Descript is a do-it-all video and audio editor that wants to make the whole process as easy as possible. As such, it's a useful place for students and educators to begin, or to use ongoing as a helpful tool to create.

Crucially, this platform also offers quick tutorials that allow even novice users to get the hang of how it works. That does make it suitable for students, and also helps to make it accessible for educators as part of their teaching toolkit.

Descript, as the name alludes, also offers automatic transcription of audio. This can be very helpful if creating audio recordings or podcasts that are going out to those who may not be able to hear and could benefit from reading the transcript.

The features of this tool go far deeper, with a special skill when it comes to group podcasting and screen recording, so read on to see if Descript could be for you.

What is Descript?

Descript is an audio and video production and editing platform that specializes in podcast creation, specifically for groups.

Descript crams in a host of helpful features, including screen recording, audio recording, multitrack editing and mixing, publishing, and even some AI tools for text-to-speech creation.

Coming in both web-based and desktop versions, this is easy to access across a host of devices. It also offers several tiers of pricing so it can be used for free but also with more complexity for a premium.

The screen recording feature, which records from the screen as well as webcams, is a particularly useful tool for teachers looking to create guidance resources for students. The ability to partially add automated speech from text, in your own voice, is a really powerful way to stay personal and engaging while saving time on recording audio perfectly.

How does Descript work?

Descript requires you to sign-up before downloading the software to get started. You are then also required to complete a short survey on how you will be using the tool, before moving forward. It's a pretty swift process and is, initially at least, free.

Once up and running you are able to record audio, for podcasts specifically, as an individual or as part of a group. The ability to collaborate, remotely, is a really powerful feature that students working on a project across locations outside of school hours could find very useful.

Students can easily record audio or screen record right away. It is then possible to layer the audio and video to edit in a timeline style that is very professional yet straightforward to use. As mentioned, there are some helpful guidance tutorials to make sure even less confident users can get going with relative ease. 

It is then possible to output to various formats for sharing as needed. You can also use the tool to publish, making it helpful for those looking to share to social media directly, for example, or for anyone publishing a regular podcast.

What are the best Descript features?

Descript is easy to use, offering deep and intuitive levels of control without getting too complicated in the process. 

One of the best features has to be the transcription, which is done via AI. You can record an audio recording and the written transcription is automatically available -- ideal if students are watching in public and want to follow along without audio playing, or if they are unable to hear.

Another smart feature is the premium overdub voice cloning. This allows you to offer quality voice over corrections to podcasts or audio recordings simply by typing the correction. A very clever way to edit without spending lots of time re-recording. Although for this to work you must read a 10-minute script out, just once, so the system can learn and clone your voice.

You can also easily remove noises and enhance audio with a single click. This makes for near professional level audio quality with just a laptop mic. A great way to cut out any "ums" or "ers" from a recording to give it a more polished finish.

Live collaboration is helpful for students working on a project together, however, it's worth noting this data is stored in the cloud so any recordings are exposed as far as the protection of the platform offers with its own server security. 

A helpful option to add in-line notes to audio recordings and videos is available -- ideal when offering feedback on a collaborative project or for educators giving students direct responses. 

How much does Descript cost?

Descript offers several tiers of pricing, which can be paid for either monthly or annually which are: free, creator, pro and enterprise.

The free plan gets you one transcription per month in 23 languages, detection of 8+ speakers, one watermark-free export, 720p resolution, dynamic captions, unlimited projects, animation and transitions, filler word removal of "um and "uh," overdub voice to 1,000 word limit, studio sound to a 10-minute fill limit, background sound removal to 10-minute limit, stock media library of first five search results, stock template library, collaboration and commenting, plus 5GB of cloud storage.

Go for the Creator plan, at $12/month, and you get all the above plus 10 hours of transcription per month, unlimited exports, 4K resolution, one hour of studio sound, one hour of AI background removal, first 12 search results of the stock media library, creation and sharing of templates, plus 100GB of cloud storage.

Up that to the Pro level, at $24/month, and you get the above plus 30 hours of transcription per month, unlimited studio sound and AI background removal, removal of 18 filler and repeated words, unlimited overdub and stock media library access, custom drive and page branding, plus 300GB of cloud storage.

A custom plan with bespoke pricing is available, which gets you all the Pro features plus a dedicated account representative, single sign on, overdub enterprise, Descript service agreement, security review, invoicing, onboarding, and training.

Descript best tips and tricks

Group cast
Set a podcast creation project in groups so that students can learn to work collaboratively, outside of class hours.

Publish
Show the class how publishing works so they have the ability to create and share their own podcasts in their own time.

Overdub your own
Educators can use overdub to help create audio to go with guidance videos without actually spending lots of time audio recording everything perfectly.

• Podcasting for Educators
• Best Digital Tools for Teachers

PBS and WGBH today unveiled the new PBS LearningMedia website. New features include simple browsing by curriculum area, state/national standards and grade; improved search functionality; and easier access to local PBS station resources.

[Do you have an innovative edtech product? Nominate it for the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence Contest! Click here for details]

PBS LearningMedia, a partnership between PBS and WGBH, sees more than one million unique users visit it each month during the school year to access free, high-quality, classroom-ready resources, including videos, images, lesson plans, articles, primary sources and more. These materials also include content from PBS KIDS series that teach important foundational early learning skills, including literacy, STEM, social-emotional development and social studies.

[Choosing The Right Adaptive Learning Tool]

Last year, PBS LearningMedia integrated with platforms such as Google Classroom, Clever and Remind, making the site compatible with the tools teachers use most.

Educators can explore the new design and thousands of public media resources at pbslearningmedia.org.

At the beginning of the school year we can get students focused on setting and accomplishing learning goals and personal goals by getting them to create digital vision boards. Vision boards are basically collages of inspirational people, quotes, and visuals representing personal goals. Extremely successful people swear by them. In fact, this was an idea inspired by The Secret by Rhonda Byrne that I wrote about in 2014 and included in my book, The 30 Goals Challenge for Educators: Small Steps to Transform Your Teaching. I’ve been getting my students to create digital vision boards instead of poster vision collages and share two templates/versions with you below and my students’ examples. Find more student examples here. This is one free Buncee template I created for any teacher or student to copy and edit as they wish. This past year my students also chose One Word to inspire them and added this to the digital vision board. Read more about this in my post about One Word Digital Vision Boards. This is the free Buncee template for the One Word Vision Boards. Whichever idea you try the idea is for students to revisit their boards regularly to keep them focused on their goals and inspired. I get students to do this by getting them to reflect in their journals at least once a month on what they are doing to accomplish the goals they set in their vision boards. Below, are a list of additional free web tools and apps for creating vision boards with a few examples.

[20+ Emoji Activities and Resources for Teaching Math, Science, and English]

Student One Word Vision Boards

Web Tools

• Buncee– educational web tool and iOS app where students add digital content (free images, audio clips, YouTube video, videos, voice recordings, stickers, etc.) to a board to create presentations, collages, posters, and so forth.
• Google Slides and Google Draw are other options. You could easily use this Buncee template in Google Slides.
• Genial.ly is a free multimedia tool for creating dynamic digital presentations and interactive images.
• Padlet and LinoIt are other ways to create a vision board or set goals with learners. Check out this example of my class goals here and an inspiration board here!
• Pinterest– free and popular curation web tool, iOS/Android app, and bookmarklet to easily pin inspiring posts, documents, videos, and images to a board.
• Canva– web tool and iPad app with a free library of stock images, stickers, and graphics.
• EduGlogster– web tool and app that allows students to combine their own images, graphics, audio, video and text to create a multimedia scrapbook.
• Smore– web tool to create digital flyers with videos, icons, and images. Some teachers have used this web tool to create infographics.
• Pic-Collage– iOS/Android app for creating visual collages that can include video. Also, find a library of stickers, frames, and templates.
• VisionBoard.cc– Chrome extension to create a vision board and set it as a homepage.

Challenge: Start the school year right by getting students to create vision boards.

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.

Plotagon Education

Create animated movies with customized characters and actions

Pros: Wide variety of options to customize characters and practice writing while creating a movie.

Cons: Computer voices can be stilted; exporting is easier on the iPad app version; some of the available actions may be inappropriate.

Bottom Line: A fun way to show understanding of any subject matter, especially for those who enjoy making movies.

[STEM Resource Helps Teachers Locate 1000s of Free Lessons, Activities]

Read more.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

Web site: http://school.follett.com/lightbox■ Retail Price: $40-$80 per title

With almost 500 available titles that incorporate text, video, audio, quizzes, and other interactive elements, Lightbox offers a unique learning experience that engages learners with various learning styles. Each Lightbox title is available for multiple users with perpetual access, and comes with a print edition of the text as well. Follett has recently introduced a selection of elementary Spanish titles, as well as a selection of middle and high school titles.

Quality and Effectiveness: Lightbox offers almost 500 interactive multimedia titles that can be easily and effectively incorporated into the classroom. The majority of the available titles focus on the elementary and intermediate level, although there are a few available for middle and high school, with more to come. Fifty-one of the elementary titles now have a Spanish version available, to support ELL and dual-language programs. Each title offers a variety of interactive features that may include text, audio, video, Google Maps, Web links, quizzes, AR quizzes, curricular alignments, and keywords. Most of the associated multimedia aspects of the titles are appropriate and add depth to the topic under investigation. The audio narration is machine-read text-to-speech, the embedded videos are high-definition, and the Web links lead to appropriate, high-quality content. The accompanying activities ask students to answer higher-level critical-thinking questions and can be downloaded for teachers to assess.

Ease of Use: Each Lightbox title comes with a print edition, as well as an electronic MARC record that can be loaded to the school’s library catalog. Students and teachers are able to access Lightbox titles in a number of ways, including IP authentication, unique codes on the print texts, and through digital content management systems such as Follett’s Destiny Library Manager or Destiny Discovery. The help guides are easy to follow, and no setup is required on the teacher’s part—no usernames, no passwords, and no accounts to manage.

Creative Use of Technology: The Lightbox platform is Web-based and works in any browser; it also works on any tablet device with a viewing area of 7 inches or more. The overlay of interactive features on the Lightbox titles is a unique feature not always available with ebooks. In addition to the videos, slideshows, and Web links, definitions for keywords are available as pop-ups in the text to help students situate the meaning in context. The interactive and multimedia materials encourage students to explore beyond the written word and reinforce what is being presented in the text. Students are able to safely explore the Internet and other resources that are carefully selected and will enhance their knowledge and understanding.

Suitability for Use in a School Environment: Lightbox makes it easy to differentiate learning as the titles offer a variety of media to meet the needs of more students. The titles available support existing curriculum in science and social studies and allow students to explore topics in a variety of ways. Lightbox focuses on interactivity and engagement by offering learning materials that appeal to more styles of learning than a typical print book. By providing students with a focused multimedia exploration of a topic, the platform helps strengthen not only reading, but also listening, skills.

OVERALL RATING:

Lightbox is a great solution for schools and teachers looking to engage readers in multimedia experiences. Starting around $40 per title for print and multi-user perpetual access digital content, Lightbox offers a fantastic value compared with other ebook and digital-content products.

TOP FEATURES

• Interactive content engages learners on all levels, hitting a variety of learning styles.

• Supplemental activities encourage students to think critically about the information presented.

• Each title is aligned to national level standards.