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Anki Use for Children

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fstfrddy1

19 Feb, 2014 03:29 PM

I am very interested in using Anki for my grandson
a 10 year old. I want to help him improve his reading
comprehension. and vocabulary. Interested in any articles
along these lines.He has access to a PC and
Android Tablet.

1. 1 Posted by Heather on 19 Feb, 2014 04:13 PM

   

   I use ANKI with my kids - what are you asking?

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2. 2 Posted by mnhende2 on 19 Feb, 2014 06:40 PM

   

   I also extensively use Anki with my kids. They are younger 8, 5, and
   3. All of them have started when they were 3 or 4. They enjoy it and
   are doing well with it. The important thing is getting content that is
   at the level that they are at. One thing I do, for example, is that I
   let my boys read interesting things, then I have them pick out any
   words they didn't know and I put those in Anki. And I also have them
   pick interesting facts that they don't want to forget and put those in
   Anki also.

   Best,

   mnhende2

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3. 3 Posted by mnhende2 on 20 Feb, 2014 03:33 PM

   

   @Xiao: They are doing quite well in their education, but we are
   currently living in a North African country that overall has a very low
   standard of education. So last year, my oldest son, for example, was
   the top student in his school at his grade level, even though he was
   the only non-native speaker in his school, and even though it was only
   his second year in the language. So, Anki is helping us do two things
   primarily. 1) Make a quick and successful transition in this new
   language, and 2) to try to help us compensate for some of the great
   short-comings of the educational system here.

   We haven't had any of them skip a grade level yet, because being an
   ethnic, linguistic, and cultural minority here has its challenges.
   This culture does not have a great value for diversity. So, if I had
   them skip a grade, I'd be adding an age gap to these previously
   mentioned challenges. For now, we are focusing on helping them learn
   the language and to gain confidence so that they can socially succeed
   here. Once they have become comfortable and fluent in the local
   language and culture, we may have them skip a grade in the future.
   We'll see. Right now they are functionally working on three languages.

   Another thing that I'd add is that we are using Anki to try to make
   learning both enjoyable and a life-long habit. I assume that you too
   are a passionate life-long learner, and that has great value. Many
   people finish their education and stop active learning. I'd like my
   kids to enjoy learning and to become life-long learners. So, I'm trying
   to use Anki in such a way that a lot of it is learner directed. That
   is I'm trying to put into Anki the types of things that they are
   interested in learning about. They wanted to learn about Penguins, I
   put in information on Penguins. They wanted to know about dinosaurs,
   so I put in information about dinosaurs, etc.

   Lastly, as for skipping many grade levels. On occasion, I have
   students at the university who have skipped a grade level. They tend
   to do well. But I imagine that skipping too many grades, and thus
   creating too large of a age and maturity gap could potentially have
   some adverse affects. But, I'd be curious what type of research has
   been done on children who have skipped multiple grade levels. If you
   find any interesting research on the topic, feel free to pass it my
   direction. I'd be interested in reading it.

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4. 4 Posted by Vit on 29 Mar, 2014 06:41 PM

   

   mnhende2
   Would be nice if you tell me what Note_Types they like.

   For my 8y old grandson( goal: Vocabulary ) I designed Notes with extra fields;
   did not get a feedback from his dad, yet.
   Reason for multiple Questions/Answers is I use very short stories and try to 'stuff' them with 3-4 new words.
   Those 3-4 new words he looks-up ad he reads -- by clicking on Blue Hints :
   "Show Answer-1" ( the Question-1 is in the story text , numbered as "1:"

   What do you think ?

   PS. I know 20 rules. But this kid needs only 2-3 reps and remembers words for good.
   By keeping them in one note I am able to have a bit longer 'contents'.
   And it is faster !!

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5. 5 Posted by mnhende2 on 29 Mar, 2014 07:02 PM

   

   @Vit:,

   I always custom make note types, kind of like you do. Any many of my
   note types will have 10 or more fields from which I can add/use various
   bits of information if needed. Then I often have multiple cards per
   note types so that some information is recycled and reinforced through
   being viewed multiple times.

   That said, with the cards, I'm often trying to do more than JUST have
   them memorize an isolated bit of information. My kids are learning to
   read better because of the cards, learning to play with words, sounds,
   numbers, etc. So, while I might mark a card right or wrong because of
   the specific piece of information being asked about, I don't mind
   adding extra/incidental information, descriptive pictures,
   explanations, short stories, etc. Because, in their case, it seems
   that I am not just testing specific information, but also building a
   larger skill set also.

   So, it sounds like we are taking a similar approach. It seems to be
   working well with my kids. Let me know how it goes for your grandson.

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6. System closed this discussion on 22 Feb, 2016 11:40 PM.