacher or a textbook.
There is more to learning a language than just rote memorization in an SRS. And the path to fluency is so long, there is no one resource that is going to get you there.
I think you're pretty close there. The kind of thing I think I want is halfway between a teacher/textbook and an SRS - i.e. an SRS which tells you what to study and helps do more than just memorize vocabulary in a single context. I guess I couldn't just call it a normal SRS in that case though, it would most certainly look quite different to Anki, for example.

It already exists. Unfortunately for you, it's only for studying Mandarin.

What is the ideal SRS software? - undead_saif - 2012-09-21

Oniichan Wrote:
zaydana Wrote:
Zarxrax Wrote:Sounds like he wants either a teacher or a textbook.
There is more to learning a language than just rote memorization in an SRS. And the path to fluency is so long, there is no one resource that is going to get you there.
I think you're pretty close there. The kind of thing I think I want is halfway between a teacher/textbook and an SRS - i.e. an SRS which tells you what to study and helps do more than just memorize vocabulary in a single context. I guess I couldn't just call it a normal SRS in that case though, it would most certainly look quite different to Anki, for example.
It already exists. Unfortunately for you, it's only for studying Mandarin.

Can you please link it or tell its name?

@zaydana, maybe if every textbook had a deck with the content in written and spoken forms for us to use with Anki, you would find what you're looking for, and that certainly would be great! I think iKnow is the closest to that.

What is the ideal SRS software? - RawToast - 2012-09-21

zaydana Wrote:
Zarxrax Wrote:Sounds like he wants either a teacher or a textbook.
There is more to learning a language than just rote memorization in an SRS. And the path to fluency is so long, there is no one resource that is going to get you there.
I think you're pretty close there. The kind of thing I think I want is halfway between a teacher/textbook and an SRS - i.e. an SRS which tells you what to study and helps do more than just memorize vocabulary in a single context. I guess I couldn't just call it a normal SRS in that case though, it would most certainly look quite different to Anki, for example.

This could be done with SRS tools, but would require a level above decks.

e.g. A beginner may want to learn using 4 decks: Kana, RTK, Tae Kim, Core 2000.
Someone could create a kind of 'Master Deck'. This would start by enabling cards from the Kana deck; once the user gets a certain number of cards to Learn/Mature then cards from the RTK deck become active. This would then continue, e.g. with 500 Mature Kanji the Core 2000 may slowly begin. Obviously there would have to be a max card limit at the highest level and new card settings for each lower level deck.

What is the ideal SRS software? - zaydana - 2012-09-21

I'd love to hear about the Mandarin version as well.

I'm actually thinking of developing something like it for Japanese, which is why I'd kinda like to find out what people are after. No point making something nobody'll use, you see Smile

What is the ideal SRS software? - Oniichan - 2012-09-21

undead_saif Wrote:...Can you please link it or tell its name?

It's called Panki which I believe stands for "patched anki", which is exactly what it is, although most of the changes could be accomplished with plugins too. It's a limited distribution for users of the smart.fm mandarin series.

RawToast Wrote:This could be done with SRS tools, but would require a level above decks.

e.g. A beginner may want to learn using 4 decks: Kana, RTK, Tae Kim, Core 2000. Someone could create a kind of 'Master Deck'. This would start by enabling cards from the Kana deck; once the user gets a certain number of cards to Learn/Mature then cards from the RTK deck become active. This would then continue, e.g. with 500 Mature Kanji the Core 2000 may slowly begin. Obviously there would have to be a max card limit at the highest level and new card settings for each lower level deck.

"level above the decks" ->That's the idea of panki. It's a port of smart.fm's core into anki with modifications of anki to allow grouping of facts, though within ONE modified deck. I believe that Damien and its creator had a bit of a falling out which is why its not really well known.

Anyway, it's a very useful variant of anki for MANDARIN learners, but wouldn't be of value to anyone else.

EDIT: That said, let me also add that I'm a big fan of vanilla anki and am looking forward to the official release of 2.0.

What is the ideal SRS software? - undead_saif - 2012-09-22

Oniichan Wrote:
undead_saif Wrote:...Can you please link it or tell its name?
It's called Panki which I believe stands for "patched anki", which is exactly what it is, although most of the changes could be accomplished with plugins too. It's a limited distribution for users of the smart.fm mandarin series.

Thanks mate!