First & Fourth Grade Buddies "Explain Everything"

First & Fourth Grade Buddies "Explain Everything"
by Ally Small & Laura Chastain

For the past three school years, buddy time has become part of our weekly curriculum;  starting as reading buddies, and developing into cross-curricular activities.  This year, our classes both went 1:1 which has opened the door to integrating more technology.  In the past we've used Google Slides, Popplet, Book Creator, and Pic Collage.  With the help of our instructional coach, we came up with the idea to use Explain Everything to help students deliver an oral presentation.  With the recording capabilities, students who feel uncomfortable speaking in front of their peers now have a strong, clear voice.

Explain Everything works like an interactive whiteboard, allowing you to draw, type, insert photos and/or videos and record your voice.  Students start with a blank canvas that becomes their own personal work of art.  It works like a slide presentation that can be saved and shared in various formats; presentation, video, document, and much more.

                          

Explain Everything has proven to be easy to use.  After a short introductory lesson with our instructional coach, the students have pretty much taught themselves and each other.  Students appear to enjoy using the app, and have asked to use it for other projects.

The project they're currently working on during buddy time is a research assignment aligned to first grade standards comparing life long ago to life today.  We've asked them to take it one step further by asking them to make a prediction about what their topic would look like in the future.

This fourth grade student appreciates being able to make changes along the way to update his project as his thinking changes.

The girls enjoy the creative aspects of Explain Everything.  Adding photos, drawing pictures, and uploading videos gives them the option to really make their project their own.

In closing, we strongly recommend downloading the free version of Explain Everything to familiarize yourself, and your students, with the app and all its capabilities.  The paid version provides more options, but will need to be requested from your building administrator.