Choose and Source Media

Berdee supports more than one way to bring media into a lesson. Picking the right media source saves time and keeps lessons easier to maintain.

The main media source options

Depending on the widget, you can work with media from:

• Owned media in the media library
• A file dropped or pasted straight onto the canvas
• A direct URL
• Your own voice, recorded in the audio picker
• Stock images and video, searched across Pexels, Pixabay, and Vecteezy at once
• AI-generated images
• ElevenLabs text-to-speech output
• ElevenLabs sound effects generation

Dropping and pasting on the canvas

For images you already have in front of you, this is the shortest route of all: drag the file onto the canvas, or copy the picture and press ⌘ V (Ctrl V). Berdee uploads it, makes it an image widget where you dropped it, and adds it to your library so it behaves like any other owned file afterwards.

Images only — JPG, PNG, WebP, or still GIF up to 10 MB. Audio and video still come through their widget's own picker. Every format and limit, including iPhone photos and longer videos: What you can upload. Full walkthrough: Add an image by dropping or pasting it.

Media library

Use the media library when you want media that is reusable, organized, and easy to find later.

Best for:

• Uploaded classroom files
• Images you will use in more than one lesson
• Reusable diagrams and templates
• Teacher-owned audio or video files

This is usually the best default choice when the media belongs to your long-term library.

Tip: Double-click an image, audio, or video widget on the canvas to open the media library straight away — a quick shortcut to the same picker the Audio Source and Video Source controls open inside the widget's ⚙ Configure dialog. An image has no Configure dialog: click Choose image (or Replace image) above it instead, or use Image Source in the right sidebar. (A text to speech widget has no library to open, so double-clicking it opens its ⚙ Configure dialog instead.)

For image, audio, and video widgets, the media library is now the main entry point for media work. Instead of jumping between several separate media controls, you can usually do all of the following in one place:

• Search your own files and every stock library together, in one box
• Browse your own media
• Upload a new file
• Record your own audio
• Preview media before inserting it
• Generate new audio effects

Direct URLs

Only the video widget takes a link: paste a YouTube or video URL into URL or YouTube link in its ⚙ Configure dialog. Use it for externally hosted videos you do not need to manage in your library, but be careful if long-term reliability matters — a link can stop working when the other site changes, and your own uploads cannot.

Image and audio widgets always use media from your library. To use a file you found online, download it and upload it.

Recorded media

You can record audio without leaving Berdee. In an audio widget's media picker, open the Record tab (on the media page it is Record audio) and press Start recording. The first time, your browser asks whether Berdee may use your microphone — choose Allow.

While you record, a level bar moves when the microphone hears you, and a timer shows how long you have left. Press Stop when you're done, then:

1. Listen back with the player to check the take.
2. Not happy? Press Record again — the take is thrown away and nothing is saved.
3. Give it a name (for example _"Directions for scene 2"_) and press Save and use. It's added to your media library and chosen for the widget.

You can look at another tab and come back: your take waits until you save it. If you close the picker with a take you haven't saved, Berdee asks before throwing it away. Recordings can be up to 3 minutes long. Use it for spoken directions, a read-aloud, or a personal message to the class; Record your own voice for a question walks through one. If Berdee says it can't use your microphone, allow microphone access for the site from the icon in your browser's address bar and press Try again.

The studio does not record video. For spoken text you don't need in your own voice, a text to speech widget reads it aloud for you.

Stock search

The Search tab in the media picker (Find stock on the media page) searches Pexels, Pixabay, Vecteezy, and your own library from one box, and blends the results into a single grid. You filter by what the picture _is_ — photos, clipart, vectors, backgrounds — not by which company published it. Anything you import lands in your owned library with its creator credit attached.

Use this when:

• You need a professional visual quickly
• You want themed imagery without leaving the studio
• You are building a polished activity and do not already have media prepared

This is a strong option for:

• Storytelling scenes
• Diagrams or concept visuals
• Background context images
• Cut-out clipart for sorting, labeling, and drag-and-drop activities
• Motion-rich opening or transition scenes

This is the fastest way to search for photos when you do not already own the media. See Find Stock Images for the full walkthrough — the content-type chips, the transparent-background filter, credits, and what to do when a source is busy.

Import size limits

Imported photos and videos have a size limit, so very large files are declined rather than imported.

• Photos from Pexels import at a high-resolution size that is more than enough for any lesson slide — not the original camera-sized file. This keeps your library fast to browse and your lessons quick to load for students.
• Photos from Pixabay and Vecteezy import at the largest size the artist made available, up to 20 MB. If you see _"This file is too large to import,"_ the original is bigger than that — pick another result in the grid. Because the results are blended, a similar image from a different source is usually a row away.
• Videos must be under 50 MB. Longer clips usually exceed this. If you see _"This video is too large to import,"_ pick a shorter clip — a few seconds of motion is almost always more effective in a lesson than a long one. Stock video comes from Pexels; Pixabay and Vecteezy video are not available in Berdee.

If an import ever seems to stall, it will now stop on its own and show a message so you can retry instead of waiting.

AI-generated images

For image widgets, the picker's Generate tab creates a custom illustration from a text description — no stock search or upload needed. Describe what you want (for example, _"a friendly cartoon water droplet on a white background"_), pick a shape, and Berdee generates the artwork and saves it to your library. Generating again always makes a new image rather than replacing one, so you can compare two takes and keep the better one. Free includes 20 AI images a month; on Plus and Studio Pro, each image is part of your monthly AI usage. See Generate images with AI.

Use this when:

• You need a custom illustration that stock libraries do not have
• You want a specific character, diagram, or on-theme scene
• Ask Berdee built a lesson and you want to swap one of its images

See Generate Images with AI for the full walkthrough, including how to write a good description.

ElevenLabs text-to-speech

The text-to-speech widget can generate spoken audio from text using an ElevenLabs voice.

Use this when:

• You want consistent spoken prompts
• The same text should be available in written and spoken form
• You need accessibility support
• You want to avoid recording many small clips manually

This is especially helpful for directions, vocabulary prompts, and read-aloud reinforcement.

ElevenLabs sound effects

Audio workflows also support generating sound effects through ElevenLabs from a text prompt.

Use this when:

• You need a quick reaction sound
• You want game-like feedback
• You want a custom classroom sound without leaving the editor

Typical examples:

• A celebration cue
• A correct-answer chime
• An environmental sound for storytelling
• A subtle transition sound between scenes

Generated sound effects can be previewed before you decide which one to save into your media library and use on the scene. To build one into a question, see Play a sound for right and wrong answers.

Sound effects are an AI feature, so they need the Plus or Studio Pro plan. Each request gives you three takes to choose from and uses one AI action from your monthly allowance, whichever take you keep. On the Free plan, generating one shows the upgrade prompt. See AI and Voice.

Some images can't be used

Students of every age see what goes into a lesson, so Berdee checks every picture before it's added: uploads, pictures dropped or pasted on the canvas, stock imports, AI-generated images, marketplace listing images, and your storefront photo. A picture that isn't suitable for children — nudity, graphic violence, self-harm, hate symbols, drug use — isn't added anywhere, and you'll see: _"This image can't be used in Berdee. If you think that's a mistake, ask us to review it."_

• Think we got it wrong? Press Ask for a review under the message. It opens the contact form with Review an image we couldn't accept already chosen. Tell us what the picture is and which lesson it's for, and we'll follow up by email. A biology diagram or a museum painting can occasionally be refused; a review is how we fix that.
• "Moving pictures can't be checked." Animated GIFs (and animated WebP or PNG files) can't be added, because the check can only look at one frame while your students would see them all. Use a still image instead; a GIF that doesn't move is fine.
• "Too large for us to check." The check works on pictures up to 16 megapixels. Export a smaller version (most photos are fine at 4000 pixels on the long side) and add it again.
• "We couldn't check this image just now." The check itself was briefly unavailable, so nothing was added. Wait a few minutes and try again — your file is fine.

Nothing you've already added is affected, and a refused picture never counts against your storage. AI-generated pictures are checked too, even though the generator has its own filters. A generated picture that isn't added doesn't count against your monthly AI usage, because you didn't get a picture. If it happens, rephrase the description rather than generating the same thing again.

How to choose the right source

Ask these questions:

1. Will I reuse this media later?
2. Do I need to organize it in the media library?
3. Is this media better recorded live or generated?
4. Do I need something quick from a stock source?

A simple rule:

• If it should live with your teaching assets, upload it
• If it already exists online and is disposable, use a URL
• If you need fast polished visuals, use stock search — and check the From your library strip first, in case you already own something that fits
• If you need a custom illustration that does not exist yet, generate one
• If you need spoken text at scale, use text-to-speech
• If you need short non-voice audio, use sound effects generation

Recommended next reads

• Find Stock Images
• Generate Images with AI
• Organize and Use the Media Library
• Audio Widget
• Video Widget
• Text to Speech Widget