Sia Note · The AskSia Method

One note. Five proven
study methods.

Sia Note turns any document, lecture, or video into a single study-ready note built on the AskSia Method — a research-backed blend of Cornell Notes, the Feynman Technique, Zettelkasten, active recall, and spaced repetition. Built for how memory actually works.

Cornell U. Cornell Notes R. Feynman Feynman Technique N. Luhmann Zettelkasten Roediger Active Recall Ebbinghaus Spaced Repetition
Generate a Sia Note
From any input
▶ YouTube 🎙 Podcast 📰 Article 📄 Google Docs
Tap to record a lecture
Mic or browser tab — Sia transcribes & turns it into a Sia Note in real time
4.9 / 5 · 2M+ students · 18M+ Sia Notes generated this term
Quick Answer

What is Sia Note?

Sia Note is AskSia's proprietary AI note generator. It turns any input — PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, scanned handwriting, lecture audio, YouTube videos, podcasts, or articles — into a single study-ready note built on the AskSia Method: a research-backed combination of Cornell Notes, the Feynman Technique, Zettelkasten, active recall, and spaced repetition. Every note ships with cue questions, atomic linked concept cards, an exam-relevance score, and one-tap conversion to a Visual Map, Flashcard set, or Quiz. Free to start, on Web, iOS, and Android.

study methods · 1 note
~20s
avg generation time
2.3×
recall vs. plain notes
40+
languages supported
The AskSia Method

Five proven techniques.
One automatic note.

Other AI notetakers freestyle. Sia Note assembles every output from five evidence-based techniques that researchers and top students have separately validated for decades.

01 / Structure
Cornell Notes
Walter Pauk, Cornell University, 1950s — the most-used note format in higher ed.
Three-zone layout: cue column for self-questioning, notes column for content, summary at bottom. Forces you to encode, not just transcribe.
CUE · NOTES · SUMMARY
02 / Comprehension
Feynman Technique
Nobel laureate Richard Feynman — "if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it."
Every section ends with a plain-English one-sentence summary. Sia flags any concept it can't simplify as "read carefully" so you know to slow down.
EXPLAIN IT SIMPLY
03 / Connection
Zettelkasten
Sociologist Niklas Luhmann — atomic linked notes that produced 70+ books.
Concepts become atomic, addressable cards (1.2a, 2.4c…) linked to related ideas across your library. Knowledge compounds the more you study.
ATOMIC · LINKED
04 / Practice
Active Recall
Roediger & Karpicke (2006) — the testing effect. Beats highlighting in every meta-analysis.
Sia auto-generates cue questions for every section. Reading isn't studying — testing yourself is. The note is built to be tested, not just re-read.
TEST · DON'T REREAD
05 / Schedule
Spaced Repetition
Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1885 — the forgetting curve. Modernized by SuperMemo & Anki.
Every cue and concept card is auto-scheduled on an SM-2 review curve. Sia surfaces the cards about to be forgotten — not the ones you already know.
SM-2 · EBBINGHAUS
Why Sia Note

A note system that
does the studying with you.

Most AI notetakers stop at "writing things down." Sia Note keeps going — into how memory works, what to test, and when to review.

Built on real methodology

Cornell Notes, Feynman, Zettelkasten, active recall, spaced repetition — five techniques researchers have validated for decades, automatically applied to every note.

Evidence-based

From any source

PDF, Word, PPT, scanned handwriting, audio, video, YouTube, podcasts, articles, live lectures. Generic notetakers stop at text — Sia ingests everything you actually study from.

Doc · Audio · Video

Built-in spaced repetition

Every cue and concept card lives in an SM-2 review queue. Open the queue and Sia surfaces exactly the cards you're about to forget. Sync across Web, iOS, and Android.

SM-2 review queue

Exam-relevance score

Sia tags every section low / medium / high / read-carefully based on syllabus, prior exams (AP/IB/SAT/A-Level/major college), and the source's own emphasis cues. Triage triages itself.

Smart triage

One-tap convert

Every Sia Note has Generate Visual Map / Flash Cards / Quiz buttons. Same source, four ways of studying — pick whichever clicks for the topic.

Map · Cards · Quiz

40+ languages, both ways

Take a Mandarin lecture and request an English Sia Note. Or ingest an English textbook and ask for 한국어. Cross-language notes preserve the AskSia-Method structure.

Cross-lingual
How It Works

From source to
studied — in three steps.

Step 01

Drop any source

PDF, Word, PPT, scanned handwriting, audio file, YouTube link, live lecture recording, or a podcast URL.

PDF
AP_Euro_Chapter_1.pdf
youtube.com/khan-renaissance
🎙
Lecture_W6_Mar18.m4a
P
Reformation_Slides.pptx
Step 02

Sia applies the method

Cornell zones, Feynman summaries, Zettelkasten links, active-recall questions, exam-relevance scores — all auto-generated in parallel.

Cornell zones · cue + notes
Feynman summaries · 6 sections
Zettelkasten cards · 18 atoms linked
Active-recall cue questions · generating…
Exam-relevance scoring · queued
Step 03

Review at the right moment

Open the spaced-repetition queue. Sia surfaces only the cards you're about to forget — not the ones you already know.

CUE · 1.2a · HumanismDUE NOW
What did the rediscovery of classical texts change about medieval Europe?
CUE · 2.1a · 95 ThesesDUE 2D
Why did the printing press multiply Luther's reach?
CUE · 3.1a · HeliocentrismDUE 7D
Who first published the heliocentric model and what year?
Available On

Generate at your desk.
Review on the bus.

🖥 Web App

Full Sia Note studio

Drag in your library, watch the Cornell zones, Feynman summaries, and Zettelkasten cards build out, and chat with Sia about anything in the note.

Drag-drop multi-format upload up to 100 files
Inline citations to source page · click to jump
One-click convert to Visual Map / Flashcards / Quiz
Export to PDF, DOCX, Notion, Obsidian, Google Docs
Try on Web →
📱 Mobile App

The review app in your pocket

The mobile app is built around the spaced-repetition queue. Open it on the bus, run through today's 8 cards, sync everything to Web automatically.

One-tap "due today" review queue
Live lecture record → instant Sia Note
Snap photo of handwritten notes → OCR → Sia Note
Offline review with saved notes
Get the App →
Use Cases

For every kind
of studying.

📚

Textbook chapters

Drop in 200 pages of biology, get a Sia Note with cue questions, Feynman one-liners, and an exam-relevance score per section.

PDF · DOCX · EPUB

YouTube lectures

Paste a Khan Academy or 3Blue1Brown URL — Sia transcribes, indexes, and builds a Sia Note with timestamped concept cards.

YouTube · podcast
🎙

Live lecture capture

Hit record in class — Sia transcribes, identifies speakers, and turns the lecture into a Sia Note in real time.

Mic · browser tab
✍️

Handwritten notes

Snap your messy notebook — Sia OCRs the handwriting and rebuilds it as a Cornell-structured Sia Note with cue questions you forgot to write.

OCR · handwriting
🎯

AP / IB / SAT prep

Drop in past papers, your textbook, and your professor's slides — Sia merges them into one Sia Note with exam-relevance triage and a review queue.

SAT · AP · IB · A-Level
🔬

Research papers

Turn a 30-page NeurIPS paper into a Sia Note with Zettelkasten-linked atomic concept cards you can connect to your own work.

Research · review
Compare

Sia Note vs. Notion AI,
Mem & Obsidian.

General notetakers are blank canvases. Sia Note is a methodology — five validated study techniques, automatically applied.

FeatureSia NoteNotion AIMem / Obsidian
Built-in study methodology✓ Cornell + Feynman + Zettelkasten + Active Recall + SRBlank pageBlank page
Auto-generates active-recall cue questions✓ Per sectionNoNo
Built-in spaced-repetition review queue✓ SM-2 algorithmNoPlugin only
Audio + video + YouTube native input✓ Auto-transcribeNoNo
Scanned handwriting OCR✓ NativeNoNo
Exam-relevance scoring (AP/IB/SAT/college)✓ Per sectionNoNo
One-tap to Visual Map / Flashcard / Quiz✓ Generator familyNoManual setup
Built specifically for students✓ AP/IB/SAT/college trainedKnowledge-worker toolPKM tool
Cross-language note generation✓ 40+ languagesTranslate onlyManual
Free plan✓ Daily Sia Notes, no cardLimited AI credits✓ Open-source local
FAQ

Frequently asked
questions.

What is the AskSia Method?
The AskSia Method blends five evidence-based study techniques researchers have separately validated for decades: Cornell Notes (Walter Pauk, Cornell University, 1950s — the most-used note format in higher ed), the Feynman Technique (Nobel laureate Richard Feynman's "explain it simply" rule), Zettelkasten (sociologist Niklas Luhmann's atomic-linked-notes system that produced 70+ books), active recall (Roediger & Karpicke's testing effect, which beats highlighting in every meta-analysis), and spaced repetition (Hermann Ebbinghaus's 1885 forgetting curve, modernized as the SM-2 algorithm in Anki and SuperMemo). Sia Note is the first AI tool that produces all five in a single automatic output.
What inputs does Sia Note accept?
Anything you study: PDF (native and scanned), DOCX, PPTX, MD, EPUB, TXT, scanned handwritten notes, MP3/MP4/WAV/M4A audio and video files, live lecture recording via mic or browser tab, YouTube URLs, podcast URLs, and public web articles. Mix and match in a single session — a 200-page textbook PDF + a YouTube lecture + your handwritten notes can all become one unified Sia Note.
How is Sia Note different from Notion AI, Mem, or Obsidian?
Three big differences. (1) Methodology: Notion/Mem/Obsidian are blank canvases — you still have to know how to take notes. Sia Note auto-applies the AskSia Method (Cornell + Feynman + Zettelkasten + active recall + spaced repetition) to every output. (2) Source range: Sia Note ingests audio, video, and scanned handwriting natively — Notion AI does not. (3) Built-in study system: every Sia Note includes auto-generated cue questions, an exam-relevance score, a spaced-repetition queue, and one-tap conversion to a Visual Map / Flashcards / Quiz. Notion AI just writes prose.
Does Sia Note really use the Feynman Technique?
Yes. Every section of a Sia Note ends with a plain-English one-sentence summary — the Feynman test of whether you actually understand a concept. If Sia can't explain it simply, the section is flagged "read carefully" so you know to slow down.
How does the spaced-repetition review work?
Every cue question and atomic concept card is automatically scheduled on an SM-2-style spaced-repetition curve — the same algorithm Anki uses, derived from the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. Open the review queue and Sia surfaces the cards that are about to be forgotten — never the ones you already know. Reviews sync across Web, iOS, and Android.
Can I convert a Sia Note into flashcards or a quiz?
Yes — that's a core feature. Every Sia Note has Generate Visual Map, Generate Flash Card, and Generate Quiz buttons. Each output is grounded in the same source material and inherits the same Zettelkasten links, so your map nodes, cards, and quiz questions all stay connected to the underlying concept cards.
Does Sia Note work for YouTube and lectures?
Yes. Paste a YouTube URL, drop in an audio/video file, or record a live lecture via mic or browser tab. Sia transcribes the audio and produces a full Sia Note from the spoken content, with timestamps preserved on every concept card so you can jump back to the source.
What is the "exam-relevance score"?
Every Sia Note section gets an exam-relevance score (low / medium / high / read-carefully) based on how heavily that topic appears in the syllabus, prior exams (for AP, IB, SAT, A-Level, and major college courses), and the source's own emphasis cues. The score helps you triage what to memorize first when you're short on time.
Is Sia Note available on mobile?
Yes — Web, iOS, and Android. Notes generated on one device sync immediately to the others. The mobile app is optimized for the spaced-repetition review queue: open it on the bus and run through the 8 cards Sia decided you needed to see today.
Can Sia Note generate notes in other languages?
Yes. Sia Note supports 40+ languages for both input and output, independently. Drop in a Mandarin lecture and request an English Sia Note; or drop in an English textbook and ask for 한국어. Cross-language notes preserve the AskSia-Method structure.
How much does Sia Note cost?
Sia Note is free to start with no credit card. Free accounts include daily Sia Notes with the full AskSia Method structure. AskSia Pro and Super unlock unlimited length, priority generation, full audio/video transcription, and unlimited spaced-repetition review history.
Is my data private?
Yes. Uploaded files, recordings, and notes are encrypted in transit and at rest, never sold, and not used to train AI models without explicit opt-in. Notes are private to your account by default.
The Generator Family

Same source.
Four ways to study.

Drop a document or a video into AskSia, then pick the format your brain learns best from.

Start Today

Stop taking notes.
Start studying with them.

Drop any document or video and Sia builds you the kind of note top students take — Cornell + Feynman + Zettelkasten + active recall + spaced repetition, in 20 seconds. Free to start, no credit card.