Adding Content to Explain Everything

I have spent more time diving into the deep end of Explain Everything.  You know you can insert images, videos, and audio.  But wait, there is so much more!  Did you know you can insert equations?  What about different files that are already created?  And clipart that is already a part of Explain Everything?  And then there are the placeholders!  Here's a quick video to show you how!  Hope you enjoy!

How will you use the Add Media feature to enhance your next Explain Everything project?

Chrome Book Creator: Checking for Understanding

I recently watched a webinar presented by Monica Burns from Class Tech Tips share how Book Creator can be used in so many different ways with learners for checking their understanding of content.  I talked about Book Creator with Alli in a podcast episode from An Apple a Week that you can listen to here.

One of the reasons I love this app is because it can be used on the iPad through the Chrome app.  As long as you have access to wi-fi it is so simple to use!  No need to download an app.  If you want to learn more about using Book Creator here is a tutorial video I used this past spring to help 7th graders with their cattle drive project.  This tutorial will show you the basics of the app.

The webinar reminded me of a few of my favorite features from Book Creator.  Learners have the option of adding audio, video, text, and illustrations.  Choice!  Let our learners choose the media of their content.  Yes!  As I demonstrated in the tutorial above app smashing is pretty simple with this application which leads to creativity.  I am very confident our learners can put together much more creative pieces than myself, although I enjoy layering apps!  So with the power to create, I hope our learners would feel like their work is meaningful.  

Some of our learners need a little more direction, and that's okay.  The webinar suggested using graphic organizers and checklists to keep learners focused on their projects.  I know I love checking things off a checklist to show progress toward my end goal!  And don't forget the power of peer feedback!  Book Creator is very easy to share, so having peers give qualitative feedback is another approach to keep in mind.

If you have not explored Book Creator take some time to experiment for yourself!  Monica is hosting several webinars this summer, so check those out too!

An Apple A Week Podcast Series: Perfect Pages

We have another episode of An Apple a Week podcast series!  This week Alli and I invited our fabulous team member, Megan Kozar, to lend her voice to the podcast to share her thoughts and experiences with Pages.  Check out her full blog post here.

I first started using Pages on my personal home computer when I did not have access to Word.  I use Google Docs all the time, but there have been many times when I needed something on the desktop I was work at.  So I was thrilled to start playing around with a lot of the formatting features.  Then, I started using Pages on my iPad a little more.  It is free!!!  So why are learners not using this amazing tool and always default to Google Docs?

One piece of Pages that really has me championing for the product is the template gallery!  There are so many professional templates ready to be used!  Have your learners select a template so they can focus on the content.  Then they can have all kinds of fun using the formatting features to make their products personalized!

Listen to the podcast to hear our conversation.  How can you challenge your students  to use Pages in your classroom in the next few upcoming week?  And don't forget to share your voice on the Apple in Education, We say YES! Flipgrid.

Creativity

Creativity.  How do you help someone else be creative?  I love creating!  It really doesn't matter my end product because I enjoy the process of creating.  I enjoy cooking, which is creating with food.  I enjoy sewing, which is creating with fabric and thread.  I enjoy putting my own spin on ideas to create birthday parties for my family.  I enjoy designing learning experiences with educators for learners.  Collaborating with other educators is one of my favorite aspects of education.  I think the best experiences come together for our learners when we all collaborate to create!

When it came time to plan the next steps for sharing the characteristics of an #InnovatorsMindset, we could have chosen to follow the sequential list of characteristics, but I felt we needed to change things up a bit.  In our previous sessions we had focused on discussion of the mindset while modeling technology tools for collaboration and educator focused.  I wanted to shift the conversation to changing the mindset of how learners could express their learning more creatively.  It's not just about using a Google Doc or Slideshow to share knowledge or ideas.  There is a time and place for these products, but what were other options for learners.

What seems to be the most obvious is sometimes the hardest things to do!  I spent a lot of time looking at options for app smashing.  I found it very overwhelming trying to narrow down exactly what I wanted to share with educators in a model for app smashing.  Keeping it simple and clean, both in my presentation and in the app usage, was a priority.  I selected apps both "familiar" and "new to you."  I also have found a new love relationship with Google Drawings!  I simply had to Google Drawings as my canvas!  After much deliberation, the app smashing menu choices were ready.

I wanted to demonstrate the options of exporting a simple project to Photos in order to import to add multiple layers and functionality to a project.  Some of the different apps our group looked at have similar actions; and, we discussed being open to letting learners select the app they are most comfortable using.  We also discussed giving our learners the power to take ownership of knowing more about an app than the educator in the room.  We can all learn together!

From my awesome Coppell Digital Coaching Team, I had a wonderful resource to aid those who found an app that they wanted to know more about that included QR codes to video directions on how an app works and sample projects using the app.  Also, I was able to contribute to the resource a few more apps.  I am very appreciative to my team of the valuable resources already in place and want to contribute as much as I can to these existing gold mines!

One app the educators were very interested in learning more about is PhotoCard by Bill Atkinson.

It works exactly like a post card!  One feature I particularly like is that you can import your own picture.  Depending on the font size a lot of content can be covered in what turns out to be not so small of an area!  Between the imported image and the content, this app lends itself to any content area.  In the weeks since this PLC, this app has some up in conversation a number of times.  It is great to see educators embracing tools that fit their curriculum!

Our district is very fortunate to have Explain Everything purchased for every educator and all secondary learners.  This was the perfect opportunity to explore some of the underutilized features of this fabulous app and see how other apps could be layered into Explain Everything.

When we allow our learning to speak creatively we share a little bit of ourselves beyond the run of the mill classroom expectations.  Taking the time to examine the design of instruction by adding elements of creativity personalizes the experience for meaningful learning.  Isn't that what we want?