Cerego

I found Cerego while searching for tools to help learning retention in my own personal reading and studying. I liked it so much I instituted it into my class the next semester. This class of students became my most effective learners in the six years I had been teaching to that point. Just for fun, I also plotted the results of each student’s Cerego use (which you can monitor) against their in-class assessment performance. It was the clearest correlation one could ask for. And, what’s more, all the students actually enjoyed using Cerego. They felt that it helped them learn and retain better than their old methods. Cerego is an outstanding tool and one which I hope continues to develop.

As a learner this app has been an absolute God send. It's rather easy to use. And it works! My biggest struggle has been how to retain the massive amounts of information I consume from books, podcasts and videos. This app helped me realize that the way to do it isn't through re-reading/listening. You have to test yourself on the content just at the time you think you've forgotten it. That struggle to retrieve is what will deepen your learning. ... I've been using the trial version for a couple weeks now and still no sign of an "upgrade" button. I'm wondering if they're doing that to get us good and hooked with tons of our own content loaded so that when they hit us with the true cost we'd just fork it over. 🧐

If you are using Cerego for a class, do not wait until a few days before the deadline. Depending on how many concepts your professor assigns (for example, mine assigned 80), it takes a little over a week of twice a day use to reach a 2.0 memory level. This algorithm in the program is commonly referred to as “punishing” a user for cramming, but honestly the theory behind it makes sense. Think of it this way: what is the most effective way to make the farthest gains in memory in a shorter period of time? Over the passage of time. Since the APP doesn’t time your sessions (at least on the surface), the only way it can “prove to itself” that you knew the material days later is to hand out maximum memory-level progression points with time in between reviews. You can still slowly get points by going straight through, but you’ll be spinning your wheels after awhile and not progressing in the program’s memory level. Bottom Line: Start the day your teacher gives you the assignment. Period. (And yes, the program is very helpful for boosting memorization of concepts.)