Home → Questions →

Reversible Cards

• Edit

Ian

01 Mar, 2011 11:25 AM

I have just purchased Mental Case for OS X and iOS and I'm hoping they will help me with language learning. I want to replicate flashcards that have my native language on one side and the target language translation on the reverse.

I've made a few reversible notes. How do I get them to be presented with:

1. Either side at random?
   
2. All the same language as the prompt?

How does this contribute to the spaced repetition?

Thanks

Ian

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by drewmccormack on 01 Mar, 2011 11:33 AM

   

   Hi Ian,
   To be able to view both directions, you need to make the notes 'reversible'. On the Mac, double click your case of notes, and select the 'Reversible' option.
   Now you can study notes in reverse order on the Mac or the iPhone. On the Mac, just choose a 'Reversed' slideshow in the Slideshow menu. On iPhone, switch the Reverse Sides switch.
   The spaced repetition lesson will randomly reverse notes that are reversible.
   So there are really 3 options: view notes in standard order; view notes reversed; and study the lesson, where notes are randomly reversed.
   Hope that helps.
   Kind regards,
   Drew

   • Edit

2. 2 Posted by Ian on 01 Mar, 2011 11:54 AM

   

   Hi Drew,

   Thanks for the astonishingly prompt reply! What timezone are you on?

   That clears it up perfectly thanks.

   I think that because I had only three notes to start with, I randomly got the same language for each prompt in the lesson which fooled me into thinking it wasn't randomly using either "side".

   A supplementary question - does mental case use a random order for notes in a lesson by default? Indeed can you control it?

   Kind regards,

   Ian

   • Edit

3. Support Staff 3 Posted by drewmccormack on 01 Mar, 2011 12:29 PM

   

   Hi Ian,
   Yes, random by default. You actually can't control it at the moment. That's coming in version 2, which we are working on now.
   (We are in Europe.)
   Kind regards,
   Drew

   • Edit

4. 4 Posted by ABerlin on 02 Oct, 2012 07:46 AM

   

   Hi,

   Referent to your Last answer: i have Version 4.5 meanwhile. Unfortunatly i dont find any Option to turn off the random reverse in lesson mode. Cn you tell me where to find this option?

   Cheers,

   Aram

   • Edit

5. Support Staff 5 Posted by drewmccormack on 02 Oct, 2012 08:00 AM

   

   The lesson is an automated study session, which chooses the order of notes best for your learning. If a note is reversible, the lesson can reverse it. If it doesn't make sense to reverse a note, make sure that note is not 'reversible', ie the second side cannot be used as a prompt.

   If you want to study reversible notes in one order, you will have to start a non-lesson slideshow, and use the switch to set whether you want the notes reversed or not.

   Hope that helps.
   Kind regards,
   Drew

   • Edit

6. 6 Posted by ABerlin on 02 Oct, 2012 08:33 AM

   

   Thank you, but I don't find this option! I already read about making a note "reversible" but when I edit a note, no option seems appropriate!...

   • Edit

7. Support Staff 7 Posted by drewmccormack on 02 Oct, 2012 08:37 AM

   

   If you are not syncing with a Mac, you set the reversibility using a switch in the case settings. When you make a new case, or press Edit in the Library, you can tap the blue button and edit the case settings. One option is reversibility.

   If you are syncing with a Mac, you need to change the setting on the Mac, and sync again. Easiest way is to double click the stack, and choose a non-Reversible template. When asked if you want to apply the new template, choose Apply.

   Hope that helps.
   Kind regards,
   Drew

   • Edit

8. 8 Posted by Rothrock on 18 Jun, 2013 02:51 AM

   

   I can't get my cards to be reversible. I select a case, right-click and get info, select reversible (which it already was). But when I run my slide show I only get the Spanish side -- never the English side.

   It seems this should be a really easy thing to accomplish.

   • Edit

9. Support Staff 9 Posted by drewmccormack on 18 Jun, 2013 05:35 AM

   

   I assume you are using Mental Case 2.4.3 for Mac. Here is how I would start a reversible note slideshow:

   1) Right click on the stack
   2) Choose the 'Reversible Note' template, and when asked, click Apply to make all of your notes reversible (ie either facet can be used as the prompt), and then the Save button. See screenshot.

   3) Now that your notes are reversible, you can study them by clicking the slideshow button at the bottom, and choosing 'Notes in Stacks with Facets Reversed'

   When you study due notes, you can't choose the order. The scheduler will schedule each combination of facets separately, so both should appear over several days.

   The reason we require you to make the notes reversible before you can study them that way is so that the scheduler knows it is possible to reverse those notes. Otherwise, you might get notes being due in reverse order that can't really be studied that way (eg a question and answer would appear with answer first).

   Hope that helps.
   Kind regards,
   Drew

   • Screen_Shot_2013-06-18_at_7.30.52_AM.png 209 KB
   • Edit