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Make flash cards for students in minutes from your own notes

Upload a PDF, slides, notes or a photo of a page, and DeckOwl drafts flashcards you can edit and review with spaced repetition.

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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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Making flash cards that actually help students study

A card that asks for a whole chapter fails the test, so good flash cards for students hold one fact each. Start by picking the terms your teacher stressed, write a question on the front, and put a short answer on the back.

Keep one idea per card so you can tell quickly whether you got it right.
Write answers in your own words after checking them against the source.
Shuffle the deck so you learn the content rather than the order of the cards.
Flag the cards you miss and review them more often than the ones you know.

Example high school biology flashcards

What is the powerhouse of the cell?The mitochondrion, which produces ATP through cellular respiration.

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

What is the function of ribosomes?Synthesizing proteins by translating mRNA into a chain of amino acids.

How do mitosis and meiosis differ?Mitosis produces two identical diploid cells; meiosis produces four genetically varied haploid gametes.

What is the role of chlorophyll?It absorbs light energy, mainly red and blue wavelengths, to drive photosynthesis.

Generate the full set

One idea per card

Each card tests a single term or fact, so a miss tells you exactly what to review.

Built from your material

Cards come from your own PDFs, DOCX files, slides, notes or images, not a generic word list.

Spaced repetition

Cards you find hard come back sooner, so study time goes to the material you are most likely to forget.

How it works

Upload your source

Add the chapter, lecture slides, or notes you need to learn. Photos of pages are read with text recognition.

Review the draft cards

Check each question and answer against your source, then edit, delete, or add cards.

Study on a schedule

Work through the deck in the browser each day and let spaced repetition set the review order.

Review matters more than making. Spaced repetition shows each card again just before you would forget it, which beats rereading the same notes the night before a test. DeckOwl can build the first draft from your PDF, slides, notes or a photo of a page, and you edit anything that is off.

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Frequently asked questions

How many flashcards should a student make for one unit?

There is no fixed number. Aim for one to three cards per key term or lecture idea, and cut any card that tests more than one fact.

What belongs on the front and back of a study flashcard?

Put a specific question or term on the front, such as a definition or cause. Put the short answer on the back, with one sentence of context if the answer is easy to confuse with another.

Can I export my flashcards to Anki or print them?

Studying in the browser is included on the Free plan. PDF, DOCX, Anki and CSV exports are part of Plus, which costs $99.90/year or $9.99/month.

Is there a free way to start?

Yes. The Free plan includes 3 generations per month and no credit card is needed to start. Students get 40% off with a school email.

Generate free flashcards

Keep exploring the topic

Review the main ideas visually or practice recalling them.