Flash Card GoodNotes Alternatives: 7 Powerful Ways To Study Faster On iPad

If you’re trying to turn your GoodNotes notes into powerful flashcards, this guide will show you smarter (and faster) ways to do it—plus a better option that does the heavy lifting for you.

GoodNotes + Flashcards: Great Idea, Annoying Workflow

Let’s be honest:

GoodNotes is amazing for handwritten notes, diagrams, and PDFs. But when it comes to flashcards, it’s… kind of a pain.

You have to:

• Manually rewrite questions and answers
• Keep everything organized
• Remember when to review
• Switch between apps or hack together card layouts

That’s where a dedicated flashcard app like Flashrecall comes in and makes life way easier.

👉 Flashrecall link:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Flashrecall works beautifully with GoodNotes: you keep taking notes there, and turn the important stuff into flashcards in seconds—without the boring admin work.

Let’s break down how to go from “GoodNotes-only” to a much smoother GoodNotes + flashcard workflow, and why Flashrecall will probably replace most of your manual card-making.

Why GoodNotes Alone Isn’t Ideal For Flashcards

GoodNotes is built for note-taking, not memory training.

Flashcards need three things to actually work:

1. Active recall – forcing your brain to pull up the answer

2. Spaced repetition – reviewing just before you forget

3. Fast creation – so you actually keep using them

GoodNotes gives you:

• A blank page
• Some templates
• Maybe a makeshift “question on top, answer below” style

But:

• No built-in spaced repetition
• No automatic reminders
• No tracking of what you’re forgetting
• No easy way to test yourself without seeing the answer right away

You can hack GoodNotes into a flashcard system, but it’s like using a hammer as a screwdriver—it works, but it’s not fun.

Meet Flashrecall: The Fast Lane From Notes To Flashcards

Instead of forcing GoodNotes to do everything, use it for what it’s great at—and let Flashrecall handle the flashcards.

🔗 Download Flashrecall here (free to start):

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

What Flashrecall Does Better Than GoodNotes For Flashcards

Flashrecall is built specifically for learning, so you get:

• Instant flashcards from your content
• Images (screenshots from GoodNotes, textbook pages, diagrams)
• Text
• PDFs
• YouTube links
• Audio
• Or just type a prompt and let it generate cards for you
• Built-in spaced repetition
• It automatically schedules reviews
• You don’t have to remember when to study what
• Active recall by default
• It shows you the question first
• You answer from memory
• Then you rate how hard it was
• Study reminders
• Gentle nudges so you don’t fall behind
• Works offline
• Perfect for the bus, library, or that one classroom with zero signal
• Chat with your flashcards
• Stuck on a concept? You can literally chat with the card content to understand it better
• Fast, modern, and easy to use
• No clutter, no overcomplicated menus
• Works on iPhone and iPad
• So it fits perfectly into an iPad + GoodNotes workflow

How To Use GoodNotes And Flashrecall Together (Simple Workflow)

Here’s a clean, realistic setup for using both together.

Step 1: Take Notes In GoodNotes Like You Normally Do

Use GoodNotes for:

• Lecture notes
• Diagrams and mind maps
• Annotated PDFs and slides
• Handwritten problem-solving

Nothing changes here.

Step 2: Mark What Should Become A Flashcard

While reviewing your notes in GoodNotes, mark:

• Definitions
• Formulas
• Dates
• Key ideas
• “This will be on the exam” points

You can highlight these, star them, or just jot a symbol next to them.

Step 3: Turn Notes Into Flashcards With Flashrecall

Now open Flashrecall and:

1. In GoodNotes, take a screenshot of the important section

2. Import that image into Flashrecall

3. Let Flashrecall generate flashcards from it

Great for:

• Diagrams
• Tables
• Handwritten notes
• Slides you’ve annotated

If your notes or slides are in PDF:

1. Export or share the PDF to Flashrecall

2. Let Flashrecall scan and help you make cards from key sections

If you already typed some stuff:

1. Copy text from your notes or textbook

2. Paste into Flashrecall

3. Turn them into Q&A cards quickly, or let the app help generate them

You can also make manual cards if you like full control—but the point is: you don’t have to rewrite everything.

Why Not Just Make “Flashcards” Directly In GoodNotes?

You can do something like:

• One page per flashcard
• Or two columns: question on left, answer on right
• Then scroll and cover one side with your hand

But here’s what you’re missing compared to Flashrecall:

GoodNotes is like the notebook.

Flashrecall is like the brain trainer.

Use both, but don’t force the notebook to be the trainer.

7 Powerful Ways To Study Better Than Just “Flash Cards In GoodNotes”

Here are some practical ways to upgrade your workflow with Flashrecall:

1. Turn Lecture Photos Into Cards Instantly

Take a photo of the whiteboard or a GoodNotes page → import into Flashrecall → generate cards.

No rewriting formulas or bullet points.

2. Convert Dense PDFs Into Bite-Sized Questions

Got a 40-page PDF of slides?

Drop it into Flashrecall, pull out the key ideas, and turn them into cards you’ll actually remember.

3. Use Spaced Repetition Without Thinking About It

Flashrecall automatically decides:

• What to show you today
• What can wait
• What you’re about to forget

You just open the app and follow the queue. Way better than scrolling through pages in GoodNotes hoping you’re reviewing the right stuff.

4. Chat With Your Cards When You’re Confused

If a card says “Explain the difference between X and Y” and you’re like “uhhh…”, you can chat with the flashcard in Flashrecall to get:

• Clarifications
• Extra examples
• Simpler explanations

GoodNotes stores your notes. Flashrecall helps you understand them.

5. Study Anywhere, Even Offline

On the train, in a café, between classes—Flashrecall works offline on iPhone and iPad.

GoodNotes is fine for a deep study session, but Flashrecall is perfect for quick 5–10 minute review bursts.

6. Use It For Literally Any Subject

Flashrecall works great for:

• Languages (vocab, phrases, grammar patterns)
• Medicine (diseases, drugs, anatomy)
• Law (cases, rules, definitions)
• School & university subjects
• Business, coding, marketing, anything with concepts or facts

If you can write it in GoodNotes, you can turn it into cards in Flashrecall.

7. Stop Forgetting To Review

This is the silent killer of most GoodNotes-only setups.

You make pretty notes… and never see them again.

Flashrecall fixes that with:

• Study reminders
• A daily review queue
• A sense of progress when you clear your cards

You don’t need discipline for everything—just enough to open the app when it reminds you.

Example: How A Real Study Session Might Look

Let’s say you’re a med student.

1. In class

• You write notes in GoodNotes
• You highlight key diseases, mechanisms, and drugs

2. After class (15–20 min)

• Screenshot the most important pages
• Import into Flashrecall
• Turn them into flashcards (manually or with AI help)

3. During the week

• Flashrecall reminds you daily
• You review cards on the bus, in line, or before bed

4. Before the exam

• Instead of rereading 80 pages of GoodNotes
• You blast through your Flashrecall decks and see what’s still weak

Same idea works for languages, finals, board exams, job certifications—anything.

So… Should You Still Use GoodNotes For Flashcards?

Use GoodNotes for thinking, writing, and organizing.

Use Flashrecall for remembering and testing yourself.

You don’t have to choose one or the other.

But if you’re currently trying to force GoodNotes to be a flashcard app, you’re working harder than you need to.

If you want:

• Faster flashcard creation
• Automatic spaced repetition
• Study reminders
• Active recall built in
• And a way to actually remember what you write in GoodNotes

Then it’s worth giving Flashrecall a try.

👉 Download Flashrecall (free to start) and connect it to your GoodNotes workflow:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Turn your GoodNotes pages into real memory—without drowning in manual flashcard work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

Is there a free flashcard app?

Yes. Flashrecall is free and lets you create flashcards from images, text, prompts, audio, PDFs, and YouTube videos.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

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