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FLASHDOC.TXT
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1992-10-02
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FLASH CARDS SYSTEM
==================
Introduction
============
This Flash Cards system was created to provide memory drill on
the contents of a database, to allow people studying for tests to
solidify information in their memories.
The system permits the creation and modification of databases,
keeps track of the number of errors in a test, and allows the
user to create a graph of the number of errors made in each run-
through of a test.
Author
======
The system was written by John Michell, of Startext Computing
Services Ltd., 105 Scarboro Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
T3C 2H2, and used over a period of several months in 1992 as he
prepared for the tests leading to Novell's Certified NetWare
Engineer (CNE) designation. It was released to the general
public on September 9, 1992, by being uploaded to the NOVLIB
forum on CompuServe.
Disclaimer
==========
Though all reasonable care has been exercised in creating this
system and the databases that accompany the system or are
available as options, the student is wholly responsible for
knowing the content of the course being studied.
The system is supplied on an "as-is" basis. The author and
Startext Computing Services Ltd. disclaim all warranties,
expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the
warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.
The author and Startext Computing Services Ltd. assume no
liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result
from the use of the Flash Cards system, even when the author
and/or Startext Computing Services Ltd. have been informed of the
possibility of such damage. In no case shall the liability of
the author and/or Startext Computing Services Ltd. exceed the
registration fee paid.
Shareware
=========
The Flash Cards system is "Shareware", and is licensed at no
charge to the user for evaluation. The user may share it, but
may not alter the program or documentation nor include the Flash
Cards system as part of another system.
If you find this program useful and continue to use the Flash
Cards system after a 21 day trial period, you must make a
registration payment to Startext Computing Services Ltd. The
registration fee will license one copy for use on any one
computer at any one time.
Users are encouraged to pass a copy of the Flash Cards system and
documentation along to friends and colleagues for evaluation.
Please encourage them to register, too. All registered users
receive the benefits described under "Benefits of Registration",
below.
Benefits of Registration
========================
Upon receipt of the registration form and fee, registrants will
be included in a mailing list, so that they can be notified of
various changes and improvements in the system. For example,
while the author has used the system over a period of several
months, it is possible that new users may stress the system in
new ways, and may run into bugs of which the author is unaware.
The author commits to correcting such errors as quickly as
possible, and to informing registered users of such corrections.
New releases of the system will be issued when substantial new
features are available. Registered users will be offered
upgrades at discounted rates. Furthermore, the author (and other
users of the system) will be developing new databases as they
prepare to take tests on additional Novell courses. Registered
users will be informed about these new databases too.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FLASH CARDS SYSTEM
=========================================
The Files
=========
The Flash Cards System consists of the following files: (If you
downloaded the system from a bulletin board, you will find they
are included in a "Zipped" file, using PKZip Fast! available from
PKWARE Inc., 7032 Ardara Avenue, Glendale, WI 53209, and from
most bulletin boards).
FLASH.XLS
---------
The startup file. When you open this file, it loads in the macro
sheet and get things rolling. It contains several command
buttons which cause marcos to run which provide much of the
functionality of the system.
FLASH.XLM
---------
The macro sheet, containing the coding that makes the system
work.
NW3SM.XLS
---------
The question and answer database for the NetWare v3.11 System
Manager test.
DB-BLANK.XLS
------------
A skeleton database that will allow the user to create a new
database of questions and answers.
SCORES.XLS
----------
A worksheet on which you can enter your scores. An embedded
chart plots the scores you record so you can see your progress
STARTING THE SYSTEM
===================
Load Excel, and open the FLASH.XLS worksheet. This worksheet has
an Auto_Open reference which causes FLASH.XLM to load into
memory.
A dialog box appears, asking whether you want to open an existing
database or create a new one. Choose Open Existing Database. and
an Open Dialog box will appear, from which you should choose the
database you want to work with.
As the system opens the database worksheet, it sorts the database
on the category (fourth column), numbers the rows of the
database, and counts the questions in each category.
The system then creates a "Flash Card Setup" dialog box with a
drop-down list showing the chapter number from the student
workbook, the category name, and the number of questions in that
category. For example, if you open the 3.11 System Manager
Database, the first category you will see is "02. NetWare Basics
(46)". Click on the category you want, and choose OK.
RUNNING A DRILL
===============
The system now creates a drill database by extracting from the
database just those questions and answers that are in the desired
category, and starts the memory drill on this database.
The system randomly selects a question from the drill database,
and creates a dialog box called "Flash cards" with the following
general content:
"[number of questions left] ([category name]): [question]"
for example:
"46 (02. NetWare Basics): Maximum concurrent TTS
transactions".
Type your answer in the edit box, and choose OK. [Hint: if you
know the answer, and don't want to have the Flash Card Error
dialog box show up, just enter "iii" as your answer.]
(If you choose Cancel at this point, the test stops.)
If your answer exactly matches the answer in the database [or you
entered "iii"], the question is deleted from the drill database,
and another question is chosen and presented.
The convention used in creating answers, is that if there is a
list of terms in the answer (such as Ethernet, Token/Ring and
Arcnet) they will be listed in alphabetic order with commas
between them and no conjuctions. So the answer to "What are the
commonly used cabling types" would be "Arcnet, Ethernet,
Tokwn/Ring". This convention is deviated from if there is a
logical order or time sequence in the answer, so the answer to
"What are the steps in installing Netware" would be "Prepare
hardware, install operating system, generate workstation shell".
The Flash Card Error dialog box
===============================
If your answer does not exactly match the answer in the database,
a Flash Card Error dialog box is created with the following
content:
Incorrect Response! Database record #n
Question was
[question]
Your response
[response]
Correct response
[correct response]
And five command buttons are shown: OK, Stop Test, Ignore Error,
Modify Question, Modify Answer
OK button
---------
Choosing OK causes the system to leave the question in the drill
database, note the number of the question (in the original
database) in an list of errors, and choose another question.
Stop Test button
----------------
This stops the test. No statistics are presented, and the user
is returned to the main screen.
Ignore Error button
-------------------
This button tells the system to treat your response as correct.
Use it if you made a typing error, or if you felt your answer was
"close enough".
Modify Question
---------------
Choosing this button causes the system to show a Change Database
dialog box, with the question displayed in the edit box. Change
the question as you like, then choose OK. The system changes the
question in the original database, and then proceeds as though
you had chosen the Ignore Error button. If you choose Cancel
from the Modify Question dialog box, you are returned to the
Flash Card Error dialog box.
Modify Answer
-------------
This works like the Modify Question command button, only it is
the answer in the database that is changed.
The end of the drill
====================
When all the questions have been answered, the System presents a
dialog box like the following
Section 06: 6 questions, 2 errors (3 total). OK to retest
on errors, Cancel to halt.
In the case shown, a total of three errors were made, of which
one was a repeat error.
OK Button
---------
This causes the system to create a new drill database comprising
only those questions which were incorrectly answered in the
previous drill. In the case above, therefore, the records
containing the two questions which were answered incorrectly are
extracted from the main database to make up the drill database.
Cancel Button
-------------
This exits the drill routine, and re-displays the main
(Flash.xls) worksheet.
Updating the scores sheet
=========================
Choosing the Update Scores button (or entering Ctrl-U) unhides
the Scores.xls worksheet, which contains an area for entering the
number of unique errors and the total number of questions in each
section. Also, there are cells containing calculations which
produce percentage error rates.
This part of the system is not significantly automated. It is
simply an area in which you can keep track of your scores. An
embedded chart will display the results of your drills in bar-
chart format. If there are more categories in the database than
there are in Scores.xls, you will have to modify the range name
definitions to make the chart work.
In the next release I will probably include a score sheet with
each database -- perhaps actually in the database worksheet.
Finding the categories and numbers
----------------------------------
If you feel so inclined, and you are comfortable in working with
Excel, you can get the list of categories by unhiding the
database you are working with and using Formula Goto to move to
the named range "Category_list", where you will see the list of
categories. You could copy them, and paste them into the first
column of Scores.xls. Similarly, the numbers can be found near a
named range called "Category".
The range names used in the chart will have to be updated to pick
the correct data ranges.
CREATING A NEW DATABASE
=======================
To create a new database, choose the Make New Database button
from the main screen, and follow the instructions. We use a
worksheet called DB-BLANK.XLS as a skeleton database, and save it
under a new name before proceeding.
A dialog box appears stating: "In creating flash cards, just
enter the question, answer, and category. Sequence numbers are
created when you end modifications. For the category, be sure to
give a section number followed by a period." Choose OK.
Choose your new database's name from the Flash Cards Setup dialog
box that follows, and cancel out of the drill starting dialog box
that follows.
Choose Modify Database from the Flash.xls screen: you will see
the database on the left side of your screen and some additional
command buttons on the right side. Here is what they do:
Next Q&A
--------
Finds the next question and answer locations in the database.
(Remember to follow the "no blank lines" rule of Excel databases,
by the way. Each question and answer record must be in the row
directly below the previous one.)
Definition
----------
Displays a What's it Stand For dialog box which prompts "Enter
term to be defined." Type the term (don't bother to capitalize,
the system will convert it to upper case), and press Enter -- the
system will create a question of the form "What does [term] stand
for" and select the answer cell on that row for your definition.
What does X provide
Selecting this button displays a What does it provide dialog box,
with the prompt "Enter term to be described." Type the term
(you're in charge of capitalization, this time) and press Enter -
- the system will create a question of the form "What does [term]
provide", and select the answer cell on that row for your
response.
Composite questions
-------------------
Selecting this button takes you to an area on the database where
you can create multiple questions of the form
What is the [minimum/maximum] RAM that can be used by a
[dedicated/non-dedicated] server in NetWare v2.2
Formulas in column 26 combine the terms entered in columns 30 -
34. When you have created all the composite questions you want,
select the cells in column 26 that contain the questions you
want, then click in the rounded rectangle that says "Select area
to be pasted into database and click here."
The macro will copy the questions you have created to the end of
the database.
End Database Changes
--------------------
When you are done making changes to the database, selecting this
button will sort the database by category, number the questions,
hide the database, and return you to the Flash Card Setup dialog
box.
CREATING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
==============================
Just enter the question, answer, and category, when you are
creating flash cards. Sequence numbers are created automatically
when you end database changes. For the category, be sure to give
a two digit section number followed by a period and a space --
that is, when entering a category for Chapter 4, use "04.
Software Requirements", because the leading 0 ensures proper
ordering of the categories in the Flash Card Setup dialog box
drop-down list.
Conventions used
----------------
The conventions I have used in creating questions and answers
are:
Don't put question marks at the end of the question.
Don't use "and" in a list of terms in an answer: use "Arcnet,
Ethernet, Token/Ring", not "Arcnet, Ethernet, and Token/Ring".
Give answers in alphabetical order, unless there is a strong time
or priority logic in using another order. Use "FDDI, Token/Ring"
if responding to "Name two ring topologies", but use "Prepare
Hardware, INSTALL, WSGEN" if responding to "What are the steps in
creating a NetWare v2.2 network"
Consider splitting a chapter into several segments, so that there
are no more than 40 questions in a segment. One useful split is
Definitions and Functionality, as in "AppleTalk Definitions" and
"AppleTalk Functionality" -- this allows you to get the terms
straight before gettting into their meanings.
SEND ME YOUR DATABASES
======================
If you have created a database and have passed a test based on
your studying of it, send a copy of it to me, and I will include
it in the list of offerings. I'll remit 40% of all funds
received from the sale of your database to you, and take care of
all the administration of the sales.