(Virtual) Flash Cards

Flash cards help in the memorization part of almost anything you might want to learn, in school or out of it; virtual flash cards can be organized and presented in ways that physical flash cards can't. (They can also support audio and video components.) Consider Cool Tools – SuperMemo + Anki

In high school, I tried to learn Spanish, and failed. In college, I tried again, and failed again. Then, in my thirties, I discovered SuperMemo, and within a year I had memorized thousands of Spanish words and phrases and was finally on my way to speaking Spanish.

SuperMemo is software premised on the idea that there is an ideal time to practice any item you are trying to remember. You want to practice when you have almost forgotten it. Too soon, and you waste your time, and even interfere with long term memory formation. Too late, and you’ve lost the trace, and have struggle to learn it again....your ideal time to practice can be predicted from your history of attempted recall. ... None of them are perfect from a usability point of view. But any of them will work far, far better than random study of flashcards. These tools will not give you all the pieces of the learning puzzle, obviously. Memorization is only one step. But it is a crucial, difficult, first step, and it is wonderful to get a boost.

So....imagine a school where one part of course preparation is the preparation of flash card sets, building up year by year; better yet, imagine a Khan-style "One World Schoolhouse" where part of the preparation for each five-minute video is a flash card review set (to go along with, and become part of, the list of quiz questions).

Meanwhile, of course, you can use flashcards on computer, tablet, or smartphone (the open-source AnkiDroid Flashcards - Android Apps on Google Play, or the $24.99 AnkiMobile Flashcards on the App Store on iTunes for iPhone/iPad, or the open-source Windows/Mac/Linux Anki - powerful, intelligent flashcards for your desktop or laptop) for the memorization part of anything you'd like to learn. Isn't there something you'd like to learn?