The Edit Window

Whenever you get an item wrong, or click the Edit button, an Edit Window will appear, looking something like this:


There is also an Advanced version of the Edit window, for teachers and other experienced users, but for now let's stick with the Simple version. On the left, there are four areas for entering text:

  1. German (The German word to be learned. Note, there can only be one German word or phrase for each numbered vocab test item.)
  2. English (One or more English definitions, separated by semi-colons.)
  3. German Prompt (A cue that will appear with the German, when testing in the German-to-English direction, to let the student know which of two possible meanings is intended, such as 'verb' for the verb 'sein' or 'adjective' for the possessive adjective 'sein'.)
  4. English Prompt (A cue that will appear with the English word, when testing in the English-to-German direction. Often indicates the initial letter of the German word to indicate which of two synonyms is wanted. In Grammar lessons, the prompt may contain German sentences with '...' to indicate a gap that must be filled with the appropriate declined form of the German word.)

Note that, for most items, the Prompt sections will be blank.

Below these sections is a navigation tool that lets students find an item by entering its number, the German definition, or any of the English definitions. The arrowed buttons (<<, <, >, >>) move back ten items, back one item, forwards one item, or forwards ten items, respectively.

In the top right corner of the Edit window is the Mnemonics pane, which is where memory cues can be entered. The main reason the Edit window is programmed to appear after a student gets an item wrong, is that this allows easy entry of mnemonic data at the time that the item has proven problematic. We strongly recommend use of this facility if you ever get an item wrong twice in a row. Preparing mnemonic pictures will usually be the work of teachers, but it only takes a few seconds to enter a text prompt that links the German and English definitions in the student's mind. For more details, see the Mnemonics file under the Help menu, or go to the Cerebware website.


Finally, in the bottom right corner of the Edit window, a brief summary of the item's learning history appears. New users don't need to worry about this at all.