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Introduction
- Creates study flash cards as jpeg picture files for viewing on iPod and iPhone.
- Creates large numbers of flash cards quickly and easily, and automatically resizes text to fit.
- Jpeg files will be downloaded by your computer (as a zip file) which you then sync to your iPod.
- Use the iPod photo viewer to shuffle and view the cards, creating a great practice/study tool.
This web site creates flash cards as jpeg picture files that can be viewed on an iPod or iPhone, creating
a great on-the-go study tool.
After entering the text of each card in the large input area, click the "Create Flash Cards" button.
You will then be prompted to download a zip file that contains all the flash card jpeg files you requested.
You then sync them to your iPod and you are ready to study!
The question and answer are generally displayed on the same side of the "card".
This allows the iPod to shuffle the cards and keep the question and answer together.
When practicing, you can cover the answer (with your thumb, for example) until you’ve guessed,
and can even easily switch the question/answer direction. You can also show the question and answer on separate
cards (see 'Advance Options'), but you won't be able to shuffle the cards.
Samples:
Getting Started
You will need to enter the text you want shown on your flash cards, which is entered in the large input area on the main page.
Each line should have two items,
the text to put at the top of the card and the text to put at the bottom of the card.
These two items are on the same line, but separate by a tab. Because it’s not easy to enter a tab directly
into the web page, I would recommend creating the list in a text editor
or in excel, then copy/pasting the text into the web page. flashcardexchange.com is a great place to get flashcard lists.
After you've entered the question and answer text, click the "Create Flash Cards" button, and you should be prompted
to download a zip file containing all of jpeg files. On a Mac, this may happen automatically. Once you have a folder
with these jpeg files, you can sync them to your iPod and start studying. For help with moving these pictures to your
iPod, see the section below called "Copying to iPod".
Advanced Options
Below are optional advanced options you can use when creating the flash cards:
Flash Card Text - You will generally have two items on each line, the text on the top of the card and the text on the
bottom. If you want to show the question and answer on different cards, enter them on different lines in this input field.
You can optionally specify a 3rd item on the line which is the file name to save the flashcard
as (excluding the file extension). If a file name is not specified, flashcards will be saved as "1.jpg", "2.jpg", etc.
A maximum of 1000 cards can be created at a time.
Width and Height – These are the size in pixels to make the jpg. Valid values are 1-500.
The iPod classic screen is 320x240. The iPod Touch screen is 480x320.
Font Size – the size of the text on the flash card. The size will be reduced automatically if needed to fit text on card. Valid values are 1-100.
Margin Top/Bottom – This is the amount of black space, or margin, to leave on the top and bottom of the flashcard.
This is entered as a percentage of the total Height. Valid values are 0-100.
Text Align Top – This affects the vertical alignment of the text at the top of the card. If you are putting the question
and answer on different cards, set this to "Center" to center the text on the card.
For my ipod, I like to force my "top text" to the top, and "bottom text" to the bottom, but some people may rather center it.
Text Align Bottom - Aligns the “bottom text” in the lower half of the card. See above.
Top Height Percent - Adjusts how much space is given to the text at the top compared to the text at the bottom.
50 = 50/50% for top and bottom section heights. If you have questions that are
short, but answers that are long, you can set this to 40, for example, to give more space for the answers (on the bottom).
Show Divider – Uncheck to hide the center dividing line.
Copying to iPod
You should have a directory will all your jpg files in it. Name the directory something descriptive,
like "Chinese Set 1". This folder needs to reside somewhere where iTunes can find it. For the PC, put the
folder in your "My Pictures" folder. (I’m not sure about the Mac, but iTunes will tell you where it’s looking,
so keep reading.) Open iTunes and connect your iPod. Click your iPod’s name along the left under "Devices" and
then click the "Photos" tab along the top. Check the "Sync photos from" box at the top. You can see where iTunes
is looking for photos here. You can then choose to upload all pictures in this directory, so just certain directories.
In my example, check the "Chinese Set 1" directory, then click the "Sync" button on the bottom right, and you should
now have a group called "Chinese Set 1" in the Photos section of your iPod. To view, you should first go to
Slideshow Settings and make sure Shuffle Photos is "On". Go to "Chinese Set 1", then press the play button
on your iPod to shuffle the photos and begin playing. You will most likely not want to have the photos change
automatically, so hit the play button again to pause, then use the right skip button to change to the next flash
card when you are ready.
Background
I’m learning Chinese and using flashcards on my iPod (which I could study while on the bus, etc.) seemed like a great
idea. I turned to the internet to see what was available. For the iPod I found a poorly rated program that just
created some "Notes" as text. I then looked for programs for the iPod Touch, as I’m thinking about getting one soon.
I found iflipr which seems pretty good, but you need to be connected to the internet (with wi-fi).
I also found iStudy, but you need a "jail broken" iPod Touch, and some people found the text a bit too small.
The other solution that came up often was to make flashcards as pictures, which could then be uploaded to any
iPod or pda. The problem here was that this process of creating pictures could be painfully tedious if you
make them manually and have a lot to make. There are some programs that help make these picture flashcards,
but none of them seemed worth the $20-$60 cost. The other disadvantage of pictures is that you can’t prioritize
cards based on which you get right or wrong. It seems like there are some good programs for a Windows Mobile pda,
but I don’t want to buy a one of these. I’m hoping that a good flashcard program will emerge for the iPod Touch
soon (being that Apple is starting to open the iPod Touch up a bit for 3rd party programmers), but until that time,
I figured my best bet was just to make my own program to create these jpg flash cards. So far, I like my new
flashcards a lot.
Feedback
Use the "Feedback" page to post any comments, questions or ideas. I hope that others will find this tool useful, as I have.
Ernie
6/4/2008
et@orangeorapple.com
3/8/2009
I've finally created a flashcard program for the iPhone:
Flashcards Deluxe
OrangeOrApple.com
Related app: StudyPsych
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