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diff --git a/org-drill.html b/org-drill.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..065fca3 --- /dev/null +++ b/org-drill.html @@ -0,0 +1,1569 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" +lang="en" xml:lang="en"> +<head> +<title>org-drill.el – flashcards and spaced repetition for org-mode</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8"/> +<meta name="generator" content="Org-mode"/> +<meta name="generated" content="2011-05-21 00:08:14 NZST"/> +<meta name="author" content="Paul Sexton"/> +<meta name="description" content=""/> +<meta name="keywords" content=""/> +<style type="text/css"> + <!--/*--><![CDATA[/*><!--*/ + html { font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 12pt; } + .title { text-align: center; } + .todo { color: red; } + .done { color: green; } + .tag { background-color: #add8e6; font-weight:normal } + .target { } + .timestamp { color: #bebebe; 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font-weight:bold; + white-space:nowrap; } + .org-info-js_search-highlight {background-color:#ffff00; color:#000000; + font-weight:bold; } + /*]]>*/--> +</style> +<script type="text/javascript"> +<!--/*--><![CDATA[/*><!--*/ + function CodeHighlightOn(elem, id) + { + var target = document.getElementById(id); + if(null != target) { + elem.cacheClassElem = elem.className; + elem.cacheClassTarget = target.className; + target.className = "code-highlighted"; + elem.className = "code-highlighted"; + } + } + function CodeHighlightOff(elem, id) + { + var target = document.getElementById(id); + if(elem.cacheClassElem) + elem.className = elem.cacheClassElem; + if(elem.cacheClassTarget) + target.className = elem.cacheClassTarget; + } +/*]]>*///--> +</script> + +</head> +<body> +<div id="content"> + +<h1 class="title">org-drill.el – flashcards and spaced repetition for org-mode</h1> + + +<div id="table-of-contents"> +<h2>Table of Contents</h2> +<div id="text-table-of-contents"> +<ul> +<li><a href="#sec-1">General </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-2">Installation </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-3">Demonstration </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4">Writing the questions </a> +<ul> +<li><a href="#sec-4_1">Simple topics </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_2">Cloze deletion </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_3">Clozed text hints </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_4">Two-sided cards </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_5">Multi-sided cards </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_6">Multi-cloze cards </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_7">User-defined card types </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_8">Empty cards </a></li> +</ul> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-5">Running the drill session </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-6">Multiple sequential drill sessions </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-7">Cram mode </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-8">Leeches </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9">Customisation </a> +<ul> +<li><a href="#sec-9_1">Visual appearance of items during drill sessions </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_2">Duration of drill sessions </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_3">Saving buffers after drill sessions </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_4">Sources of items for drill sessions (scope) </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_5">Definition of old and overdue items </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_6">Spaced repetition algorithm </a> +<ul> +<li><a href="#sec-9_6_1">Choice of algorithm </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_6_2">Random variation of repetition intervals </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_6_3">Adjustment for early or late review of items </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_6_4">Adjusting item difficulty globally </a></li> +</ul> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-9_7">Per-file customisation settings </a></li> +</ul> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-10">Coping with large collections </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-11">Sharing, merging and synchronising item collections </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-12">Incremental reading </a></li> +<li><a href="#sec-13">Author </a></li> +</ul> +</div> +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-1" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-1">General </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-1"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill is an extension for <a href="http://orgmode.org/">Org mode</a>. Org-Drill uses a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition">spaced repetition</a> +algorithm to conduct interactive "drill sessions", using org files as sources +of facts to be memorised. Each topic is treated as a "flash card". The material +to be remembered is presented to the student in random order. The student rates +his or her recall of each item, and this information is used to schedule the +item for later revision. +</p> +<p> +Each drill session can be restricted to topics in the current buffer +(default), one or several files, all agenda files, or a subtree. A single +topic can also be drilled. +</p> +<p> +Different "topic types" can be defined, which present their information to the +student in different ways. +</p> +<p> +For more on the spaced repetition algorithm, and examples of other programs +that use it, see: +</p><ul> +<li><a href="http://supermemo.com/index.htm">SuperMemo</a> (see descriptions of the SM2, SM5 and SM8 algorithms) +</li> +<li><a href="http://ichi2.net/anki/">Anki</a> +</li> +<li><a href="http://mnemosyne-proj.org/index.php">Mnemosyne</a> +</li> +</ul> + + +<p> +Org-Drill comes bundled with Org mode, in the "contrib" directory. Org-Drill +also has its own repository, which is updated more regularly than the bundled +version. The repository is at: +</p> +<p> +<a href="http://bitbucket.org/eeeickythump/org-drill">http://bitbucket.org/eeeickythump/org-drill</a> +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-2" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-2">Installation </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-2"> + + + +<p> +The easiest way is to customise the variable 'org-modules' (<code>M-x customize-variables RET org-modules</code>) and make sure 'drill' is +ticked. Org-drill will then be loaded when you restart Emacs or restart +Org-mode. +</p> +<p> +For manual installation, put the following in your <code>.emacs</code>. You will also need +to make sure that Org's "contrib/lisp" directory is in the emacs load-path. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(require 'org-drill) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-3" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-3">Demonstration </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-3"> + + + +<p> +Load the file <a href="spanish.html">spanish.org</a>. Press <code>M-x</code> and run the function <code>org-drill</code>. Follow +the prompts at the bottom of the screen. +</p> +<p> +When the drill finishes, you can look at <code>spanish.org</code> to get some idea of how +drill topics are written. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-4">Writing the questions </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-4"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill uses org mode topics as 'drill items'. To be used as a drill item, +the topic must have a tag that matches the value of +<code>org-drill-question-tag</code>. This is <code>:drill:</code> by default. Any other org topics +will be ignored. +</p> +<p> +Drill items can have other drill items as children. When a drill item is being +tested, the contents of any child drill items will be hidden. +</p> +<p> +You don't need to schedule the topics initially. Unscheduled items are +considered to be 'new' and ready for memorisation. +</p> +<p> +How should 'drill topics' be structured? Any org topic is a legal drill topic +– it will simply be shown with all subheadings collapsed, so that only the +material beneath the main item heading is visible. After pressing a key, any +hidden subheadings will be revealed, and you will be asked to rate your +"recall" of the item. +</p> +<p> +This will be adequate for some items, but usually you will want to write items +where you have more control over what information is hidden from the user for +recall purposes. For this reason, some other card types are defined, including: +</p><ul> +<li><a href="#sec-4_4">Two-sided cards</a> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_5">Multi-sided cards</a> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_6">Multi-cloze cards</a> +</li> +<li><a href="#sec-4_7">User-defined card types</a> +</li> +</ul> + + +<p> +<b>A note about comments:</b> In org mode, comment lines start with '#'. The rest of +the line is ignored by Org (apart from some special cases). You may sometimes +want to put material in comments which you do not want to see when you are +being tested on the item. For this reason, comments are always rendered +invisible while items are being tested. +</p> + + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_1" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_1">Simple topics </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_1"> + + + +<p> +The simplest drill topic has no special structure. When such a topic is +presented during a drill session, any subheadings are "collapsed" with their +contents hidden. So, you could include the question as text beneath the main +heading, and the answer within a subheading. For example: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">* Item :drill: +What is the capital city of Estonia? + +** The Answer +Tallinn. +</pre> + + + +<p> +When this item is presented for review, the text beneath the main heading will +be visible, but the contents of the subheading ("The Answer") will be hidden. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_2" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_2">Cloze deletion </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_2"> + + + +<p> +Cloze deletion can be used in any drill topic regardless of whether it is +otherwise 'simple', or is one of the specialised topic types discussed +below. To use cloze deletion, one or more parts of the body of the topic is +marked as <i>cloze text</i> by surrounding it with single square brackets, [like +so]. When the topic is presented for review, the text within square brackets +will be obscured. The text is then revealed after the user presses a key. For +example: +</p> + + + + +<pre class="example">* Item :drill: +The capital city of Estonia is [Tallinn]. +</pre> + + + +<p> +During review, the user will see: +</p> +<blockquote> + +<p>The capital city of Estonia is <font style="background-color: blue;" color="cyan"> +<tt>[…]</tt></font>. +</p> +</blockquote> + + +<p> +When the user presses a key, the text "Tallinn" will become visible. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_3" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_3">Clozed text hints </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_3"> + + + +<p> +Clozed text can contain a "hint" about the answer. If the text surrounded +by single square brackets contains a `|' character (vertical bar), all text +after that character is treated as a hint. During testing, the hint text will +be visible when the rest of the text is hidden, and invisible when the rest of +the text is visible. +</p> +<p> +Example: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">Type 1 hypersensitivity reactions are mediated by [immunoglobulin E|molecule] +and [mast cells|cell type]. +</pre> + + + +<blockquote> + +<p>Type 1 hypersensitivity reactions are mediated by +<font style="background-color: blue;" color="cyan"> +<tt>[molecule…]</tt></font> +and <font style="background-color: blue;" color="cyan"> +<tt>[cell type…]</tt></font>. +</p> +</blockquote> + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_4" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_4"><a name="Two-sided-cards" id="Two-sided-cards"></a>Two-sided cards </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_4"> + + +<p> +The remaining topic types all use the topic property, <code>DRILL_CARD_TYPE</code>. This +property tells <code>org-drill</code> which function to use to present the topic during +review. If this property has the value <code>twosided</code> then the topic is treated as +a "two sided card". When a two sided card is reviewed, <i>one of the first two</i> +subheadings within the topic will be visible – all other +subheadings will be hidden. +</p> +<p> +Two-sided cards are meant to emulate the type of flipcard where either side is +useful as test material (for example, a card with a word in a foreign language +on one side, and its translation on the other). +</p> +<p> +A two sided card can have more than 2 subheadings, but all subheadings after +the first two are considered as "notes" and will always be hidden during topic +review. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">* Noun :drill: + :PROPERTIES: + :DRILL_CARD_TYPE: twosided + :END: + +Translate this word. + +** Spanish +la mujer + +** English +the woman + +** Example sentence +¿Quién fue esa mujer? +Who was that woman? +</pre> + + + +<p> +In this example, the user will be shown the main text – "Translate this word" +– and either 'la mujer', <i>or</i> 'the woman', at random. The section 'Example +sentence' will never be shown until after the user presses a key, because it is +not one of the first two 'sides' of the topic. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_5" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_5"><a name="Multi-sided-cards" id="Multi-sided-cards"></a>Multi-sided cards </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_5"> + + + +<p> +The <code>multisided</code> card type is similar to <code>twosided</code>, except that any +subheading has a chance of being presented during the topic review. One +subheading is always shown and all others are always hidden. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">* Noun :drill: + :PROPERTIES: + :DRILL_CARD_TYPE: multisided + :END: + +Translate. + +** Spanish +la mesa + +** English +the table + +** Picture +[[file:table.jpg][PICTURE]] +</pre> + + + +<p> +The user will be shown the main text and either 'la mesa', <i>or</i> 'the table', +<i>or</i> a picture of a table. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_6" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_6"><a name="Multi-cloze-cards" id="Multi-cloze-cards"></a>Multi-cloze cards </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_6"> + + + +<p> +Often, you will wish to create cards out of sentences that express several +facts, such as the following: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington, which is located in the +North Island and has a population of about 400,000. +</pre> + + + +<p> +There is more than one fact in this statement – you could create a single +'simple' card with all the facts marked as cloze text, like so: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">The capital city of [New Zealand] is [Wellington], which is located in +the [North|North/South] Island and has a population of about [400,000]. +</pre> + + + +<p> +But this card will be difficult to remember. If you get just one of the 4 +hidden facts wrong, you will fail the card. A card like this is likely to +become a <a href="#sec-8">leech</a>. +</p> +<p> +A better way to express all these facts using 'simple' cards is to create +several cards, with one fact per card. You might end up with something +like this: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">* Fact +The capital city of [New Zealand] is Wellington, which has a population of +about 400,000. + +* Fact +The capital city of New Zealand is [Wellington], which has a population of +about 400,000. + +* Fact +The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington, which has a population of +about [400,000]. + +* Fact +The capital city of [New Zealand] is Wellington, which is located in the +the North Island. + +* Fact +The capital city of New Zealand is [Wellington], which is located in +the North Island. + +* Fact +The capital city of New Zealand is Wellington, which is located in +the [North|North/South] Island. +</pre> + + + +<p> +However, this is really cumbersome. Multicloze card types exist for this +situation. Multicloze cards behave like 'simple' cards, except that when there +is more than one area marked as cloze text, some but not all of the areas +can be hidden. There are several types of predefined multicloze card: +</p> +<ol> +<li><code>hide1cloze</code> – one of the marked areas is hidden during review; the others + all remain visible. The hidden text area is chosen randomly at each review. + (Note: this type used to be called 'multicloze', and that card type is + retained as a synonym for 'hide1cloze'.) +</li> +<li><code>show1cloze</code> – only one of the marked areas is visible during review; all + the others are hidden. The hidden text area is chosen randomly at each + review. +</li> +<li><code>hide2cloze</code> – like hide1cloze, but 2 marked pieces of text will be hidden, + and the rest will be visible. +</li> +<li><code>show2cloze</code> – like show1cloze, but 2 marked pieces of text will be visible, + the rest are hidden. +</li> +</ol> + + +<p> +There are also some types of multicloze card where some pieces have an +increased or decreased chance of being hidden. These are intended for use when +studying languages: generally it is easy to translate a foreign-language +sentence into your own language if you have met it before, but it is much +harder to translate in the other direction. Therefore, you will want to test +the harder direction more often. +</p><ol> +<li><code>hide1_firstmore</code> – only one of the marked pieces of text will be + hidden. 75% of the time (guaranteed), the <i>first</i> piece is hidden; the rest + of the time, one of the other pieces is randomly hidden. +</li> +<li><code>show1_firstless</code> – only one of the marked pieces of text will be + visible. Only 25% of the time (guaranteed) will the <i>first</i> piece will be + visible; the rest of the time, one of the other pieces is randomly visible. +</li> +<li><code>show1_lastmore</code> – only one of the marked pieces of text will be + visible. 75% of the time (guaranteed), the <i>last</i> piece will be visible; + the rest of the time, one of the other pieces is randomly visible. +</li> +</ol> + + +<p> +So, for the above example, we can actually use the original 'bad' simple card, +but change its card type to 'hide1cloze'. Each time the card is presented for +review, one of 'New Zealand', 'Wellington', 'the South Island' or '400,000' +will be hidden. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">* Fact + :PROPERTIES: + :DRILL_CARD_TYPE: hide1cloze + :END: + +The capital city of [New Zealand] is [Wellington], which is located in +the [North|North/South] Island and has a population of about [400,000]. +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_7" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_7"><a name="User-defined-card-types" id="User-defined-card-types"></a>User-defined card types </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_7"> + + + +<p> +Finally, you can write your own emacs lisp functions to define new kinds of +topics. Any new topic type will need to be added to +<code>org-drill-card-type-alist</code>, and cards using that topic type will need to have +it as the value of their <code>DRILL_CARD_TYPE</code> property. For examples, see the +functions at the end of org-drill.el – these include: +</p><ul> +<li><code>org-drill-present-verb-conjugation</code>, which implements the 'conjugate' + card type. This asks the user to conjugate a verb in a particular tense. It + demonstrates how the appearance of an entry can be completely altered during + a drill session, both during testing and during the display of the answer. +</li> +<li><code>org-drill-present-translate-number</code>, which uses a third-party emacs lisp + library (<a href="http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/spell-number.el">spell-number.el</a>) to prompt the user to translate random numbers + to and from any language recognised by that library. +</li> +<li><code>org-drill-present-spanish-verb</code>, which defines the new topic type + <code>spanish_verb</code>. This illustrates how a function can control which of an + item's subheadings are visible during the drill session. +</li> +</ul> + + +<p> +See the file <a href="spanish.html">spanish.org</a> for a full set of example material, including examples +of all the card types discussed above. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-4_8" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-4_8">Empty cards </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-4_8"> + + + +<p> +If the body of a drill item is completely empty (ignoring properties and child +items), then the item will be skipped during drill sessions. The purpose of +this behaviour is to allow you to paste in 'skeletons' of complex items, then +fill in missing information later. For example, you may wish to include an +empty drill item for each tense of a newly learned verb, then paste in the +actual conjugation later as you learn each tense. +</p> +<p> +Note that if an item is empty, any child drill items will <b>not</b> be ignored, +unless they are empty as well. +</p> +<p> +If you have an item with an empty body, but still want it to be included in a +drill session, put a brief comment ('# …') in the item body. +</p> + +</div> +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-5" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-5">Running the drill session </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-5"> + + + +<p> +Start a drill session with <code>M-x org-drill</code>. By default, this includes all +non-hidden topics in the current buffer. <code>org-drill</code> takes an optional +argument, SCOPE, which allows it to take drill items from other +sources. See <a href="#sec-9_4">below</a> for details. +</p> +<p> +During a drill session, you will be presented with each item, then asked to +rate your recall of it by pressing a key between 0 and 5. The meaning of these +numbers is (taken from <code>org-learn</code>): +</p> +<table border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" rules="groups" frame="hsides"> +<caption></caption> +<colgroup><col class="right" /><col class="left" /><col class="left" /><col class="left" /> +</colgroup> +<thead> +<tr><th scope="col" class="right">Quality</th><th scope="col" class="left">SuperMemo label</th><th scope="col" class="left">Fail?</th><th scope="col" class="left">Meaning</th></tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr><td class="right">0</td><td class="left">NULL</td><td class="left">Yes</td><td class="left">Wrong, and the answer is unfamiliar when you see it.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">1</td><td class="left">BAD</td><td class="left">Yes</td><td class="left">Wrong answer.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">2</td><td class="left">FAIL</td><td class="left">Yes</td><td class="left">Almost, but not quite correct.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">3</td><td class="left">PASS</td><td class="left">No</td><td class="left">Correct answer, but with much effort.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">4</td><td class="left">GOOD</td><td class="left">No</td><td class="left">Correct answer, with a little thought.</td></tr> +<tr><td class="right">5</td><td class="left">BRIGHT</td><td class="left">No</td><td class="left">Correct answer, effortless.</td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + + +<p> +You can press '?' at the prompt if you have trouble remembering what the +numbers 0–5 signify. +</p> +<p> +At any time you can press 'q' to finish the drill early (your progress up to +that point will be saved), 's' to skip the current item without viewing the +answer, or 'e' to escape from the drill and jump to the current topic for +editing (again, your progress up to that point will be saved). +</p> +<p> +After exiting the drill session with 'e' or 'q', you can resume where you left +off, using the command <code>org-drill-resume</code>. This will return you to the item +that you were viewing when you left the session. For example, if you are shown +an item and realise that it is poorly formulated, or contains an error, you can +press 'e' to leave the drill, then correct the item, then press +<code>M-x org-drill-resume</code> and continue where you left off. +</p> +<p> +Note that 'drastic' edits, such as deleting or moving items, can sometimes +cause Org-Drill to "lose its place" in the file, preventing it from +successfully resuming the session. In that case you will need to start a new +session. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-6" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-6">Multiple sequential drill sessions </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-6"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill has to scan your entire item database each time you start a new drill +session. This can be slow if you have a large item collection. If you have a +large number of 'due' items and want to run a second drill session after +finishing one session, you can use the command <code>org-drill-again</code> to run a new +drill session that draws from the pool of remaining due items that were not +tested during the previous session, without re-scanning the item collection. +</p> +<p> +Also note that if you run <code>org-drill-resume</code> and you have actually finished the +drill session, you will be asked whether you want to start another drill +session without re-scanning (as if you had run <code>org-drill-again</code>). +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-7" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-7">Cram mode </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-7"> + + + +<p> +There are some situations, such as before an exam, where you will want to +revise all of your cards regardless of when they are next due for review. +</p> +<p> +To do this, run a <i>cram session</i> with the <code>org-drill-cram</code> command (<code>M-x org-drill-cram RET</code>). This works the same as a normal drill session, except +that all items are considered due for review unless you reviewed them within +the last 12 hours (you can change the number of hours by customising the +variable <code>org-drill-cram-hours</code>). +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-8" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-8"><a name="leeches" id="leeches"></a>Leeches </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-8"> + + +<p> +From the Anki website, <a href="http://ichi2.net/anki/wiki/Leeches">http://ichi2.net/anki/wiki/Leeches</a>: +</p> +<blockquote> + +<p>Leeches are cards that you keep on forgetting. Because they require so many +reviews, they take up a lot more of your time than other cards. +</p> +</blockquote> + + +<p> +Like Anki, Org-Drill defines leeches as cards that you have "failed" many +times. The number of times an item must be failed before it is considered a +leech is set by the variable <code>org-drill-leech-failure-threshold</code> (15 by +default). When you fail to remember an item more than this many times, the item +will be given the <code>:leech:</code> tag. +</p> +<p> +Leech items can be handled in one of three ways. You can choose how Org-Drill +handles leeches by setting the variable <code>org-drill-leech-method</code> to one of the +following values: +</p><dl> +<dt>nil</dt><dd>Leech items are tagged with the <code>leech</code> tag, but otherwise treated the + same as normal items. +</dd> +<dt>skip</dt><dd>Leech items are not included in drill sessions. +</dd> +<dt>warn</dt><dd>Leech items are still included in drill sessions, but a warning + message is printed when each leech item is presented. +</dd> +</dl> + + +<p> +The best way to deal with a leech is either to delete it, or reformulate it so +that it is easier to remember, for example by splitting it into more than one +card. +</p> +<p> +See <a href="http://www.supermemo.com/help/leech.htm">the SuperMemo website</a> for more on leeches. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-9">Customisation </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-9"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill has several settings which you change using +<code>M-x customize-group org-drill <RET></code>. Alternatively you can change these +settings by adding elisp code to your configuration file (<code>.emacs</code>). +</p> + + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_1" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_1">Visual appearance of items during drill sessions </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_1"> + + + +<p> +If you want cloze-deleted text to show up in a special font within Org mode +buffers, add this to your .emacs: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-use-visible-cloze-face-p t) +</pre> + + + +<p> +Item headings may contain information that "gives away" the answer to the item, +either in the heading text or in tags. If you want item headings to be made +invisible while each item is being tested, add: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-hide-item-headings-p t) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_2" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_2">Duration of drill sessions </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_2"> + + + +<p> +By default, a drill session will end when either 30 items have been +successfully reviewed, or 20 minutes have passed. To change this behaviour, use +the following settings. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-maximum-items-per-session 40) +(setq org-drill-maximum-duration 30) ; 30 minutes +</pre> + + + +<p> +If either of these variables is set to nil, then item count or elapsed time +will not count as reasons to end the session. If both variables are nil, the +session will not end until <i>all</i> outstanding items have been reviewed. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_3" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_3">Saving buffers after drill sessions </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_3"> + + + +<p> +By default, you will be prompted to save all unsaved buffers at the end of a +drill session. If you don't like this behaviour, use the following setting: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-save-buffers-after-drill-sessions-p nil) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_4" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_4"><a name="scope" id="scope"></a>Sources of items for drill sessions (scope) </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_4"> + + +<p> +By default, Org-Drill gathers drill items from the current buffer only, +ignoring any non-visible items. There may be times when you want Org-Drill to +gather drill items from other sources. You can do this by changing the value of +the variable <code>org-drill-scope</code>. Possible values are: +</p> +<dl> +<dt>file</dt><dd>The current buffer, ignoring hidden items. This is the default. +</dd> +<dt>tree</dt><dd>The subtree starting with the entry at the cursor. (Alternatively you + can use <code>M-x org=drill-tree</code> to run the drill session – this will + behave the same as <code>org-drill</code> if 'tree' was used as the value of + SCOPE.) +</dd> +<dt>file-no-restriction</dt><dd>The current buffer, including both hidden and + non-hidden items. +</dd> +<dt>file-with-archives</dt><dd>The current buffer, and any archives associated with it. +</dd> +<dt>agenda</dt><dd>All agenda files. +</dd> +<dt>agenda-with-archives</dt><dd>All agenda files with any archive files associated + with them. +</dd> +<dt>directory</dt><dd>All files with the extension '.org' in the same directory as the + current file. (The current file will also be included if its + extension is .org) +</dd> +<dt>(file1 file2 …)</dt><dd>A list of filenames. All files in the list will be + scanned. +</dd> +</dl> + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_5" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_5">Definition of old and overdue items </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_5"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill prioritises <i>overdue</i> items in each drill session, presenting them +before other items are seen. Overdue items are defined in terms of how far in +the past the item is scheduled for review. The threshold is defined in terms +of a proportion rather than an absolute number of days. If days overdue is +greater than +</p> +<pre class="example"> +last-interval * (factor - 1) +</pre> + + +<p> +and is at least one day overdue, then the item is considered 'overdue'. The +default factor is 1.2, meaning that the due date can overrun by 20% before the +item is considered overdue. +</p> +<p> +To change the factor that determines when items become overdue, use something +like the following in your .emacs. Note that the value should never be less +than 1.0. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-overdue-interval-factor 1.1) +</pre> + + + +<p> +After prioritising overdue items, Org-Drill next prioritises <i>young</i> +items. These are items which were recently learned (or relearned in the case of +a failure), and which therefore have short inter-repetition intervals. +"Recent" is defined as an inter-repetition interval less than a fixed number of +days, rather than a number of repetitions. This ensures that more difficult +items are reviewed more often than easier items before they stop being 'young'. +</p> +<p> +The default definition of a young item is one with an inter-repetition interval +of 10 days or less. To change this, use the following: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-days-before-old 7) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_6" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_6">Spaced repetition algorithm </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_6"> + + + + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_6_1" class="outline-4"> +<h4 id="sec-9_6_1">Choice of algorithm </h4> +<div class="outline-text-4" id="text-9_6_1"> + + + +<p> +Org-Drill supports three different spaced repetition algorithms, all based on +SuperMemo algorithms. These are: +</p><dl> +<dt><a href="http://www.supermemo.com/english/ol/sm2.htm">SM2</a></dt><dd>an early algorithm, used in SuperMemo 2.0 (1988), which remains very + popular – Anki and Mnemosyne, two of the most popular spaced repetition + programs, use SM2. This algorithm stores an 'ease factor' for each item, + which is modified each time you rate your recall of the item. +</dd> +<dt><a href="http://www.supermemo.com/english/ol/sm5.htm">SM5</a> (default)</dt><dd>used in SuperMemo 5.0 (1989). This algorithm uses 'ease + factors' but also uses a persistent, per-user 'matrix of optimal factors' + which is also modified after each item repetition. +</dd> +<dt>Simple8</dt><dd>an experimental algorithm based on the <a href="http://www.supermemo.com/english/algsm8.htm">SM8</a> algorithm. SM8 is used + in SuperMemo 8.0 (1998) and is almost identical to SM11 which is + used in SuperMemo 2002. Like SM5, it uses a matrix of optimal + factors. Simple8 differs from SM8 in that it does not adapt the + matrix to the individual user, though it does adapt each item's + 'ease factor'. +</dd> +</dl> + +<p>If you want Org-Drill to use the <code>SM2</code> algorithm, put the following in your +<code>.emacs</code>: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-spaced-repetition-algorithm 'sm2) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_6_2" class="outline-4"> +<h4 id="sec-9_6_2">Random variation of repetition intervals </h4> +<div class="outline-text-4" id="text-9_6_2"> + + + +<p> +The intervals generated by the SM2 and SM5 algorithms are pretty +deterministic. If you tend to add items in large, infrequent batches, the lack +of variation in interval scheduling can lead to the problem of "lumpiness" -- +one day a large batch of items are due for review, the next there is almost +nothing, a few days later another big pile of items is due. +</p> +<p> +This problem can be ameliorated by adding some random "noise" to the interval +scheduling algorithm. The author of SuperMemo actually recommends this approach +for the SM5 algorithm, and Org-Drill's implementation uses <a href="http://www.supermemo.com/english/ol/sm5.htm">his code</a>. +</p> +<p> +To enable random "noise" for item intervals, set the variable +<code>org-drill-add-random-noise-to-intervals-p</code> to true by putting the following in +your <code>.emacs</code>: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-add-random-noise-to-intervals-p t) +</pre> + + + + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_6_3" class="outline-4"> +<h4 id="sec-9_6_3">Adjustment for early or late review of items </h4> +<div class="outline-text-4" id="text-9_6_3"> + + + +<p> +Reviewing items earlier or later than their scheduled review date may affect +how soon the next review date should be scheduled. Code to make this adjustment +is also presented on the SuperMemo website. It can be enabled with: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-adjust-intervals-for-early-and-late-repetitions-p t) +</pre> + + + +<p> +This will affect both early and late repetitions if the Simple8 algorithm is +used. For the SM5 algorithm it will affect early repetitions only. It has no +effect on the SM2 algorithm. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_6_4" class="outline-4"> +<h4 id="sec-9_6_4">Adjusting item difficulty globally </h4> +<div class="outline-text-4" id="text-9_6_4"> + + + +<p> +The <code>learn fraction</code> is a global value which affects how quickly the intervals +(times between each retest of an item) increase with successive repetitions, +for <i>all</i> items. The default value is 0.5, and this is the value used in +SuperMemo. For some collections of information, you may find that you are +reviewing items too often (they are too easy and the workload is too high), or +too seldom (you are failing them too often). In these situations, it is +possible to alter the learn fraction from its default in order to increase or +decrease the frequency of repetition of items over time. Increasing the value +will make the time intervals grow faster, and lowering it will make them grow +more slowly. The table below shows the growth in intervals (in days) with some +different values of the learn fraction (F). The table assumes that the item is +successfully recalled each time, with an average quality of just under 4. +</p> + +<table border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" rules="groups" frame="hsides"> +<caption></caption> +<colgroup><col class="left" /><col class="right" /><col class="right" /><col class="right" /><col class="right" /><col class="right" /> +</colgroup> +<thead> +<tr><th scope="col" class="left">Repetition</th><th scope="col" class="right">F=0.3</th><th scope="col" class="right">F=0.4</th><th scope="col" class="right"><b>F=0.5</b></th><th scope="col" class="right">F=0.6</th><th scope="col" class="right">F=0.7</th></tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr><td class="left">1st</td><td class="right">2</td><td class="right">2</td><td class="right">2</td><td class="right">2</td><td class="right">2</td></tr> +<tr><td class="left">2nd</td><td class="right">7</td><td class="right">7</td><td class="right">7</td><td class="right">7</td><td class="right">7</td></tr> +<tr><td class="left">5th</td><td class="right">26</td><td class="right">34</td><td class="right">46</td><td class="right">63</td><td class="right">85</td></tr> +<tr><td class="left">10th</td><td class="right">85</td><td class="right">152</td><td class="right">316</td><td class="right">743</td><td class="right">1942</td></tr> +<tr><td class="left">15th</td><td class="right">233</td><td class="right">501</td><td class="right">1426</td><td class="right">5471</td><td class="right">27868</td></tr> +</tbody> +</table> + + +<p> +To alter the learn fraction, put the following in your .emacs: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-drill-learn-fraction 0.45) ; change the value as desired +</pre> + + + + +</div> +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-9_7" class="outline-3"> +<h3 id="sec-9_7"><a name="per-file-settings" id="per-file-settings"></a>Per-file customisation settings </h3> +<div class="outline-text-3" id="text-9_7"> + + +<p> +Most of Org-Drill's customisation settings are safe as file-local +variables. This means you can include a commented section like this at the end +of your .org file to apply special settings when running a Drill session using +that file: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example"># Local Variables: +# org-drill-maximum-items-per-session: 50 +# org-drill-spaced-repetition-algorithm: simple8 +# End: +</pre> + + + +<p> +You can achieve the same effect by including the settings in the 'mode line' +(this must be the <b>first line</b> in the file), like so: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example"># -*- org-drill-maximum-items-per-session: 50; org-drill-spaced-repetition-algorithm: simple8 -*- +</pre> + + + +<p> +In either case you will need to save, close and re-open the file for the +changes to take effect. +</p> + +</div> +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-10" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-10">Coping with large collections </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-10"> + + + +<p> +If you keep all your items in a single file, it may eventually get very +large. The file will be slow to load, and Emacs may have trouble +syntax-highlighting the file contents correctly. +</p> +<p> +The easiest steps to solve this problem are: +</p><ol> +<li>Move your file into its own dedicated directory. +</li> +<li>Divide the file into two or more smaller files. +</li> +<li>Within each file, set <code>org-drill-scope</code> to 'directory'. See + <a href="#sec-9_7">per-file settings</a> above for instructions about how to do this. +</li> +</ol> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-11" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-11">Sharing, merging and synchronising item collections </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-11"> + + + +<p> +Every drill item is automatically given a persistent unique "ID" the first time +it is seen by Org-Drill. This means that if two different people subsequently +edit or reschedule that item, Org-Drill can still tell that it is the same +item. This in turn means that collections of items can be shared and edited in +a collaborative manner. +</p> +<p> +There are two commands that are useful in this regard: +</p><ol> +<li><code>org-drill-strip-all-data</code> - this command deletes all user-specific + scheduling data from every item in the current collection. (It takes the + same optional 'scope' argument as <code>org-drill</code> to define which items will + be processed by the command). User-specific data includes scheduling dates, + ease factors, number of failures and repetitions, and so on. All items are + reset to 'new' status. This command is useful if you want to share your + item collection with someone else. +</li> +<li><code>org-drill-merge-buffers</code> - When called from buffer A, it prompts you for + another buffer (B), which must also be loaded into Emacs. This command + imports all the user-specific scheduling data from buffer B into buffer A, + and deletes any such information in A. Matching items are identified by + their ID. Any items in B that do not exist in A are copied to A, in + the same hierarchical location if all the parent headings exist, otherwise + at the end of the buffer. +</li> +</ol> + + +<p> +An example scenario: +</p> +<p> +Tim decides to learn Swedish using an item collection (<code>.org</code> file) made +publically available by Jane. (Before publishing it Jane used +'org-drill-strip-all-data' to remove her personal scheduling data from the +collection.) A few weeks later, Jane updates her collection, adding new items +and revising some old ones. Tim downloads the new collection and imports his +progress from his copy of the old collection, using 'org-drill-merge-buffers', +using the new collection as buffer A and the old one as buffer B. He can then +discard the old copy. Any items HE added to HIS copy of the old collection +(buffer B) will not be lost – they will be appended to his copy of the new +collection. +</p> +<p> +Of course the sharing does not need to be 'public'. You and a friend might be +learning a language or some other topic together. You each maintain a card +collection. Periodically your friend sends you a copy of their collection -- +you run <code>org-drill-merge-buffers</code> on it, always using your own collection as +buffer B so that your own scheduling progress is carried over. Other times you +send your friend a copy of your collection, and he or she follows the same +procedure. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-12" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-12">Incremental reading </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-12"> + + + +<p> +An innovative feature of the program SuperMemo is so-called "incremental +reading". This refers to the ability to quickly and easily make drill items +from selected portions of text as you read an article (a web page for +example). See <a href="http://www.supermemo.com/help/read.htm">the SuperMemo website</a> for more on incremental reading. +</p> +<p> +Much of the infrastructure for incremental reading is already provided by Org +Mode, with the help of some other emacs packages. You can provide yourself with +an incremental reading facility by using 'org-capture' alongside a package that +allows you to browse web pages either in emacs (w3 or <a href="http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/emacs-w3m">emacs-w3m</a>) or in the +external browser of your choice (<a href="http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-protocol.php">org-protocol</a>). +</p> +<p> +Another important component of incremental reading is the ability to save your +exact place in a document, so you can read it <i>incrementally</i> rather than all +at once. There is a large variety of bookmarking packages for emacs which +provide advanced bookmarking functionality: see the <a href="http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/BookMarks">Emacs Wiki</a> for details. +Bookmarking exact webpage locations in an external browser seems to be a bit +more difficult. For Firefox, the <a href="http://www.wired-marker.org/">Wired Marker</a> addon works well. +</p> +<p> +An example of using Org-Drill for incremental reading is given below. First, +and most importantly, we need to define a couple of <code>org-capture</code> templates for +captured facts. +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">(setq org-capture-templates + `(("u" + "Task: Read this URL" + entry + (file+headline "tasks.org" "Articles To Read") + ,(concat "* TODO Read article: '%:description'\nURL: %c\n\n") + :empty-lines 1 + :immediate-finish t) + + ("w" + "Capture web snippet" + entry + (file+headline "my-facts.org" "Inbox") + ,(concat "* Fact: '%:description' :" + (format "%s" org-drill-question-tag) + ":\n:PROPERTIES:\n:DATE_ADDED: %u\n:SOURCE_URL: %c\n:END:\n\n%i\n%?\n") + :empty-lines 1 + :immediate-finish t) + ;; ...other capture templates... + )) +</pre> + + + +<p> +Using these templates and <code>org-protocol</code>, you can set up buttons in your web +browser to: +</p><ul> +<li>Create a task telling you to read the URL of the currently viewed webpage +</li> +<li>Turn a region of selected text on a webpage, into a new fact which is saved + to whichever file and heading you nominate in the template. The fact will + contain a timestamp, and a hyperlink back to the webpage where you created + it. +</li> +</ul> + + +<p> +For example, suppose you are reading the Wikipedia entry on tuberculosis <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis">here</a>. +</p> +<p> +You read the following: +</p> +<blockquote> + +<p>The classic symptoms of tuberculosis are a chronic cough with blood-tinged +sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs causes +a wide range of symptoms. Treatment is difficult and requires long courses of +multiple antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in +(extensively) multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Prevention relies on screening +programs and vaccination, usually with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine. +</p> +</blockquote> + + +<p> +You decide you want to remember that "Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine" is the +name of the vaccine against tuberculosis. First, you select the `interesting' +portion of the text with the mouse: +</p> +<blockquote> + +<p>The classic symptoms of tuberculosis are a chronic cough with blood-tinged +sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs causes +a wide range of symptoms. Treatment is difficult and requires long courses of +multiple antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in +(extensively) multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. +<font style="background-color: yellow;">Prevention relies +on screening programs and vaccination, usually with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin +vaccine.</font> +</p> +</blockquote> + + +<p> +Then you press the button you created when setting up <code>org-protocol</code>, which is +configured to activate the capture template "w: Capture web snippet". The +selected text will be sent to Emacs, turned into a new fact using the template, +and filed away for your later attention. +</p> +<p> +(Note that it might be more efficient to turn the entire paragraph into a drill +item – since it contains several important facts – then split it up into +multiple items when you edit it later in Emacs.) +</p> +<p> +Once you have had enough of reading the article, save your place, then go to +your "fact" file in Emacs. You should see that each piece of text you selected +has been turned into a drill item. Continuing the above example, you would see +something like: +</p> + + + +<pre class="example">** Fact: 'Tuberculosis - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia' :drill: + +Prevention relies on screening programs and vaccination, usually with Bacillus +Calmette-Guérin vaccine. +</pre> + + + +<p> +You need to edit this fact so it makes sense independent of its context, as +that is how it will be presented to you in future. The easiest way to turn the +text into a 'question' is by cloze deletion. All you need to do is surround the +'hidden' parts of the text with square brackets. +</p> +<pre class="example"> +Prevention of tuberculosis relies on screening programs and vaccination, +usually with [Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine]. +</pre> + + + +<p> +You can of course define browser buttons that use several different "fact" +templates, each of which might send its fact to a different file or subheading, +or give it different tags or properties, for example. +</p> + +</div> + +</div> + +<div id="outline-container-13" class="outline-2"> +<h2 id="sec-13">Author </h2> +<div class="outline-text-2" id="text-13"> + + +<p> +Org-Drill is written by Paul Sexton. +</p> +</div> +</div> +<div id="postamble"> +<p class="date">Date: 2011-05-21 00:08:14 NZST</p> +<p class="creator">Org version 7.5 with Emacs version 23</p> +<a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer">Validate XHTML 1.0</a> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |