A SPARKling Program: My Experience with Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark is a free application that allows users to "Turn ideas into impactful social graphics, web stories, and animated videos - in minutes."
With an incredibly user-friendly interface and it's download price (FREE), Adobe Spark is a must have for all students and teachers in and outside of the classroom.
With an incredibly user-friendly interface and it's download price (FREE), Adobe Spark is a must have for all students and teachers in and outside of the classroom.
The new Adobe Spark actually combines three of Adobe's previously split programs. The old apps, Slate, Post, and Voice, are now seamlessly integrated into Spark just as their own categories known as Page, Post, and Video. Spark itself is a website that contains all three categories, but the categories can still be downloaded as separate apps.
Initially, I was very intimidated by the app simply due to my previous knowledge of Adobe and how complex and intricate its programs are. However, right away after downloading the app I realized that my preconceived notions would be shattered. The app itself is very simply design, with there only containing 3 categories to click, "Inspiration", "+", and "My Pages". This easy to use interface will allow future students to be able to follow along easily.
I decided to create my page on "Sonnets", considering my future profession as an English teacher. I want to have my kids create pages on different literary terms and methods of writing that may otherwise be considered dull or boring. When I clicked on the "+", I was greeted by a fairly blank but informative page.
After adding my title, and the photo that I wanted on the main page, the rest of the content addition rolled very quickly and smoothly.
After adding my title, and the photo that I wanted on the main page, the rest of the content addition rolled very quickly and smoothly.
With each addition to your page, you are greeted with a dialog box asking you to select what type of content you want to add next, and giving you many options on how you want to retrieve it. For example, when adding a photo, I had the option to select one off of my iPad, search for one on the web, or take one right then. This allows creative freedom without it being so vague that it is difficult to know where to start.
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Finally, when finished you are able to share to a wide variety of places. This will make it easy for my future students to not only turn in their work to me, but also be able to share it among each other.
Overall, this app is very easy to use, but gives students the room to push themselves creatively. The true challenge of creating a page is making something for your audience that is both informative and creative. In the future, I will work to add different kinds of media to my pages to make them even more interesting for the viewers. |
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