We actually use Explain Everything a lot in my school. Within my cohort, we’ve been using it extensively in math to have students explain how they solve problems as a final assessment for units. This is great, because we can figure out who copied from their friends, see who is mimicking rather than deeply understanding, and help students with written output disabilities to share their learning. It’s been a very eye-opening assessment tool. At one point, I had a group use it to animate a French skit, which is clearly not the intended purpose, but certainly shows the flexibility of the tool.
This isn’t the greatest example of this tool – Explain Everything has a lot of features I didn’t use here because I didn’t have access to a mouse the day I recorded this video (you can see that pretty clearly from my abysmal circling technique using my laptop trackpad). You can edit images on the fly, import video and pre-recorded audio, include animated GIFs, etc. It also has collaboration features. This tool really shines on a touch screen, like an iPad.
For a library learning commons, this is a great tool to share and promote for teachers looking toward UDL. This is also a very accessible tool for creating your own tutorials on using ed tech for sharing in the virtual LLC.
I would be careful about how students use this tool, as the servers are located outside of Canada and thus not necessarily FOIPPA compliant if students include identifying information in their creations. The Privacy Policy indicates that the company has specific policies for school districts allowing for account creation without email addresses and collects very little information from student accounts – nonetheless, it is prudent to obtain parental permission before allowing students to use the service. . A work-around is to use class accounts tied to devices.
A question for feedback: What other ways has your school used Explain Everything or similar apps with students?
Sources
Explain Everything. (21 May 2021). Privacy Policy. Explain Everything. https://explaineverything.com/privacy-policy/.