Vet student develops computer-based study tool in a flash

September 5, 2006

At 33, junior veterinary student Mary Gardner is fast becoming an entrepreneur, marketing a computer-driven flash card study program to students not just at the University of Florida, but all over the world.

Gardner, with help from her computer programmer father and webmaster brother, developed PC FlashCards, a software package that enables students to create flash cards on their personal computers. Students can organize the cards by subject, attach pictures, test themselves, print out cards on paper and swap cards between friends.

For example, animal science majors might quiz themselves with cards that ask questions like “What is a nutrient?” or “What type of cattle is this?”

“If you have a PDA, you can put the cards on the PDA version of the software to study away from your PC,” Gardner said.

Nearly the entire sophomore veterinary class has purchased the program, which sells for $29.95. One of PC FlashCards’ key selling points is that a portion of the proceeds from each sale goes to a student club, class or organization the buyer designates.

“My class has earned more than $500 just from sales,” Gardner said. “It’s been our best fundraising event to date. There is no overhead and no inventory, and we’ve learned while we made the cards.”

The flash card business began before Gardner was able to apply for veterinary school, when she was completing prerequisites and studying a lot. “I was making handwritten flash cards, and I’d have stacks of them in my house. I thought, this is ridiculous, there needs to be a software product to automate all this.”

So Gardner drew up specs, conceptualized the product and asked her father to help write the software. Within a week, he had a prototype. Her brother agreed to build a Web site, so soon all three family members were involved.

Students from six other veterinary schools, including those in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Canada, are now using the program.

“The program is not just for college students,” Gardner said. “We have real estate agents, pilots and high school students using the program. It’s a great feeling to know that so many other people have found the product helpful in their studies.”

For more information on PC FlashCards, go to www.pcflashcards.com.