SuperMemo 98 for Windows is a program for computer-assisted
learning. It uses a number technologies that make the learning process more effective.
It can be used by individual learners or by authors of learning material. It provides all
authoring features needed to develop attractive and effective interactive hypermedia
courseware and presentations. It can help you remember whatever you think you need to
remember. In its basic mode it only requires knowledge of two operations: Add new
(adding new learning material) and Learn (memorizing and rehearsing the material)
Most important technologies used in SuperMemo 98
repetition spacing - SuperMemo 98 implements repetition
spacing, a modern speed-learning method based on computing optimum intervals between
repetitions. This method greatly increases the speed of learning new material and
practically eliminates the problem of forgetting. This technology is proprietary to
SuperMemo World and has been the mainstay of its the success of SuperMemo over the last
eight years
active recall - SuperMemo 98 makes it easy to
properly represent material used in learning and helps the user to create simple quiz
elements based on active recall. For example, question-and-answer pairs, spelling tests,
pronunciation tests, drag-and-drop tests, point-and-click tests, multiple choice tests,
mind maps, programmed learning procedures, and many more
mnemonic hypermedia - SuperMemo 98 combines all
popular computer data formats such as HTML, graphics, sound, animation, video, etc. These
formats are enhanced by programmability with interpreted scripts and binary components
developed for procedural learning (EXE or DLL). All elements taking part in learning are
placed in a tree structure called the knowledge tree that simplifies the knowledge
access and navigation. All components, including text, sounds, graphics, etc. can be
hyperlinked with other parts of the learned material
linear and selective learning modes - learning can
proceed in the sequence programmed by the author of the course or in the sequence chosen
by the student (e.g. pick-and-learn mode, find-and-learn mode, random learning, etc.).
dual knowledge representation approach - there is a
strict division between knowledge that is used for learning, and knowledge that is used
for rehearsing the learned material. In addition, knowledge used only as reference or
comment can also be included in the learning material
processing attributes - all portions of material
used in learning are clearly marked as: (1) reference material, (2) unprocessed learning
material (sorted for learning priority), (3) processed material (sorted for the priority
of rehearsal). The program provides rich statistics that illustrate the student's progress
in processing individual sections of the material
General steps in using SuperMemo 98
the student or author creates collections of pages containing the learned material. It the simplest case, these are just
questions and answers; however, these pages can also include graphics, video, special
exercises, reference material, executable modules, hyperlinks, mind maps, OLE objects, and
many more
(optionally) the author builds knowledge tree by organizing all pages into a tree structure (this tree can also be used to
automatically generate the learning scenario)
(optionally) if there is a larger group of students or
customers, the teacher or students themselves create a subset copy ofthe learning system for individual use by each student (including learning statistics,
editable material, individual comments and annotations, etc.). An alternative solution is
to replicate the learning material on CD-ROM media
the student proceed with learning. The program
is able to hide the authoring shell behind the learned course. This way, the student can
practically go through the entire course by knowing only the functions of the button Learn
Note: there is no compilation stage before releasing a
CD-ROM course in SuperMemo 98. Indeed, the author can give the students a free hand to
expand and/or improve upon the system!
Important! SuperMemo 98 is ideally suited for
self-learning. All complexities of the program can be circumvented by choosing only
two options: (1) Add new which adds a new question-answer pair to the system, and
(2) Learn which rehearses the introduced material. Indeed, this mode has made
SuperMemo the most popular software application ever developed in Poland.
The list of most prominent features implemented in
SuperMemo 98
Standard features of SuperMemo
also found in earlier implementations:
possibility of creating independently named bodies of
learning material, the so-called knowledge collections
repetition spacing algorithm, widely known as the SuperMemo
method, used in computing optimum intervals between repetitions in the process of
learning
comprehensive statistics for supervising the learning
process including: daily and monthly calendar of repetitions, average number of items to
repeat per day, average repetition time, expected number of future repetitions, difficulty
distributions, inter-repetition interval distributions, etc.
tools for managing the learning process such as: selective
memorizing and resetting individual elements, rescheduling outstanding repetitions, etc.
various element browsers (for memorized items, difficult
items, item subset, items selected by an item filter, etc.)
element editing tools such as clipboard operations,
duplicating elements, etc.
collection file management tools such as Copy, Delete,
Move, Transfer, Export, Import, etc.
fast searching for text substrings, search-and-replace,
etc.
recovery procedure for rescuing corrupted files
Features of SuperMemo 98 not found in SuperMemo 7:
modern interface (MDI, toolbars, tabbed notebooks, pop-up
menus, hints, Question of the Day on start-up, context-sensitive help, configurability,
configuration auto-save, etc.)
hypermedia (sound, graphics, animation, video, HTML,
scripting, binary components, etc.) and all tools for composing learning elements and
changing properties of individual components (e.g. hyperlinks, registry associations,
color, font, size, alignment, sound, video subsections, scripts, and many more)
standard navigation tools (Contents, Search, Back,
Forward, History, etc.)
knowledge that can be organized in a tree structure called
the knowledge tree. A number of tools can be used to operate only on selected
branches of the knowledge tree
maintaining objects registries with fast access to
all objects in the system such as: texts, words, image files, fonts, scripts, OLE objects,
programs, translation strings, transcriptions, HTML files, etc. including access to all
elements that use particular objects. All registries, including the full lexicon are
updated on-the-fly (i.e. there is no separate build operation). Registries are editable
possibility of hiding the authoring shell of SuperMemo
behind the learning material (this exposes the student to the simplest interface
possible). Including read-only and learn-only modes in addition to the full-access mode
practically unlimited number of elements that can be stored
in the learning course
tools for easily releasing courseware and presentations on
CD-ROM (including a separately available, favorable license for SuperMemo 98 itself)
greatly improved repetition spacing algorithm (also
licensable for software developers as a separate DLL module)
export and import of the learning process alone
Novel features of SuperMemo 98 not found in SuperMemo 8:
faster 32-bit application supporting long
filenames
unlimited length of texts
RTF support
HTML support
OLE support
transparent texts and images
background images in the element window
three levels of complexity: beginner,
basic, and professional (to make SuperMemo yet easier at the entry level)
selectable interface font
in-built simulation of the learning process
automatic final drill scrambling
Question of the Day
for more see: What's new in SuperMemo 98
Specialist features in SuperMemo 98:
programmability (learning collections can be extended by
scripts and programmed components written in any programming language)
user-defined degree of attention given to individual
elements or entire branches in knowledge hierarchy. By changing the so-called forgetting
index, the probability of forgetting for all individual elements can be controlled!
element templates used for quick creating of a large number
of pages designed along the same style
interactive translation of the entire course to other
languages and translation of the program's interface (the translation strings are kept in
a translation registry like all other objects in the system)
customizable sound feedback at learning
tools for creating lexical word-pair collections associated
with a given course
random learning and random review in the entire collection
of elements, in browsers and in registries
great number of new statistical parameters documenting the
progress of learning
debugging version makes it easier to spot bugs in the
system
