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Record and summarize
Record a lecture or import audio, transcribe it, and generate a concise or detailed summary.
Turn lecture notes into flashcards, automatically
QuickNotes builds 10 flashcards and a 5-question multiple-choice quiz from your lecture summary, so you can start revising the same day you record.
Free to download · Flashcards and quiz saved with each recording
Why flashcards beat re-reading
Most students revise by re-reading notes and highlighting. It feels productive because the material looks familiar, but familiarity is not the same as being able to recall something on an exam paper. Flashcards work differently: they ask you a question and make you produce the answer from memory. That effort of retrieval is what strengthens memory, and researchers usually call it active recall.
The catch has always been the time it takes to write the cards. Many students never get around to it. QuickNotes removes that step by creating a set from the summary of your lecture.
How QuickNotes makes flashcards from a lecture
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Generate Study mode
Open Study mode on the recording. QuickNotes builds 10 flashcards and a 5-question multiple-choice quiz from the summary.
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Practice and regenerate
Flip through the cards, take the quiz, and generate a fresh set whenever you finish one.
What you get in Study mode
- 10 flashcards with a question on the front and the answer on the back.
- A 5-question multiple-choice quiz, so you can test yourself in a different format.
- Saved per recording. Your set stays with the lecture it came from, so it is there when you return.
- Regenerate. When you have worked through a set, you can create a new one from the same summary.
Because the cards are built from the summary, the quality of the summary matters. A detailed summary tends to give more material to draw from than a concise one, and a clear recording gives a better transcript to start with.
How to use the cards well
Generating cards is the easy part. Learning from them takes a few habits:
- Answer out loud or on paper before you flip. Guessing and being wrong is useful. It shows you where the gaps are.
- Do it the same day, then again later. Reviewing soon after the lecture and then revisiting after a day or two helps far more than one long cramming session. This spacing is the idea behind spaced repetition.
- Edit your thinking, not just the cards. If a card is vague, go back to the transcript and find what the lecturer really said.
- Mix in the quiz. Multiple-choice questions test recognition, which is a different skill from recall. Use both.
We explain both ideas in plain language in how to turn lecture notes into flashcards, and give a full week-by-week routine in the 7-day exam revision plan.
Flashcards from a lecture recording, not just typed notes
Many flashcard tools begin with text you have already typed. QuickNotes starts earlier, at the lecture itself. You record or import the audio, get a transcript, and only then create the summary and cards. That means you can stay focused on listening in class instead of splitting your attention between the lecturer and your keyboard.
If you have older recordings such as a voice memo from a tutorial or an audio file from a previous term, you can import them (MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, AIFF or FLAC) and build cards from those too. Recordings can be organized into courses and tags, so cards for one subject stay together, and you can search by name, course, tag or date.
Works in more than one language
You choose the language of each recording when you transcribe it, from a list of 14 including Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Arabic. That makes it practical for students who study in a language that is not English. If that is you, see lecture transcription for how the transcript stage works.
Honest limits
AI-generated flashcards are a starting point. They can miss a detail you care about, phrase something in a way you find unclear, or include a point the lecturer treated as minor. Skim each set against your course material, and remember that the summary they come from is only as good as the recording and transcript behind it. QuickNotes is free to download, with optional paid plans for higher limits.
Frequently asked questions
How many flashcards does QuickNotes create?
Study mode creates 10 flashcards and a 5-question multiple-choice quiz from the summary of a recording.
Are the flashcards saved?
Yes. Your flashcards and quiz are saved with each recording, so they are there when you come back.
Can I create a new set?
Yes. You can regenerate a fresh set of flashcards and quiz questions from the same recording.
Do I need to type my notes first?
No. You can record a lecture or import audio, and QuickNotes transcribes it and writes the summary that the flashcards are built from.
Is this the same as spaced repetition software?
Not exactly. QuickNotes generates and stores flashcards and quizzes for each recording. To get the benefits of spacing, revisit your sets on different days. Our blog explains a simple way to do that.
Does it work for languages other than English?
You choose from 14 transcription languages when you transcribe a recording, which lets you work with lectures in languages such as Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese or Spanish.
Keep reading
Ready to try it on your next lecture?
Download QuickNotes, record or import audio, and get a transcript, summary and study set.
Download on the App Store