How To Quickly Make Flashcards

Anyone who has learned a foreign language knows just how useful flashcards can be. But make it? It’s annoying.

gFlashcards is a very cool website that allows you to quickly create flashcards and quiz yourself on website, mac, iPhone or iPad. This article has information and tips on quick creating flashcards and how to use it.

Make Cards with Google Docs Spreadsheets

  1. To start, head to Google Docs’s site and create a new spreadsheet.
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  2. Click on Unsaved Spreadsheet right next to the Google Docs logo (or press Ctrl + S or Command + S) to give this spreadsheet a descriptive name.
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  3. Now type all of your terms on one column (column A), and your definitions on the next column (column B).
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  4. Download the csv format files
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  5. Go to gflashcards.com, login and create a new sets.
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  6. Choose a descriptive name and save it.
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  7. Use import function to import csv to the site.
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  8. Choose the file you download from google docs and save.
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  9. Done, we got the cards.
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If you have a bunch of vocabulary words, you can divide them in groups and dedicate one spreadsheet document (not sheet) for each group because the csv we need works with individual documents.

With Excel (on Windows)

  1. Start Excel and open a new blank spreadsheet. Type all of your terms on one column (column A), and your definitions on the next column (column B) image

  2. Save the file to csv format.
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Then, upload csv as 5~9 step as google docs.

Make Cards with Numbers (on Mac)

  1. Start Numbers and open a new blank spreadsheet. Type all of your terms on one column (column A), and your definitions on the next column (column B)
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  2. Export the file to utf8 csv format.
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Then, upload csv as 5~9 step as google docs.

Another Method to Quick Add Cards

  1. Use ‘Quick Add’ when editing cards.
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  2. Paste all data in the filed and choose correct parameters to make sure live import preview is perfect. Then click ‘Import’.
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Tips 1: format of cards

Markdown is a way to format your text to add bold and italic text, headings and a few other things. You could use markdown when make cards and upload to gflashcards.com. Here is some examples:

This is how you create *italic text*: italic text.

This is how you create **bold text**: bold text

Create bullet lists using stars:
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3
Will looks like this:
* Item 1
* Item 2
* Item 3

Tips 2: Make Flashcards, the Right way

Each card should only have 1 question and 1 answer. You aren’t copying down information verbatim when you make a flashcard. It should be quick not a synopsis or a bibliography. So just 1 question and 1 answer.

Right way: A flashcard that has “Who was the main actor in Mission Impossible” - answer on other side: Tom Cruise.

Wrong way: Who was the main actor, supporting actor, key grip and set designer for the movie Mission Impossible? Answer: Who the hell knows?

Tags: flashcards gflashcards study