For students
How to study by listening to your notes and PDFs
Reading the same notes for the third time at your desk isn't the only way to review. Listening lets you go over the material in moments that are otherwise lost: the bus, a walk, the gym. Here's a simple routine.
Last reviewed
When listening helps (and when it doesn't)
Listening works best as a second pass: reviewing material you've already read once, going over definitions, or warming up before an exam. It doesn't replace working through problems, writing summaries or practice tests. Use it to add review time, not to replace the work.
A routine that fits a busy week
- 1
Make a Study playlist
In Leola, create a playlist called Study (or one per subject).
- 2
Add your material
Paste your notes, share text from the Notes app or import class PDFs (PDFs with Leola Plus). Short pieces, one topic each, are easier to review.
- 3
Listen in the gaps
Play the playlist on the way to class. Leola remembers the exact sentence where you stopped in each item.
- 4
Follow along when it's hard
For dense topics, read along: the sentence being read is highlighted on screen.
- 5
Speed up on the second pass
Start at 1× and speed up as the material gets familiar: up to 2× free, 3× with Plus.
Tips for study material
- Clean PDFs read better. Leola skips footnotes, citation brackets, page headers and page numbers in PDFs.
- Scanned pages don't work yet. If you can't select the text in a PDF, Leola can't read it.
- Write notes for the ear. Full sentences sound clearer than bullet fragments.
- Keep it for you. Audio you download is for your own study: don't share recordings of books or course materials.
Turn your notes into a study playlist
Leola is coming soon to iPhone. Join the waitlist and we'll email you the day it's out.
Questions
Can I listen to my notes offline?
Yes. After the voice model is downloaded once, everything in your library plays in airplane mode.
Can Leola read handwritten notes or scanned pages?
Not yet. Leola reads text: typed notes and PDFs where you can select the words.
Is it free for students?
Listening is free for everyone. PDFs and audio downloads are part of Leola Plus, which has a free trial.