In Showbie, you can use voice notes to engage with your students, share detailed instruction, or provide personalized feedback.
Voice notes in Showbie can be added:
To a student's document or assignment as verbal feedback.
As a post on a Materials feed.
As a post on a Community feed.
As a post in a Class Discussion.
As a post on a student's assignment feed.
✍️ Showbie users have a voice note length limit of 1 minute. Showbie Pro users can record longer voice notes of up to 30 minutes.
Creating Voice Notes from Assignment Materials, Class Discussions, or Communities
Navigate to the preferred Assignment Materials, Community, or Class Discussion, tap the plus (+) icon.
Tap Voice Note.
Tap OK to allow Showbie access to your device’s microphone.
Record your voice note by tapping the record button (red circle) and tap the button again to end the recording.
Tap Post (blue arrow) to save and upload the voice note.
Editing/Playing Back a Voice Note
You can preview your voice note recording by playing it back before it is posted. There will be a progress indicator showing how far you are into the recording and the length of voice note. Use the play and pause buttons to start or stop the playback. The reverse button will take you back to the beginning and the forward button will bring you to the end.
The record button lets you re-record your voice note. You can either record from the end (adding to your existing recording) or you can record from the beginning (overwriting your existing recording). Once you're done reviewing the recording, tap Post (blue arrow) to save it as a voice note.
Creating a Voice Note on a Document (Annotation)
Navigate to the preferred class and assignment.
Open the student's assignment where you would like to add a voice note.
Tap the Voice Note icon (chat bubble with a triangle) from the annotations tool bar, then tap the assignment in the place where you would like the voice note to be posted.
Tap the record button (red circle) to begin. Tap it again to finish recording.
You can also playback the recording to listen to it before posting it. The reverse button will take you back to the beginning and the forward button will bring you to the end.
Tap Save to add the voice note as an annotation on the document.
Tap Done before exiting the document to save your changes.
Deleting a Voice Note from a Document (Annotation)
On iPad
Tap and hold the voice note until the option menu appears.
Tap the Delete to permanently delete the voice note.
Deleted voice notes are removed from the materials list and cannot be recovered.
On Web
Right click the Voice note post.
Click Delete in the options menu that appears.
Deleted voice notes are removed from the materials list and cannot be recovered.
Deleting Voice Notes from Assignment Materials, Class Discussions, or Communities
Navigate to the preferred Assignment Materials, Community, or Class Discussion, and find the voice note you would like to delete.
To delete the voice note:
On the iOS app, press and hold the voice note. From the menu that appears, tap Delete.
On the web, hover your curser over the voice note and click the ellipsis icon (...) that appears. Select Delete from the menu that appears.
Renaming a Voice Note
On iPad
Tap and hold the voice note and tap Rename option that appears.
Type in a new name for the voice note and tap Enter/Return on the keyboard.
On Web
Look for the ellipsis icon (...) to the right of the Voice note post and click on it to reveal more options.
Click on the Rename option, type in a new name for the voice note click Save.
How to Pin a Voice Note in a Class Discussion
Teachers can pin voice notes to the top of the Class Discussion feed, so important messages are always available and played easily. To start, navigate to the preferred Class Discussion:
Find the voice note that you would like to pin.
To pin the voice note:
On the iOS app, tap and hold the voice note to reveal the pin option. Tap on it to pin the post.
In a web browser, look for the ellipsis icon (...) to the right of the post and click on it to reveal more options. Click on the Pin option.
✍️ Some things to know:
Only teachers can pin posts.
Multiple voice notes can be pinned, and they be sorted in the order they were pinned (voice notes that were pinned first will appear at the top).
Allow Access to the Mic for Showbie on the iPad
Please be sure to allow access to the microphone! If you need to allow access, you can do so manually in your iPad’s settings:
Open your iPad's Settings app.
Scroll to the bottom of the settings list on the left and tap Apps.
Find and tap Showbie in the apps list.
Tap the slider next to the Microphone to toggle permissions on or off.
Voice Note Playback Speed Control
Teachers and students can speed up or slow down voice notes on the iOS app. This makes catching every detail or moving through content easier and more efficient. This feature works across Documents, Assignments, Class Discussions (wherever voice notes are used) and can help enhance the listening experience for teachers and students.
To adjust playback speed, click the playback speed icon on the right side of the playback controls and select the preferred playback speed from the options that appear.
Voice Note Transcription
When enabled in Showbie Labs, Voice Note Transcription gives newly created voice notes an automatic transcript (with timestamps) for any audio-verbal content shared in Showbie. This makes it easy to view a text version of the feedback, instruction, or response that was shared in the voice note, allowing students and teachers to quickly review and reference its content.
With the Voice Note Transcription feature enabled, look for the View Transcript option below the voice note's playback options. Tapping View Transcript will expand the voice note transcript to reveal its full text.