SYNC OR SWIM ADOBE SPARK

I realise that I’ve gotten into a bit of a rhythm with these Sync or Swim columns: the introduction of each could easily be prefaced by ‘I don’t want to go off on a rant, but … ’, and they tend to involve me taking a few jabs at various educational theories and practices that are largely only useful in an academic sense, before segueing into a few pot shots at nonsense administration roles and finishing by lamenting the obscene expectations of teachers in terms of time and the high-level digital literacy–based skills that they are supposed to have developed by osmosis. It’s an easy approach to take because it’s a problem that shows no sign of a solution. Now, don’t get me wrong; I love that rant – which is essentially about all the stuff in teaching that isn’t about students, or doesn’t have them at its centre – but the product that this piece is dedicated to is so good that I want to take up all the words and pictures I have left singing its praises.

WHAT IS IT?

Adobe Spark was first released over 2014–2015 as three separate apps: Adobe Voice, Adobe Slate and Adobe Post. All were iOSbased, and thus only worked on iPads and iPhones. Voice, which dropped in 2014, allowed users to. All you needed to use them was an Adobe ID, which itself costs nothing and mainly serves as a way for you to access the ever-expanding range of free apps and services Adobe has on offer (from stuff like Bēhance and the Adobe Education Exchange to mobile versions of flagship Adobe programs like Premiere Clip and Photoshop Mix, just to scrape the surface).