Adobe Voice: Creating Videos Couldn’t Be Easier!
Sebah Al-AliA lot of our learning by doing projects require students to create and submit some kind of video to showcase their work. While there are a few apps on the iPad that can help with that, Adobe Voice is one of the best options!
What is Adobe Voice?
Adobe Voice is an iOS app that can only be installed on iPads. It is designed to help you create videos using pictures and audios. It is for free, and it’s only been out for about a year now. It was listed on App Store’s top charts soon after it was released, and it was listed on the best of 2014 app list.
What does it do?
Using Adobe Voice, you basically can create a video using pictures, audios, and pre-set animations and formatting. It is structured to look like you’re making a PowerPoint or Keynote. You can add as many slides as you want. You can add up to items (pictures, text, and icons) to one slide. You can record your voice for each slide. You can add music background. And you can share your video online, or save it to your camera roll. Teachers can easily embed their Adobe Voice videos on BlackBoard to share with students.
In its recent updates, users can now view stats on their shared videos, and they can set their videos to be private if they wish to keep off of Adobe Voice’s open records. Users also have an option to customize available themes, to a certain extent.
How to create an Adobe account?
To fully use all of the Adobe Voice’s features, you’ll need to have a valid Adobe ID. If you’ve created one before, you can sign in. Otherwise, you can easily create an account within the app. When you install the app for the first time, you’ll be prompted to create an Adobe ID or sign int to one. Make sure to use a valid email because you will be sent an activation link.
If that doesn’t appear, tap the settings icon on the top left corner, and choose sign in to an Adobe ID.
Limitations
There are a few things that you cannot do with Adobe Voice. For example, so far, you cannot add videos to your slides. You cannot add more than two items to a slide, and you cannot add your own animations or themes; you can only use pre-set themes created by Adobe Voice. –this is exactly why I love it in my class!
I don’t know if you face the same difficulties, but my students usually waste most of their time on projects trying to make it “look” good, rather than spending their time trying to produce meaningful language. With these limitations to formatting, students have no other option but to work on the content of their work. And, although I say limitations, with the number of pre-set options that are already available on Adobe Voice, students do have a lot of room for creativity and fun. It’s just not too much for them to be distracted by it.
How to Use It in Class?
When using it in class, I usually just ask students to gather around, and I show them the basics of the app: how to start a new project (video), add slides, change layout, choose a theme, add pictures or text, and add music. That is usually more than enough to get them started.
Projects that can easily work with this app are endless. You can have students record their IELTS speaking tasks using Adobe Voice with their notes displayed on the screen, or relevant pictures. I also used the app in my class to get students to talk to their future selves and to reflect on the semester. I also used the app to create vocabulary videos for our weekly lists, and students found it helpful to remember and learn words.
Samples
These are a few samples created using the app:
For more
To download the app, tap this link on your iPad: download Adobe Voice.
To view a video explaining how to use the app, view this video.
To learn more about possible projects that can integrate the app, view these slides.
