Build Literacy Skills with Voice Memo Transcripts

 

screenshots of Voice Memos app

Creative activity: Build language and literacy skills with Voice Memos on iPad or iPhone with Early Learners. Record student voices telling their own stories. Using the transcript generated in Voice Memos, students can read back their own story to improve reading fluency. Familiar content and vocabulary used by the student makes reading more engaging and achievable.

📋What you’ll need:  an iPad or iPhone running iOS 18 or later

🙋Participants:  Solo or with the help of a teacher

⏱️Time needed:  5-10 minutes 

Learn how to view a Voice Memo Transcript on iPad.

👉Instructions: 

  1. Ask the student to choose an event from their life, a topic that interests them, or make an imaginary story.
  2. Have the student talk and share their story while recording it in Voice Memos. 
  3. Generate the transcript of the recording.
  4. Have the student read back the transcript of the recording.

Go further: Using Pages, audio recordings and transcripts can be copied and pasted and inserted into pages of the Early Learner Portfolio. Then use Writing Tools with Apple Intelligence on iPad to proofread transcripts. Later, export the portfolio as a book in the EPUB format to revisit and keep a record of progress. Try adding images made in Image Playground for added context and interest. 

 

screenshots of My Reading Project

2 replies

July 05, 2025 Language English

Voice Memos is one of my favorite apps for quick recordings, adding to GarageBand and oral storytelling. Thanks for this additional idea for building literacy skills - great also for English language learners. And for high school or middle school public speaking classes, they might use this technique for practice. Love the Image Playground addition!

July 07, 2025 Language English

Voice Memos has always been a powerful visual for students to see what their speaking looks like and sounds like. The new addition of transcripts is a super bonus and the ideas that you have shown here are fantastic. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the inspiration.

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