Flashcards Notability: The Best Way To Turn Your Notes Into Powerful Study Cards Fast – Stop Rewriting Notes And Start Actually Remembering Them
Flashcards Notability combo done right: screenshot notes, send to Flashrecall, auto‑generate smart cards with active recall, spaced repetition, and AI help.
How Flashrecall app helps you remember faster. It's free
Notability Notes Are Great… But Where Are The Flashcards?
If you’re using Notability to take pretty notes, annotate PDFs, or record lectures, you’re already ahead of most people.
But when exams get close, you hit the same wall:
> “Okay… now how do I turn all this into flashcards without spending hours copy‑pasting?”
That’s where a dedicated flashcard app like Flashrecall comes in. Instead of manually rewriting your Notability notes into cards, you can turn them into flashcards in minutes and let spaced repetition do the heavy lifting.
👉 Try Flashrecall here:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085
Let’s break down how to go from Notability → powerful flashcards the smart way.
Why Notability Alone Isn’t Enough For Serious Memorization
Notability is amazing for:
- Handwritten notes
- Annotating lecture slides
- Recording audio during class
- Organizing subjects and dividers
But it’s not built for:
- Active recall (forcing your brain to pull answers from memory)
- Spaced repetition (reviewing at the perfect time before you forget)
- Tracking what you actually know vs what you keep forgetting
That’s exactly what a flashcard app is supposed to do.
So instead of trying to make Notability do everything, the better setup is:
> Notability for taking notes + Flashrecall for turning them into smart flashcards
You keep your favorite note‑taking workflow, and add a memory engine on top.
Meet Flashrecall: The Missing Piece For Your Notability Workflow
Flashrecall is a fast, modern flashcard app for iPhone and iPad that plays really nicely with apps like Notability.
Here’s why it works so well with your notes:
- Instant flashcards from images, text, PDFs, YouTube links, and more
Screenshot part of your Notability page, import a PDF, or paste text – Flashrecall turns it into cards in seconds.
- Built‑in active recall
Cards are shown in a way that forces you to think before revealing the answer, which is how you actually remember stuff.
- Automatic spaced repetition with reminders
Flashrecall schedules reviews for you. No calendar, no guessing, no “I’ll do it later” that never happens.
- Chat with your flashcards
Not sure you fully understand something? You can literally chat with the content to get more explanations or examples.
- Works offline
Perfect for studying on the train, in class, on a plane, or wherever Wi‑Fi disappears.
- Free to start, simple UI, no clutter
You don’t need a tutorial just to make your first deck.
Here’s the link again if you want to grab it now and follow along:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085
How To Turn Notability Notes Into Flashcards (The Easy Way)
Let’s go step‑by‑step. You can use this for lectures, textbooks, PDFs, language notes, anything.
1. Decide What Actually Needs To Become A Flashcard
Not everything in your Notability notes deserves a card.
Good flashcard material:
- Definitions
- Formulas
- Dates, names, and key terms
- Processes with clear steps
- Diagrams you need to recall
- “Professor said this will be on the exam” moments
Bad flashcard material:
- Huge paragraphs of text
- Random side comments
- Things you already know cold
Think: “Would future-me be annoyed seeing this card 10 times?”
If yes → don’t make it.
2. Use Screenshots Or Exports From Notability
You’ve got a couple of easy ways to move stuff from Notability into Flashrecall.
1. In Notability, zoom into the part you want (definition, diagram, list).
2. Take a screenshot on your iPad/iPhone.
3. Open Flashrecall.
4. Create a new deck (e.g., “Biology – Cell Membrane”).
Flashrecall automatically keeps track and reminds you of the cards you don't remember well so you remember faster. Like this :
5. Add a new card and choose to make it from an image.
6. Import your screenshot.
Flashrecall can turn that image into flashcards, or you can manually split it up into multiple Q&A cards.
This is perfect for:
- Diagrams
- Math steps
- Highlighted key definitions
If you have lecture slides or big notes:
1. Export your Notability note as a PDF.
2. Save it to Files or share directly to Flashrecall (if available).
3. In Flashrecall, import the PDF.
4. Let Flashrecall help you turn the important parts into cards.
This is great for:
- Lecture slide decks
- Full chapter notes
- Handouts your teacher uploaded
3. Turn Content Into Smart Q&A Cards
Once the content is in Flashrecall, you can:
- Generate cards from text or images
- Write cards manually if you like being precise
Some examples:
> “Operant conditioning: a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior.”
Turn it into a flashcard:
- Front: What is operant conditioning?
- Back: A method of learning that uses rewards and punishments for behavior.
You have a labeled heart diagram in Notability.
In Flashrecall, you can:
- Make one image card and mentally recall labels
- Or create several cards like:
- Front: Label this: [image with arrow to left ventricle]
- Back: Left ventricle
> “Glycolysis: 10-step process that converts glucose into pyruvate, producing ATP and NADH.”
Cards:
- Front: What does glycolysis convert and into what?
- Back: Glucose into pyruvate.
- Front: How many steps are in glycolysis?
- Back: 10 steps.
- Front: What energy molecules are produced in glycolysis?
- Back: ATP and NADH.
Short, focused, one fact per card. That’s what spaced repetition loves.
4. Let Spaced Repetition Handle The Timing
Here’s where Flashrecall does the thing Notability can’t:
- You study your deck.
- You mark cards as easy / hard / again.
- Flashrecall automatically schedules the next review at the perfect time.
You don’t have to:
- Remember when to review
- Build a schedule
- Guess how often to go back over old material
You just open the app, and it says: “Here’s what you should review today.”
That’s spaced repetition doing its magic.
Plus, study reminders give you a gentle nudge so you actually open the app instead of cramming the night before.
5. Use “Chat With Your Flashcards” When You’re Confused
This is where Flashrecall goes beyond traditional flashcard apps.
Let’s say you imported a PDF from Notability about macroeconomics and made some cards, but one concept still feels fuzzy.
In Flashrecall, you can:
- Open the card
- Start a chat about that topic
- Ask: “Explain this like I’m 12” or “Give me another example of this in real life”
So instead of switching to Google or YouTube, you stay in one place and deepen your understanding right inside your deck.
Examples: How Different Students Use Notability + Flashrecall Together
1. Med Student With Lecture Slides
- Takes notes + draws on slides in Notability
- Exports the whole lecture as a PDF
- Imports to Flashrecall
- Creates cards for anatomy diagrams, drug names, and mechanisms
- Reviews daily with spaced repetition on the train
2. Language Learner
- Writes vocab lists and example sentences in Notability
- Screenshots sections of the page
- Uses Flashrecall to turn them into front/back vocab cards
- Chats with flashcards to get more example sentences or translations
- Practices offline on iPhone during small downtime moments
3. High School / Uni Student
- Uses Notability for class notes and homework
- After each class, spends 10 minutes turning key definitions and formulas into Flashrecall cards
- Lets spaced repetition handle exam prep instead of last‑minute all‑nighters
Why Not Just Use A Built-In Notability Feature For Flashcards?
Because even if Notability added basic “flashcards” one day, you’d still miss:
- True spaced repetition with smart scheduling
- Active recall focused interface
- Multi‑source input (PDFs, YouTube links, audio, typed prompts, images)
- Chatting with your flashcards for deeper understanding
- A clean, dedicated study mode that keeps you out of your notes rabbit hole
Notability is a note‑taking app.
Flashrecall is a learning + memory app.
You really want both.
Flashrecall vs Other Flashcard Apps For Notability Users
If you’ve looked at other flashcard apps, here’s how Flashrecall stands out for someone already using Notability:
- Faster input from notes and PDFs – you don’t have to rewrite everything by hand
- More flexible sources – images, text, audio, PDFs, YouTube links, typed prompts
- Modern, clean interface – no clunky, old‑school UI
- Chat with flashcards – go beyond memorizing and actually understand
- Works offline on iPhone and iPad – perfect for studying anywhere
- Free to start – you can test your whole Notability → Flashrecall workflow without committing
Simple Workflow You Can Start Today
If you want a no‑stress way to try this:
1. Pick one Notability note from a class you care about.
2. Export it as a PDF or take 3–5 screenshots of the key parts.
3. Download Flashrecall:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085
4. Create one deck for that class.
5. Make 15–25 cards only (don’t overdo it).
6. Study them for 5–10 minutes a day for a week.
You’ll feel the difference when you sit down to review or get cold‑called in class.
Final Thoughts: Let Notability Take Notes, Let Flashrecall Train Your Memory
You don’t need to abandon Notability.
You just need to stop pretending that beautiful notes = good memory.
The real power combo is:
> Notability to capture information
> Flashrecall to actually remember it
If you’re already putting in the effort to take good notes, you might as well get the grades (and peace of mind) to match.
Grab Flashrecall here and turn your Notability pages into a memory machine:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085
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.
What is active recall and how does it work?
Active recall is the process of actively retrieving information from memory rather than passively reviewing it. Flashrecall forces proper active recall by making you think before revealing answers, then uses spaced repetition to optimize your review schedule.
How can I study more effectively for this test?
Effective exam prep combines active recall, spaced repetition, and regular practice. Flashrecall helps by automatically generating flashcards from your study materials and using spaced repetition to ensure you remember everything when exam day arrives.
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