Guest Post: Stuff Your Brain With Cramberry

Today's guest post comes from Kyle Dreger, a tech enthusiast and freshman at University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio.  You can read more of his writing at his personal Tumblr.

Through the years, low-tech flashcards have remained one of the best ways to help you memorize facts, vocabulary, or pretty much any sort of information you need. However, many times the process of creating flashcards can be tedious - writing a hundred front and back cards is exhausting for anyone. If you've made flash cards before, you realize that keeping track of many sets is a pain as well. Once a hardcore flashcard user, I've tried almost every online flashcard creation site out there. They all have different strengths, but none really gave me the simple, yet robust, flashcard experience I was looking for on both the desktop and my mobile device. Then I met Cramberry. 

Cramberry is one of many online flash card creators out there, but it packs some killer features that make studying away from the computer a breeze. Along with their website, where you can create and study cards, Cramberry also has excellent apps for the iPhone and iPad, with an Android app expected early next year. 

The beauty of Cramberry's apps lies in their simplicity. When you launch the app, after you sign in, you are immediately presented with your sets. From there, you can jump right in and begin studying in less than two taps. There are two methods you can use to study; Study or Match. Study takes you to a typical flashcard interface, but the emphasis on simple execution is still there. You are shown a single card, tap "Tap to show answer" and then tap whether your answer was correct or incorrect. If you get a card incorrect, the app will shuffle that particular card back into the pile and show it several more times before you can finish. The other studying style, Match, is both unique and effective. In this mode, you are presented with 8 small, movable cards (the fronts and backs of 4 cards) that you have to drag on top of their counterparts. When you find a match, the cards disappear as a confirmation that it was correct. I find this method of studying particularly enjoyable and found it helps me learn from both sides of the card instead of one. 

Cramberry's website is no slouch either. This is where you will be doing most of the creation and organizing of your sets, although you also have the option to study right from your browser. You only get the Study option while in the browser, but Cramberry gives you easy keyboard shortcuts to move through the cards so your hands never have to leave the keyboard. You also have the option to type your answers. If you type in the exact text on the other side of the card, Cramberry will mark it as correct and advance you to the next one. However, if you miss a letter or two, it will show you the answer and ask "Were you right?" and let you mark it your answer. 

I've been using Cramberry for the better part of two years now and love it. Being able to create cards in the browser and then have them available to study at any time has been amazing. Studying flashcards with a mobile device also has the benefit of being able to operate in the dark. This means I can lay in my bed at night and study without having to worry about the desk lamp waking my roommate.

The app cost USD 2.99 on the App Store, but they also have a free version which is ad-supported. If you're not sure yet, I encourage you to try out the free version and see how you like the simple style Cramberry uses. Everybody has different tastes when it comes to memorization, but Cramberry can definitely give you an experience you won't forget. 

Through the years, low-tech flashcards have remained one of the best ways to help you memorize facts, vocabulary, or pretty much any sort of information you need. However, many times the process of creating flashcards can be tedious - writing a hundred front and back cards is exhausting for anyone. If you've made flash cards before, you realize that keeping track of many sets is a pain as well. Once a hardcore flashcard user, I've tried almost every online flashcard creation site out there. They all have different strengths, but none really gave me the simple, yet robust, flashcard experience I was looking for on both the desktop and my mobile device. Then I met Cramberry. 

Cramberry is one of many online flash card creators out there, but it packs some killer features that make studying away from the computer a breeze. Along with their website, where you can create and study cards, Cramberry also has excellent apps for the iPhone and iPad, with an Android app expected early next year. 
The beauty of Cramberry's apps lies in their simplicity. When you launch the app, after you sign in, you are immediately presented with your sets. From there, you can jump right in and begin studying in less than two taps. There are two methods you can use to study; Study or Match. Study takes you to a typical flashcard interface, but the emphasis on simple execution is still there. You are shown a single card, tap "Tap to show answer" and then tap whether your answer was correct or incorrect. If you get a card incorrect, the app will shuffle that particular card back into the pile and show it several more times before you can finish. The other studying style, Match, is both unique and effective. In this mode, you are presented with 8 small, movable cards (the fronts and backs of 4 cards) that you have to drag on top of their counterparts. When you find a match, the cards disappear as a confirmation that it was correct. I find this method of studying particularly enjoyable and found it helps me learn from both sides of the card instead of one. 

Cramberry's website is no slouch either. This is where you will be doing most of the creation and organizing of your sets, although you also have the option to study right from your browser. You only get the Study option while in the browser, but Cramberry gives you easy keyboard shortcuts to move through the cards so your hands never have to leave the keyboard. You also have the option to type your answers. If you type in the exact text on the other side of the card, Cramberry will mark it as correct and advance you to the next one. However, if you miss a letter or two, it will show you the answer and ask "Were you right?" and let you mark it your answer. 

I've been using Cramberry for the better part of two years now and love it. Being able to create cards in the browser and then have them available to study at any time has been amazing. Studying flashcards with a mobile device also has the benefit of being able to operate in the dark. This means I can lay in my bed at night and study without having to worry about the desk lamp waking my roommate.
The app cost USD 2.99 on the App Store, but they also have a free version which is ad-supported. If you're not sure yet, I encourage you to try out the free version and see how you like the simple style Cramberry uses. Everybody has different tastes when it comes to memorization, but Cramberry can definitely give you an experience you won't forget. 

[Cramberry]