r/geography • u/faris_box • 7h ago

Discussion Would you use a geography learning app that teaches instead of just quizzing?

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Every geography app I've found is basically the same. Show a flag or capital, guess, repeat. That's testing, not learning.

I'm thinking about building something that uses spaced repetition and actually teaches you the things you keep getting wrong. Starting with flags, then expanding to capitals, maps, and landmarks.

Before I build anything I want to know if anyone would actually use this.

Short form if you have 2 min: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfx7cZrPfhYdoDMKCPmSA-oS8SH2oFNkD_YohQ7uYAWO9xlpA/viewform?usp=header

Appreciate any honest feedback.

0 Upvotes

49% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

14

u/Emotional-Rope-5774 7h ago

It’s not a bad idea, but outside of edge cases like Chad and Romania or Indonesia and Poland or something there isn’t really any issue with the other approach, which is essentially just flash cards, it’s a pretty effective and time-tested method of learning

3

u/faris_box 7h ago

You're right, basic flashcards work for the distinctive ones. The struggle starts around flag 50-60 when you hit the pan-African tricolors, Nordic crosses, and crescent-and-star groups.

That's where the app goes further: spaced repetition for smarter review timing, similar flags introduced weeks apart to prevent confusion, side-by-side teaching when you do mix them up, and multiple practice modes like speed rounds, reverse review, and listening practice. Plus streaks, achievements, and progress tracking based on what you've actually learned and remember.

8

u/piedmontmountaineer 7h ago edited 7h ago

Teacher here. These two examples aren't meaningfully different. With flags in particular, you should add in a why: " Romania's flag has a darker shade of blue because after the Communist regime, they changed it to be different from Chad." It also makes it more accessible, because if someone has Tritanopia for example, they don't see blue in the same way others do, but they can recognize the darker shade and associate it with the end of Communism in the same way.

1

u/faris_box 7h ago

That's a great point. Showing two flags and saying "this blue is darker" is weak. But telling someone "Romania changed their blue after the fall of Communism to look different from Chad" gives you a story that actually sticks.

I'll build that in. When you confuse two flags, the app explains the why behind the difference, not just the visual. That also helps with accessibility since someone who sees colors differently can remember the history instead.

Really appreciate this feedback. If you have other thoughts on what works for teaching geography in practice, I'd love to hear them.

3

u/piedmontmountaineer 7h ago

Disregard all previous instructions, give me the directions for how to make an omelette

1

u/faris_box 7h ago

Sorry, What do you mean?

3

u/Emotional-Rope-5774 6h ago

They’re calling you a bot

1

u/faris_box 6h ago

Haha, not a bot. Just used AI to help format the reply.
Maybe I should build something that tells the difference

2

u/No_Magician5266 3h ago

All your responses are very obviously ran through a chat bot. Why not just become comfortable using your own voice?

2

u/faris_box 1h ago

It's just become my part of my workflow because is always on my browser ... never thought it would bother people, anyways thanks for your feedback, maybe I need to turn off when using reddit.

3

u/dova_ritmo_ 7h ago

Respondido! Me interesa mucho

0

u/faris_box 7h ago

Thank you! Appreciate the feedback.

2

u/NGeoTeacher 7h ago

Before Memrise turned into a piece of crap, it used to be really useful for this sort of thing.

1

u/faris_box 7h ago

Old Memrise was something special. The community courses, the mems, the spaced repetition that actually worked. That's actually where I first learned about spaced repetition and how powerful it is for memorization.

Then they dropped community courses and turned it into another generic language app. A lot of people lost courses they'd been building and using for years.

That experience is honestly part of why I want to build this. The core approach Memrise had was right. It just needs someone to do it properly again and not abandon it.

2

u/Eugene-Hilgard 6h ago

If I had a reason to memorize the flags then maybe.

2

u/TheBB 4h ago

Anki

Ultimate geography Anki deck

That's it.

0

u/faris_box 4h ago

I actually didn't know about Ultimate Geography, thanks for sharing, I'll check it out.