by Alice Brown's Digital Literacy Coach, Alex Baxfield
Many classrooms are using Explain Everything, an app that allows kids to do exactly that: explain everything. Since our goal as a school has been to decrease math anxiety and make math more fun, it’s been great to use it during math.
Recently, my grade 7s used the Explain Everything app to show what they had learned about area and circumference of a circle. I gave them some simple guidelines and sent them on their way (we have used this app multiple times throughout the year so they are confident in how to use it). The variety of explanations I got back was amazing! The kids really enjoyed explaining to how to find the area and circumference of a circle and I was able to help students who were away or struggling with the concept by showing them peer-made videos of the concept. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard “math is boring!”
Here’s an example of what one student produced:
Here’s an example of a kindergarten student showing what he knows about 2D and 3D shapes:
https://youtu.be/RzbGQ7GhqAA
We have had immense success with using multiple programs and apps at Alice Brown Elementary to communicate with the aid of technology. We are looking forward to further expanding our horizons and continuing to the challenge the way we teach and engage students.