AnkiBlank came into being because I wanted an app that could supplement my language learning.
As you may know, language learners have always been advised to memorize model example texts as part of their study program, and many flashcards apps have been developed to that end. However, flashcard app users usually encounter the following problem:
“It’s hard to memorize the text because I can see it all at once!”
When you can see the text in its entirety, the parts which you were only vaguely sure of becomes clear as day. This makes it difficult for students to accurately memorize necessary syntax and vocabulary, defeating the purpose of using the program to improve rote learning.
Therefore, I felt there was a need to develop a tool that could hide certain parts of the text first before gradually revealing them bit by bit - until the entire text can be seen - to facilitate the memorizing of text blocks in stages.
As I fleshed out the concept further, I concluded that the app didn’t have to be just for language learning. It could also serve as a helpful tool for certification tests, stage lines, or anything that required effective rote learning of whole sentences.
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In terms of user-friendliness, my objective was to develop an app that could be operated with one hand and easily used anywhere, anytime. I wanted the controls like page flips, etc to be quick and crisp, so that users can pause and resume studies at their own conveniences without pressure.
Additionally, in order to help students “visualize” their progress, I made the app able to record down view and tap counts of individual cards. The ever-increasing numbers will remind the user of their effort thus far and motivate them to continue, much like how a well-thumbed phrase book slowly showing signs of usage does.
The app was designed in such a way that important “personal data” like study history and blank out settings can be easily backed up with a single tap. If the data in your iPhone becomes wiped out for some reason, you can still resume your studies by using the backup copy on the web server.
If this app can be of use to your language studies, certification examinations, or in any other way at all, I would have succeeded as a developer. Possibly, some of you may be using it in novel ways that have never crossed my mind, so please feel free to leave a review in the iTunes Store or let me know about it via Twitter (@AnkiBlank_en). This information will be used to improve upcoming versions of the app! |