WO2004021312A1

WO2004021312A1 - Recalling items of information

Info

Publication number: WO2004021312A1
Application number: PCT/AU2003/001128
Authority: WO
Inventors: Adrian Scott Ternouth
Original assignee: Evolutioncode Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2002-09-02
Filing date: 2003-09-02
Publication date: 2004-03-11
Also published as: CA2497294A1; AU2002951166A0; DE10393189T5; GB0504318D0; GB2409327B; GB2409327A

Abstract

A method of testing and improving recall information using an automated device. An item of information is connected to an initial prompt by a relationship link. The device presents the initial prompt to the user who recalls information and links to the prompt. The device reviews the information and links and the user compares the reviewed intended information with the recalled information. The user provides inputs to the device indicating an ability to recall the information and links. The inputs provided by the user are used to calculate a re-testing interval for each item of information. The device automatically re-test the user after the interval calculated for each item of information has elapsed. A longer interval is used for items of information recalled exactly than the interval for items of information not recalled exactly. At re-testing information not yet due for re-testing is presented to the user.

Description

RECALLING ITEMS OF INFORMATION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a way of testing and improving a user's ability to recall items of information linked together in a sequence or in a tree-like structure in response to an initial prompt.

Background to the Invention

During schooling, students are presented with vast quantities of information. Some of this information is easily remembered by some students, and less easily remembered by other students. Moreover, some of the information is more important, and this distinction may be made by a student when trying to commit the information to memory. Once information is remembered, students are then faced with the difficulty of retaining the information in memory long enough for it to be retrieved for the purpose of completing an assessment, or more preferably, for use later in life. This difficulty can be substantially overcome by shifting the information from short-term memory to long-term memory.

There are many established learning techniques which are said to improve one's ability to remember certain facts or items of information over both short and long periods of time. Rehearsal or repetition of facts and activities is useful in reinforcing one's memory of certain items of information and may be practised during revision of coursework done by students in preparation for exams. However, it is difficult to manage a learning program which is directed towards committing vast quantities of information to memory.

Learning devices and systems exist which use rehearsal or repetition to test one's memory. However they are deficient because they tend to either fail to adjust themselves based on an individual's recollection of an item is progressing during revision OR fail to provide any more than simple singular tracking of multipart blocks of learning material. For example one might have a system which tests a user's knowledge of CPR (Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) by asking "do you know the sequence for CPR" and requiring a YES/NO input. Using this type of system, a student might fail the CPR test, but in actual fact he/she only forgot one piece of the sequence required for CPR. If that aspect of the sequence can be focussed on, time would be more efficiently used than revising the 'CPR sequence' in its entirety.

In addition, given the vast amount of information currently available it is unrealistic to think that one could learn all of it. Different pieces of information are of differing significance, and current testing methods fail to assert learning of important information over relatively unimportant information.

Accordingly, a need exists for a method of systematically testing memory which addresses these deficiencies in current learning practices.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information using an automated testing device, wherein each item of information is connected to an initial prompt by one or more links, the method including: (a) testing the user by:

(i) the testing device presenting the initial prompt to the user;

(ii) the user recalling the items of information and links connecting them to the initial prompt;

(iii) using the testing device to review each of the items of information and links connected to the initial prompt; and

(iv) the user comparing the reviewed items of information with the recalled items of information and providing inputs to the testing device indicating an ability to recall individually, each of the items of information connected to the initial prompt; (b) using at least the inputs provided by the user to calculate a testing interval for each of the items of information to determine when the testing device will automatically re-test the user; and

(c) re-testing the user according to steps (i) to (iv) after the testing interval calculated for each of the items of information has elapsed; wherein the testing interval is longer for items of information which were recalled exactly than the testing interval for items of information which were not recalled exactly and wherein re-testing the user presents the initial prompt plus any other items of information that are not yet due for re-testing. The testing device may be any suitable device which is programmed with at least one prompt and one or more items of information to be learnt by the user. The items of information may be connected to the initial prompt either directly or indirectly. Suitable testing devices include computers such as a desktop or laptop computers, and personal digital assistants. The initial prompt may be a question such as, "what are the available treatments for heart attack?" or a unit of subject matter such as "vegetables for planting in August" or any other material which has one or more linked items of information to be learnt. The links may be arrows, bullet marks, numerical or alphabetic indicators or any other type of link.

The initial prompt and the items of information may be presented to the user for learning in any suitable way. In a preferred embodiment, they are presented on a screen such as a computer screen, prior to the user being tested. Alternatively, the initial prompt and the items of information may be presented using an audible, tactile or any other such device, depending on the nature of the concept and the associated items of information being learnt.

Prior to testing the user, the testing device may provide the user with an opportunity to learn the items of information connected to the initial prompt. Accordingly, the testing device presents the user with the initial prompt or "concept". This may be in the form of a question (e.g. "How would one treat a heart attack?"), followed by one link at a time which connects to that prompt each item of information to be recalled. This provides the user with an opportunity to learn or "memorise" each item of information.

In one embodiment, the items of information are connected in a branched arrangement. In such an arrangement, an item of information connected may also be connected, either directly or indirectly to one or more other items of information and one or more secondary prompts by one or more other links.

The method is based on the fact that the human mind has an almost limitless ability to form individual mental links between pieces of information. The reliability of these links is based on the amount of arousal of the human mind at the time of their formation and review. There may be an exponential relationship between how often a given link is used and a person's ability to recall that link and related items of information. Also, a 'Spacing Effect' exists whereby spreading out the testing of material, seemingly as long as possible, before forgetting occurs, results in better retention of that material. For example, revising the material 3 times, say 10 minutes, 80 minutes and 10 hours after learning it is likely to result in better retention of the material over longer periods than if the same material is revised at 10, 20, and 30 minute intervals. Therefore, it is preferred that there is a delay between the user learning the material and the user's retention of that material being tested. The delay may depend on the difficulty level, importance and/or volume of the material being learnt and/or the user's learning ability. The basic structure of 2 items linked in memory may be used to chain together a list of items of any length, or if more than one link from a given item exists, a tree of items of any depth. This principle can also be applied to the method of the present invention by providing a tree structure wherein an item of information behaves as a sub- or secondary prompt which is connected to additional items of information by subsequent links. The links may connect the items of the information to one or more prompts in a particular sequence which may have relevance to the subject matter being tested, way in which the items of information are learnt and/or the items of information themselves. This sequence may form a representation of an answer to an initial prompt, which can be learned both as a whole and in parts.

Using the inventive method to improve the user's ability to recall the items of information, the testing interval is longer for items of information which were recalled exactly than the testing interval for items of information which were not recalled exactly. Therefore, when being tested, the user is presented with the initial prompt and one or more items of information which are not yet due for testing, based on the calculated testing interval, enabling the user to learn the items of information in parts, focussing his or her efforts on the particular items of information which are less well learnt

Although the user may be tested by presenting the initial prompt to the user, the user may also be presented with one or more hints to assist the user in recalling one or more of the items of information. The hints may be in the form of links which connect each of the items of information to the initial prompt. When tested, the user provides input to the testing device using any suitable input device such as a mouse, keypad, or touch screen. It is preferred that the user is first presented with the initial prompt, or question and then uses the input device to instruct the testing device to present hints or links. Alternatively, the user may not require hints and may request all the items of information connected to the initial prompt to be revealed and provide input to the testing device indicating his or her ability to recall each of the one or more items of information. The hints or links may be presented individually or together. When presented together, they may indicate to the user the number of items of information which are associated with the concept, and this may assist the user in recalling those items. The user will then have to rely on his or her earlier learning or memory of the initial prompt and the connected items of information in order to recall the items of information.

The user recalls the one or more items of information by re-creating the links and items of information which are connected to the initial prompt. Such a re-creation may involve the user forming a mental image of what has been previously learnt. Alternatively, the user may recall the links and items of information and re-create them on paper so that a comparison can be made and the user can indicate his or her ability to recall each of the items. As another alternative, the user may re-create the links and items of information using tools which may be provided by the testing device, such as drag and drop images and text boxes. In such an embodiment, particularly when there are multiple levels or "branches" of information to be learnt, the testing device may present the items of information arranged at random, and the user may rearrange them to re-create the links and items of information as they were learnt, thereby indicating his or her ability to recall those items. The user provides input to the testing device to indicate his or her ability to recall each of the items of information connected to one or more prompts. The user's ability may be categorised in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, the user's ability to recall the items of information is characterised into levels as follows: (a) recalled exactly;

(b) almost recalled; and

(c) did not recall.

The levels are then used by the testing device using an appropriate formula to take advantage of the 'Spacing Effect' where possible, to calculate a testing interval for each of the items of information to determine when the user is to be re-tested automatically. This results in the user being re-tested for items of information which the user did not recall sooner than re-testing for those items which were almost recalled and those which were recalled exactly. The testing device then automatically re-tests the user accordingly at suitable testing intervals for each item of information.

The testing device can be programmed to calculate when the user is to be re-tested, using any suitable scheduling method. Between tests, the user may learn new concepts or subject matter. For example a medical student might come home from a day of learning about new diseases and use the testing device for testing, improving his ability to recall that information. After reviewing the initial prompts and connected items of information related to the new diseases, the testing device will automatically calculate when the user is to be tested and re-tested on particular items of information related to those diseases.

As inferred above, the testing device may calculate when the user is to be re-tested using any appropriate method. This may include a calculation which is based on the difficulty level of the subject matter being tested, the user's ability to recall an item of information in a previous test and the importance of the information.

In a preferred embodiment, the calculation is based on a desired minimum time interval between the user being presented with the initial prompt and related items of information for the first time, the first test and each subsequent re-test. In such an embodiment, each item has an associated testing interval and a "time for next test", which may be set to a default value, prior to the user being tested for the first time. After a user has been tested once, the testing interval for each individual item of information connected to one or more prompts may be adjusted according to the user's level of recollection for each item. The levels of recollection may be assigned a multiplier which may be greater than or less than one. These may be used to adjust the testing interval for each item of information individually and therefore, the time at which the next test for those items of information will occur. This multiplier and minimum time interval may also be adjusted from a default value by the user. Appropriate multipliers may be assigned as follows:

LEVEL OF RECOLLECTION TESTING INTERVAL MULTIPLIER Recalled exactly 4

Almost recalled 1

Did not recall 0.25

In such an embodiment, items which were almost recalled will be re- tested after an interval which is the same as the initial interval which elapsed between the user first being presented with the items of information and the first test. Items which were recalled exactly will be re-tested after 4 times the initial interval and items which were not recalled will be re-tested after an interval which is one quarter of the initial interval. It is to be understood that the testing interval multipliers exemplified are not to be taken as limiting or exact, and that any suitable system which takes advantage of the 'Spacing Effect', interval multipliers and/or an initial testing interval may be employed.

Each item of information being tested may also be allocated an importance weighting for adjusting the testing interval or sequence of testing of information. In such an embodiment, the importance weighting may be used to determine the order in which the items are tested, so that higher weighted items are due for testing before lower weighted items. This minimises the likelihood of a user wasting valuable time "re-learning" items of information which are of lesser importance than other items of information. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automated testing device for systematically testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information, wherein each of the items of information is connected to one or more prompts either directly or indirectly by one or more links, the testing device including: (a) a display which presents the one or more prompts, links and items of information to the user;

(b) an input device which receives input from the user;

(c) a testing strategy software component which calculates, based on at least the user's input, a testing interval for each of the items of information, to determine when the device will automatically test and re-test the user's ability to recall each of the items of information;

(d) a testing interval storage component which stores the testing interval for each of the items of information; and (e) a processing device which runs the testing strategy software component; wherein a test of the user's ability to recall the one or more items of information includes the steps of:

(i) presenting one or more of the prompts, links and/or items of information to the user; and (ii) the user providing the input to the testing device.

The display may be any suitable display such as a computer screen or monitor for prompts (or questions) which can be presented visually. The input device may be any suitable input device such as a computer, keyboard, mouse, trackball, static detector or touch screen, or even a voice or sound detection device.

The testing strategy software component contains software written using any suitable programming language and stored on a suitable storage medium such as a computer hard disk, a CD ROM, optical disc or other electronic storage device. It is preferred that the testing strategy software component also stores the initial prompts and items of information to be learnt and tested. However, the initial prompts and information may be stored elsewhere. These prompts are preferably divided into chapters which each contain a plurality of "cards" with one or more prompts connected to items of information to be learnt. A "card" may contain items of information which are connected to one or more prompts to form a concept diagram where the items may be linked in a tree-like or "branched" configuration. The processing device may be any suitable device such as a computer processor capable of executing instructions stored on the testing strategy software component. In a preferred embodiment, the testing device further includes an importance weighting and a testing history storage component.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information connected directly or indirectly to an initial prompt by one or more links by performing steps including: (a) presenting a user with one or more prompts to which one or more of the items of information is connected either directly or indirectly;

(b) receiving input from the user which indicates the user's ability to recall individually, each of the one or more items of information connected to the one or more prompts;

(c) automatically calculating, based on at least the input received from the user, a testing interval for each of the items of information, to determine when the user's ability to recall each of the one or more items of information will be re- tested; and (d) automatically re-testing the user; wherein the testing interval is longer for items of information which were recalled exactly than the testing interval for other items of information which were not recalled exactly.

The computer program may be created using any suitable programming language. The user's ability to recall each of the items of information is tested by further including the step of presenting the user with a link or hint for one or more of the items of information. This may assist the user in recalling each item. The step of automatically calculating when the user will be re-tested may also be based on an importance weighting which is allocated to one or more of the items of information. This enables the user to be tested less frequently for items of information which are less important than other items of information. An importance weighting may also be used to determine an order in which different "cards" having at least an initial prompt and items of information are presented for testing.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will herein after be described in greater detail by reference to the attached drawings. It is to be understood that the particularity of the drawings does not supersede the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a card containing a prompt and 3 connected items of information to be tested, the initial prompt and items of information being arranged in a concept map style diagram. Figure 2 shows the card of Figure 1 being tested, where the initial prompt is presented to the user without the aid of the links which represent the relationship between the items comprising the concept map.

Figure 3a shows a card for learning items to be considered when presented with a patient who is unexpectedly anaemic.

Figure 3b shows the card of Figure 3a testing in particular, the user's ability to recall the items connected to the sub-prompt, "FBC result".

Figure 3c shows part of the card of Figures 3a and 3b, particularly showing the initial prompt and the items of information referred to in Figure 3b wherein one of the items of information shown in the card in Figure 3b is behaving as a sub-prompt from which 3 links extend for connecting 3 further items of information; and wherein 'Macrocytic' becomes a sub-prompt to which further items of information are connected and being tested.

Figure 4 shows the card of Figures 1 and 2 for use in another test in which the user's knowledge of Virchow's Triad is being tested.

Figure 5 is a flow diagram showing steps involved in an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description Referring firstly to Figure 1 , a "card" is opened which is used to test a user's knowledge of items of information which are related to a concept or initial prompt. In the exemplary embodiment, the initial prompt is "Virchow's Triad". Three links in the form of black arrows are shown. These links connect 3 items of information to the initial prompt on which the user will be tested. In the example provided, the items of information are:

1. Blood;

2. Vessel Wall; and

3. Flow.

When the user is first presented with this card, the initial prompt, links and each of the 3 items of information are fully visible. This enables the user to learn or memorise each of the items of information and relationships between them represented by links. Once the user feels comfortable with the subject matter, he or she can ask to be tested. Alternatively, if not wishing to be tested yet, the user may request or search an associated database for a new card with different subject matter to learn.

In the example provided, the user selects "test next (card) to test". If only one card has been "learnt" or "reviewed" prior to this point in time and the testing time calculated using the testing interval for one or more items of information on that card has elapsed then the relevant items of information on that card will be tested. However, if more than one card has been learnt, the testing device will test the user on whichever card and items of information has been automatically scheduled by the testing device as next in line for testing, depending on the importance weighting of the items and how overdue for testing they may be.

For each link and corresponding item of information, the testing device stores data relating to the "time" at which the user's ability to recall each item of information is scheduled to be tested and the interval (in minutes, hours, days etc.) which is scheduled to elapse between tests. Accordingly, the testing schedule details for each of the links and items of information being tested in a single card are likely to vary, depending on the user's knowledge of and ability to recall each of the items connected directly or indirectly to the initial prompt.

Each of the links and connected items of information may also be allocated an importance weighting. This is particularly useful for learning subject matter where some of the items of information are more important than others or some cards are more important than others. In a realistic situation such as this, it is not as important for the user to remember some of the items of information or even some of the cards as it is to remember other items of information or cards. Consequently, it would be a waste of the user's time and effort to be tested as if all of the items of information were equally as important to the user or to the subject. Accordingly, the testing interval for each item of information may vary in accordance with each item's importance weighting and/or the user's ability to recall of each of the items of information. Upon requesting the "next test to test", the user is presented with the initial prompt, as shown in Figure 2. The user is then required to re-create the rest of the "card" by forming a mental image including each of the items of information connected to the initial prompt by the links. The user then clicks on the initial prompt and each of the 3 links, in the form of black arrows are displayed, indicating to the user that there are 3 items of information which are associated with the subject matter being tested. This may be used as a "hint" if the user is unable to independently recall the items or re-create a mental image of the "card" without further assistance. Other "hinting" tools may be built into the system to complement the testing method and device.

When the user clicks on the initial prompt, "Virchow's Triad" using a mouse, the user is presented with a visual display of each of the items of information, blood, vessel wall and flow. At this point any of these items may become a "nidus" for another item to be recalled. This is particularly useful if there are branches of information to learn. This is exemplified in Figures 3a, 3b and 3c which relate to anaemia where "FBC result" is a nidus or sub-prompt for 3 subsequent items of information, "Macrocytic", "Normocytic", and "Microcytic". In this example, "Macrocytic" is a secondary nidus or sub-prompt for 3 further items of information, "B12 and Folate Levels", "Smear" and "Liver Function Tests".

Eventually all the links and items on the card, in response to the initial prompt, are shown. The user is then required to indicate to the testing device how successful he or she was in recalling each of the items of information. In one embodiment, at the time of completion of testing of the card, each item to be recalled is surrounded by a green coloured box. This indicates to the user that the testing device assumes that the user recalled each item perfectly. If this is not the case, the user provides input to the device to indicate the user's level of recollection. The user may "Right Click" a mouse button once to make the box orange, indicating that this item was not perfectly recalled or "almost recalled" only. This will ensure that the testing interval will not be increased as it would be if the user had perfect recall. Two "Right Clicks" make the box red indicating to the system that the user "didn't recall" the item ensuring that this item is tested more often by decreasing the testing interval.

Each of the items of information in the card shown in Figures 1 to 3 had an initial testing interval of 4 hours. However, this interval could be set to any suitable interval and may be adjusted according to the user's learning ability, the difficulty level of the information being learnt, or any other variable. Once the user has provided input to the testing device indicating his or her ability to recall each of the items of information being tested, the device automatically calculates when the user is to be re-tested for each item of information on the card. If in the example of Figures 1 to 3, the user perfectly recalled 'vessel wall', almost or partly recalled 'flow', but did not recall 'blood', then for the card in Figures 1 to 3, the testing intervals are adjusted as follows:

ITEM OF LEVEL OF TESTING ADJUSTED

INFORMATION RECOLLECTION INTERVAL TESTING INTERVAL

MULTIPLIER (hours)

Vessel wall Recalled exactly 4 16

Flow Almost recalled 1 4

Blood Did not recall 0.25 1

Accordingly, items which were recalled exactly (vessel wall) will be re- tested after 16 hours have elapsed, items which were almost recalled (flow) will be re-tested after the same default interval of 4 hours has elapsed and items which were not recalled at all (blood) will be recalled much sooner, after only 1 hour has elapsed (or if this is less than the minimum set time interval it will be set to that minimum level).

Referring to the example shown in Figure 4, when the user selects "next test to test", if 1 hour has passed, and there is no other card due for testing, the user will be presented with a card as shown in Figure 4. Here, it can be seen that the only item of information being tested is "blood", as the other items not due for testing are presented to the user. If the user indicates that he or she is now able to recall that item of information, the testing interval will be re-adjusted by the appropriate multiplier. In this case, if the user was able to exactly recall blood, the testing interval multiplier will be 4 and the new adjusted testing interval will be 4 hours. The testing interval for each of the items of information which were not tested in that test will remain the same as was determined in the previous test and for example 'Flow' would still be due for testing in 3 hours.

Figure 5 shows the overall flow of one embodiment of the inventive method. In step 501 , a user reviews for the first time, a card having one or more prompts and connected items of information. The card may have been purchased as part of a chapter of cards or may have been created by the user. Preferably, the items of information on the card have a default testing interval and after the user has reviewed the card, in step 502 the system sets the time for the first test, based on the testing interval.

In step 503 the system checks whether there are any cards having items which are due for testing. If there are no cards with items due for testing, the system returns to step 501. If there is a card with items due for testing, the system asks the user if he or she wishes to be tested in step 504. If the user says "no", the user may go on to review or learn items of information on another card. If the answer is "yes", the system presents the card to the user, showing the initial prompt and any subsequent prompts and items of information which are not yet due to be tested, as shown in step 505.

In step 506, the user attempts to recall the items of information which are missing from the card by re-creating a mental image of the card. When the user has made his or her best attempt at recalling the items of information which should be connected to the initial prompt, the user activates a systematic display of the items of information which were missing from the card in step 507 to determine whether he or she recalled each of those items correctly. The user then provides input to the system to indicate his or her ability to recall each of those items in step 508. To do this, the user may click the right mouse button on items which were not completely recalled. At step 509, the system uses the inputs provided in step 508 to calculate a new testing interval and time to test each of the items of information on the card. The system then loops back to step 503 to determine if there is another card with items of information due for testing. In the meantime, the user can learn new material using new cards and chapters, and may even create his or her own cards containing items of information to be learnt.

The present invention provides an effective method of learning items of information which are associated with a prompt because it tests items which are not well known more frequently than items which are well known. It is particularly useful because items of information may be connected in a branched arrangement enabling combinations and layers of information to be taught and tested individually and at different intervals. Further, a user's knowledge of and ability to recall items of information which are more important can be tested more frequently than items of information which are less important. An additional advantage is that the present invention is able to schedule testing by considering the user's ability to recall the items of information in combination with the relative importance of each of those items of information. Another preferred feature of the system is that when two or more items of information on the same card are due for testing in a short block of time, the earlier scheduled tests are delayed so that all of the items on that card which are due for testing in that block of time are tested simultaneously.

It is to be understood that the invention may be extended so that a testing interval can be allocated to each of a plurality of "cards", and that the plurality of cards may constitute all or part of a chapter. In such an embodiment, some of the cards may require more frequent testing than others in order for a user's knowledge of the subject matter of that chapter to reach a required proficiency.

"Chapters" made up of "cards" which contain items of information connected to an initial prompt may be purchased from a vendor, downloaded from the Internet or acquired in some other way by the user who will use the cards in each chapter to learn certain subject matter.

Alternatively, the user may create the cards and sort them into chapters. Preferably, these "cards" are created using software operating on a computer such as a laptop. Creating cards may therefore form part of a student's note- taking technique wherein a laptop computer is used to create cards consisting of items of information connected to one or more prompts, based on subject matter presented during a class or lecture. These cards are then used to assist the user in testing and improving his or her ability to recall the items of information connected to the prompts on each card. Cards created by the user may therefore be arranged in a particular way and/or include pictures, text and other features which are memorable to that user. This improves the effectiveness of the inventive method as the user connects items of information to the initial and subsequent prompts in a way which suits the user's personal learning style and appeals to the user's memory and ability to recall those items of information.

It is to be understood that various alterations, additions and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the ambit of the present invention.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A method of testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information using an automated testing device, wherein each item of information is connected to an initial prompt by one or more links, the method including:

(a) testing the user by:

(i) the testing device presenting the initial prompt to the user;

(iv) the user comparing the reviewed items of information with the recalled items of information and providing inputs to the testing device indicating an ability to recall individually, each of the items of information connected to the initial prompt;

(b) using at least the inputs provided by the user to calculate a testing interval for each of the items of information to determine when the testing device will automatically re-test the user; and (c) re-testing the user according to steps (i) to (iv) after the testing interval calculated for each of the items of information has elapsed; wherein the testing interval is longer for items of information which were recalled exactly than the testing interval for items of information which were not recalled exactly and wherein re-testing the user presents the initial prompt plus any other items of information that are not yet due for re-testing.

2. A method according to claim 1 further including repeating the steps of calculating a new testing interval for each of the items of information based on the inputs provided by the user and re-testing the user after the new testing interval until the user's ability to recall the one or more items of information is proficient.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the items of information are connected in a branched arrangement, wherein an item of information connected to the initial prompt by a link may also be connected, either directly or indirectly, to one or more other items of information and/or one or more secondary prompts by one or more other links.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims further including the step of presenting one or more hints to assist the user in recalling one or more of the items of information.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each of the items of information has a default testing interval which is used in addition to the inputs provided by the user to calculate when the testing device will automatically re-test the user.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each of the items of information connected to the initial prompt has an importance weighting which is used to calculate an order in which items of information connected to different initial prompts are tested.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of calculating the testing interval for each item of information also uses a testing interval multiplier which is determined based on one or more of the inputs provided by the user.

8. An automated testing device for systematically testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information, wherein each of the one or more items of information is connected to an initial prompt either directly or indirectly by one or more links, the testing device including: (a) a display which presents the one or more prompts, links and items of information to the user; (b) an input device which receives input from the user;

(c) a testing strategy software component which calculates, based on at least the user's input, a testing interval for each of the items of information, to determine when the device will automatically test and re-test the user's ability to recall each of the items of information; (d) a testing interval storage component which stores the testing interval for each of the items of information; and

(e) a processing device which runs the testing strategy software component; wherein a test of the user's ability to recall the one or more items of information includes the steps of:

(i) presenting one or more of the initial prompts, links and/or items of information to the user; and

(iii) the user providing the input to the testing device.

9. An automated testing device according to 8 further including an importance weighting storage component for storing an importance weighting for one or more of the items of information.

10. A computer program for testing and improving a user's ability to recall one or more items of information connected to one or more prompts by one or more links by performing steps including:

(a) presenting a user with one or more prompts to which one or more of the items of information are connected either directly or indirectly;

(c) calculating, based on at least the input received from the user, a testing interval for each of the items of information, to determine when the user's ability to recall each of the items of information will be re-tested; and (d) automatically re-testing the user; wherein the testing interval is longer for items of information which were recalled exactly than the testing interval for items of information which were not recalled exactly.

11. A computer program according to claim 10 further including performing the step of presenting the user with a hint for recalling one or more of the items of information.

12. A computer program according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the step of calculating the testing interval is also based on an importance weighting which is allocated to one or more of the items of information.

13. A computer program according to any one of claims 10 to 12 further including the step of calculating an order in which groups of items of information connected to different initial prompts are tested, based on an importance weighting allocated to one or more of the items of information.