Just work your way through your course notes and type information into Word or a flash card program. I like to use a free online service, The Flashcard Exchange, which makes creating and running through flashcards very easy. If you want to export or print the cards, a one-time $19.95 fee makes that possible -- and is well worth it.

Once you've printed your cards, here's a neat trick for learning. Get three boxes, put the cards in the middle. If you get a card right, promote it to the third box. If you get it wrong, demote it to the first. Then go over the ones in the first box again.

Synthesis
Another thing that helps is synthesis. Make a word part gel with something you already know. Think of a word you already know that has the same word part in it. It might help to type the word part into medterms.com or dictionary.com, or grab an actual dictionary.

For example, the prefix peri- means surrounding. A medical word using it would be periodontal. That makes sense...periodontists work with the gums, which are the tissue surrounding the teeth. And a perimeter goes around an area.

Hemi means half. A hemisphere is half the globe. You may find that you already know these! You probably do if you've been speaking English, or Spanish, or French...or any of the languages heavily influenced by Latin or Greek.

I did this kind of thing with almost every word I was having trouble with.

Any kind of mnemonic (memory) device can be fun. I remembered the difference between ileum and ilium in a really silly way. I thought of ileum, which is part of the small intestine, by thinking of someone holding their nose (as if smelling something unpleasant) and saying, "eeeeuuuu". And the ilium, which is the top part of the hip bones, by thinking if the letters "ili" as looking like the hip bones with the spine in the middle.

This technique also helped me with the ureters, because the two kidneys are on either side of the spine, lokoing like the letters "ete" . And urethra, which is the one people always get mixed up with it, is what the urine has to go "thra" to get out of the body. And yes, that's the first use of the word "urine" in Computing Unplugged. We're always breaking new ground here at the magazine!

Teamwork
Are there particular words you are you having trouble with? Why not share and see if other classmates have ideas on how they help themselves remember those words?

Let me know your thoughts. Hope this helped. Happy studies!

James Booth is Editor-at-Large at ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and handheld specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.