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How I Ranked 1st at Cambridge University - My Secret

2020-05-29 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali, Ali Abdaal (channel) · recording, 3:43 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Learning and studying · mode: Announcement and promotion · tags: His own products discussed, Aimed at students, His medical past

Ali announces his new Skillshare class Learn Anything with Flashcards: The Ultimate Guide to Anki, argues that flashcards combine active recall and spaced repetition, the two most effective study techniques, and walks through the class's four sections and bonus interviews.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Launch of the Skillshare class Learn Anything with Flashcards

  • ★★★ Ali launches his new Skillshare class, Learn Anything with Flashcards: The Ultimate Guide to Anki. — 00:00:00 · Skillshare classes, Anki

00:00:25 — Why flashcards and Anki, and why people give up on Anki

  • ★★★ Flashcards are one of the best ways to learn anything, Ali says, because they combine active recall and spaced repetition, the two most effective study techniques, in a fun way. — 00:00:25 · active recall, spaced repetition
  • ★★ Anki is one of the most popular flashcard apps, used by hundreds of thousands of students around the world to memorise large amounts of information for exams. — 00:00:29 · Anki
  • ★★ Anki also helps with learning things other than exam material: Ali uses it for music theory, and many people use it to learn languages. — 00:00:44 · Anki
  • ★★ Anki is free and on every platform but has a learning curve, and Ali knows many people who gave up on it because they did not get the settings right or did not use it properly. — 00:00:44 · Anki

00:01:05 — The class's four sections and the bonus interviews

  • ★★ Section one of Ali's Anki class covers the basics: basic and reverse flashcards, cloze deletions, image occlusions and the basic ways of making and reviewing cards. — 00:01:05 · Anki
  • ★★ Section two of Ali's Anki class demonstrates how he makes flashcards from lectures, books and videos, and how to improve flashcards over time. — 00:01:27 · Anki
  • ★★ Section three of Ali's Anki class answers questions hundreds of people sent via his Instagram story: how long a flashcard should be, avoiding overload, staying motivated, what to put on a card, and Anki versus Notion, Google Sheets or Quizlet. — 00:01:27 · Instagram, Anki, Notion, Google Sheets, Quizlet
  • ★★ Section four of Ali's Anki class covers optimising performance with tags, add-ons and, most crucially, pre-made decks. — 00:01:57 · Anki
  • ★★ A bonus section of Ali's Anki class has interviews with students from around the world who use Anki effectively in all sorts of subjects and share their tips. — 00:01:57 · Anki
  • ★★ Ali's Anki class has 42 videos in its main section and many more in the bonus section, and runs over five hours. (hedged) — 00:02:26 · Skillshare classes, Anki

00:02:35 — How to watch the class, two months of work, and what Anki did for his medical school career

  • ★★★ Ali recommends that beginners watch only the first section of his Anki class and then start using flashcards for their own exams, because it is easy to passively absorb five hours of video and get nothing from it. — 00:02:35 · Anki
  • ★★ Ali and his team worked on the Anki class for about two months. — 00:02:55 · Skillshare classes, Anki
  • ★★★ Discovering Anki changed the game for Ali at medical school: it gave him time for other things besides the struggles of studying medicine at Cambridge. — 00:03:05 · Anki, University of Cambridge

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Anki has probably been the most useful and valuable app Ali has used over the past few years. (hedged) — video description · Anki
  • ★ Ali Abdaal (channel): For more advice on using Anki, the description recommends Prerak Juthani's YouTube channel. — video description · Anki
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): A bonus interview in Ali's Anki class features David, who scored in the 99.9th percentile in the MCAT using only Anki; it should be up at the end of the class within days. — creator comment · Skillshare classes, Anki
  • ★★ Ali Abdaal (channel): The iOS version of Anki is totally worth its price, the channel says, but anyone who cannot afford it can use the web app. — creator comment · Anki
  • ★★ Ali switched back from Quizlet to Anki long ago, because Anki is more powerful and extensible. — creator comment · Anki, Quizlet
  • ★★ Asked which residency interests him, Ali says he keeps changing his mind, and the latest is emergency medicine. (unsure) — creator comment
  • ★ Asked for tips for budding vloggers, Ali says to make 100 videos first and then email him for tips. (playful) — creator comment
  • ★ Ali Abdaal (channel): Anyone can upload classes to Skillshare, the channel says, and a class can be profitable if it is good. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Anki · Skillshare classes

Also: active recall · Google Sheets · Instagram · Notion · Quizlet · spaced repetition · University of Cambridge

Only in the description or credits: Emergency medicine · Prerak Juthani

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