Would you use an app that asks you specific questions on each chapter in a textbook?

Hi guys,

Old school Student Room user here. I am currently building an app which aims to help people remember more of what they read. This started because I love to read but my retention skills are pretty average.

I got feedback from some users that this would be useful for students and academic textbooks. I.e. you're studying a chapter and then you can access question based on what you've just read, encouraging you to actively recall what you've read and increase the chances of you retaining the information.

so my question to you is - would you use an app like this to help you study?

Thanks!

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Reply 1

fanofeverything

If it’s effective. And, a lot of people will use it if it gets a lot of attention like bitesize etc

Reply 2

Anonymous.23

Yeah I’d use it, is this for GCSEs/A levels

Reply 3

yoyoyomo

Awesome, thanks for the responses guys! This would be for any textbooks - GCSEs, A-Levels, Uni etc

Question for you though - in the textbooks you use, do some of them already have some kind of summary/questions at the end of each chapter?

Reply 4

Anonymous.23

Original post by yoyoyomo

In the ones I’m using for a levels they have 2/3 summary questions on mostly every page then exam questions at the end of every topic with the answers online or at the back

Reply 5

yoyoyomo

Original post by Anonymous.23

In the ones I’m using for a levels they have 2/3 summary questions on mostly every page then exam questions at the end of every topic with the answers online or at the back

Thanks for your response - do you find these summary questions and exam questions useful for helping to retain the information?

Is this for a particular brand of textbooks or do you see this across different types of textbooks? Which brand of books are you using?

Reply 6

Anonymous.23

Original post by yoyoyomo

I’m using ones recommend by my sixth form because we usually get set questions from them as homework

For bio I’m using the the AQA Biology 2nd edition oxford textbook
For psychology I’m using the AQA psychology year 1 and year 2 textbooks for A level
For law I’m using the AQA Law A2 student unit guide

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 7

yoyoyomo

Original post by Anonymous.23

Thanks for that, very helpful! So the AQA books have questions at the end of each chapter and section. Do you find these useful?

Reply 8

1st superstar

Original post by yoyoyomo

cgp revision guide/textbook ,oxford textbooks, Pearson textbooks etc

Reply 9

Mabey

Yeah this would be incredibly useful. Answering questions instead of just reading is much more efficient, and if you could incorporate some sort of spaced repetition for revision or just long term retaining, it would be even better. Maybe also ways to save questions you may want for later?

For me this would be really helpful when trying to remember definitions, rules and derivations in maths and physics as it can get quite annoying when parts of it don't stick.

Reply 10

yoyoyomo

Original post by Mabey

Thanks for your reply Mabey! Totally agree on the spaced repetition. I was thinking of having the option of allowing you to select certain topics and then having random questions pushed during the day to you. So you might be watching TV or something and you'll get a notification to answer a single question, prompting you to recall it. What do you think?

Reply 11

yoyoyomo

Original post by 1st superstar

cgp revision guide/textbook ,oxford textbooks, Pearson textbooks etc

Do these all have questions at the end of the chapters?

Reply 12

1st superstar

Original post by yoyoyomo

Do these all have questions at the end of the chapters?

Yes

Reply 13

Mabey

Original post by yoyoyomo

Yeah I think that would be good because its easier to do a couple of minutes worth of questions a few times a day than to sit down and do lets say 20 minutes of questions. Btw I did the survey you sent, hope it helps!

Reply 14

yoyoyomo

Original post by Mabey

Thank you so much for completing the survey Mabey, much appreciated! I'll hopefully have some updates in the coming weeks/months :smile:

Reply 15

bluemuffin

Yes! Especially for maths/sciences a levels

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 16

yoyoyomo

Original post by bluemuffin

Yes! Especially for maths/sciences a levels

Thanks for the feedback! Do the textbooks you use have questions already? e.g. at the end of the chapter

Reply 17

bluemuffin

Original post by yoyoyomo

Thanks for the feedback! Do the textbooks you use have questions already? e.g. at the end of the chapter

Yeah no worries! My chemistry one has a few questions at the end of every double page spread after a subtopic is covered to consolidate knowledge. For my maths textbook, the chapter starts with a few examples with worked through examples to show how to approach the question, followed by multiple exercises students can do to get the process themselves

Reply 18

yoyoyomo

Original post by bluemuffin

Thanks, that's very helpful.

So would you pay for an app that (for this particularly book) has the same questions as what is in the book but with additional features? e.g. you can choose a topic that will push you a question/s at random times throughout the day, prompting you to recall it when you're not studying, plus other features such as tracking scores on different topics, gamifying etc. be as honest as you want

Reply 19

bluemuffin

Original post by yoyoyomo

I think it depends first of all on how expensive it is. All those features sound useful but I think I would only be convinced if it improved the quality of my revision and include some sort of guarantee e.g. “get at least an A or your money back” which I’ve seen around