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Technology In Practice

Tips For Teaching w/Technology

We'll Support You In Class!

Do you want help introducing a tech tool to your students?

Aidan, Kris & myself are more than happy to help introduce tech (remote, or IRL) to your class. We can also spend time, or an entire Digital Essentials class period helping your students, or supplementing an existing project in your curriculum!

If it makes sense for one of us to come in more than other (ex: Do you want Kris' database, or Sora expertise? Aidan's website building skills?) We can come into your class even if we don't regularly teach Digital Essentials in that grade. 

Just let us know as a team in advance, & we will work out the logistics.

We are also as excited as you are to help in a more significant way with interdisciplinary projects. Let's collaborate!

Manuela Aronofsky

Explain Everything

About Explain Everything:

​Explain Everything is a whiteboard app, which allows you to create, record & share online lectures with a whiteboard component. You can also use this app in real time to screenshare, or project a real-time digital whiteboard activity.
This app can be used for any subject, or content area. Explain Everything adds an element to screencasting apps such as Loom, or Quicktime, because the interactions with your screen (such as tracing a letter, writing out a math problem with your finger or a stylus, or annotating a diagram) are also captured. For example, you can create, and easily record a lesson, in which you draw, or annotate on your screen step-by-step instructions on how to solve a specific problem. Or, you could screenshare your Explain Everything whiteboard during a class, to use a whiteboard in real-time.
Another way you might use Explain Everything is to ask your students to create an Explain Everything recording. This might be a way to have your students display understanding of a topic, or explain a process as a presentation component.
Along with standard whiteboard features (such as sketching, or annotating), Explain Everything allows you to:
  • Add Media on top of your whiteboard (including images, audio, or video)
  • Rescale, Move, Zoom, or Rotate objects on the whiteboard
  • Record all of your interactions on the whiteboard (including screencasting of your whiteboard interactions & voiceover)
  • Share your recorded video with students to view as a lesson, or share your whiteboard (with other people who have the Explain Everything app) to collaborate on a whiteboard in real-time

Technology Requirements:

Teachers can use Explain Everything on any device, however as it is a whiteboard-focused app, using the app is easiest on an iPad (or other device with a touch screen), with a stylus.
Teachers using Explain Everything on an iPad should install the Explain Everything app from Self Service.
To use Explain Everything from your Macbook (not a recommended option) - navigate to: https://whiteboard.explaineverything.com/)
Students can view Explain Everything videos on any device (iPad, or Chromebook). Students using Explain Everything on iPad (either to view, or create a video) should install the Explain Everything app from Self Service.
Students using Explain Everything on Chromebook can use it in the Chrome browser by navigating to: https://whiteboard.explaineverything.com/.
Here is a link with the hardware requirements for Explain Everything!
The video below also provides a brief overview of Explain Everything:

Account Information:

Berkeley Carroll provides access to the paid, educator version of the Explain Everything app (Explain Everything Edu).
You can find a video explaining the difference between the non-educator, and educator accounts here. The primary features are the same. 

Creating an Explain Everything Account:

Using your school iPad, open Self Service & install Explain Everything:
  • Make sure you have installed the Explain Everything app from Self Service
  • If prompted, set up your account using your Berkeley Carroll email address in order to enroll in the Berkeley Carroll Edu domain.

 

Once the Explain Everything app has been installed from Self Service:
You will be able to start using the app without signing in, or creating an account.

Signing Into Your Explain Everything Account on a Macbook:

Once you have created your account, you will be able to log into Explain Everything on any device (following the same steps as above), including on your Macbook. However, remember that since this tool is best used as a touch screen, you will have an easier time using the whiteboard features (annotating, sketching) on a school iPad.
To use the Whiteboard function on a Macbook (not recommended, it is really clunky!!):
  1. Navigate to: https://whiteboard.explaineverything.com/
  2. Sign in in by Clicking the 'three dots' icon on the upper right-hand corner of the whiteboard.

Creating a Whiteboard Project:

The video below shows you the basic functions in creating a whiteboard project on Explain Everything, including:
  • Recording a video
  • Basic whiteboard toolbar functions: Adding media to your whiteboard; pen & highlighter tool; text tool; pointer tool; erasing elements; undo/redo
  • Adding a new "slide" to your whiteboard
There is so much more you can do on this app! Play around with the different features, and toolbar functions to see what works for your specific subject, or content area.

Sharing a Whiteboard Project:

This video shows you what I think is the most reliable way to share an Explain Everything video with your class. 
Tip: Don't use the 'Create web video link' option, because if students don't have an Explain Everything app, or account they will have trouble accessing the link. Instead, export it as a video (save the file & attach it, or embed it directly to a Google Classroom assignment). This is covered in the video!

Below are a few more "Frequently Asked Questions" that may help you use Explain Everything in your teaching practice:

1. How do I record a video of me speaking on top of an Explain Everything Whiteboard?
2. Can I edit the total Explain Everything Recording before I finalize & share it with my class? 
1. How do I record a video of me speaking on top of an Explain Everything Whiteboard?
You can add a feature to your whiteboard video where you are recording your face speaking on top of the whiteboard (a lot like the Loom feature where you face appears in a corner of the screencast). To do this:
  • Click the "Add Media" icon, and then Click "Video" (it may ask you to enable your Camera, if you have not done this already).

  • A video screen should pop up - automatically in a 'selfie' view.

  • Drag the video to wherever you want it on the whiteboard, and resize it as needed. Click the small "Record" icon under your video to record whatever you want to say (such as a general introduction to the whiteboard video
Tip: If you are recording the entire whiteboard lecture (the video + any annotations), it will automatically start your own "selfie" video when you click the BIG red record at the bottom of the screen, but you can start & stop your own selfie video as needed

2. Can I edit the total Explain Everything Recording before I finalize & share it with my class? 
Yes!! Here is a video made by someone at Explain Everything that shows some basic recording tips (including understanding the Playback & Editing functions)

Here are a few ways you might use Explain Everything as a lecture tool:

  • Record, or screenshare in real-time how to solve a problem, or equation
  • Model brainstorming, or annotating skills using the sketching & text tools
  • Record a video explanation on top of the whiteboard (a lot like Loom, you can put a video of your face speaking on top of the Whiteboard)

Here are a few ways you might assign an Explain Everything activity - have students...

  • Create an 'Explainer' video with the whiteboard (how to do something, such as solve a math equation)
  • Display understanding of a concept by annotating/solving in real-time & recording the process
  • Label a diagram, or parts of an image (in Spanish, or English)
  • Annotate a text with images, or notes
  • Brainstorm, or mind-map a project using the different whiteboard functions

Below are examples of Explain Everything in practice:

Here are more resources from the Explain Everything support pages:

​Do you have a specific Explain Everything question that you can't find the answer to?
Email Help Desk: helpdesk@berkeleycarroll.org with "App Request" in the Subject Line.

Do you want to see how other educators are using Explain Everything? Interested in updates, or how they're approaching Remote Learning? Browse their Twitter feed!