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Study your own notes as flashcards on your phone

Upload a PDF, slide deck, set of notes or a photo of a page. DeckOwl builds flashcards you can review in your phone's browser, one card at a time.

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Drop files here or browsePDF, DOCX, PPTX, text or photos of your notes · several files with Plus

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Why flashcards on your phone work for busy students

Most students already carry their phone everywhere, which makes it the most realistic place to review. Flashcards on your phone fit into gaps of five or ten minutes, like a bus ride or the wait before a lab, where opening a textbook would not happen.

Turn lecture slides, PDFs, Word files and photos of notes into cards
Study in your phone's browser with no app to install on the free plan
Use spaced repetition to focus on the cards you are most likely to miss
Export to Anki or CSV on a paid plan when you want to study elsewhere

Example intro biology flashcards for phone study

What is the main function of mitochondria?Producing most of the cell's ATP through cellular respiration.

What is osmosis?The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from low solute concentration to high solute concentration.

What are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA?Adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine.

What is the difference between mitosis and meiosis?Mitosis makes two identical diploid cells, while meiosis makes four genetically varied haploid cells used for reproduction.

What does the term homeostasis mean?The maintenance of a stable internal environment despite changes outside the body.

Generate the full set

Built from your material

Start with a PDF, DOCX, PPTX, plain text notes or a photo of a textbook page. Text in images is read with text recognition, so handwritten-style scans and printed pages both work.

Review in your phone's browser

Open your deck on the go and study during a commute, in line or on a break. Nothing needs to be installed to start studying on the free plan.

Spaced repetition

Cards you miss come back sooner and cards you know come back later. The schedule adjusts as you study, so short daily sessions do more work.

How it works

Upload your notes

Add a PDF, slides, a Word file, pasted text or a photo of your notes from your phone or computer.

Generate your flashcards

DeckOwl turns the material into question and answer cards you can edit before you start studying.

Study on your phone

Open the deck in your phone's browser and work through the cards. Spaced repetition handles what comes up next.

The trick is that the cards need to come from your own material. A deck built from your lecture slides or your class PDF matches what your instructor will test, and DeckOwl makes that deck from the files you already have instead of a generic set you have to adapt.

Short sessions also favor spaced review. Seeing a card again just before you would forget it is more effective than cramming the whole deck the night before, and a phone makes it easy to keep that rhythm.

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Frequently asked questions

How many flashcards should I make for an intro biology exam?

Aim for one card per key term, process or definition in your notes, which often means 40 to 100 cards for a single unit. Cut any card you can answer without thinking and keep the ones you get wrong.

What makes a good flashcard for phone study?

Keep the front to one question or term and the back to a short answer you can check in a few seconds. Cards that take more than one screen to read slow down a quick review on a small display.

Can I study DeckOwl flashcards on my phone for free?

Yes. The free plan includes 3 generations per month and lets you study in the browser on your phone. Exports are not included on the free plan.

Do I need to pay to export my flashcards to Anki?

Yes. Anki and CSV export are part of the Plus plan, which costs $39 per year or $7.99 per month and includes unlimited generations. Students can get 40% off with a school email.

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Keep exploring the topic

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