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Explain Everything: A Whiteboard for Teaching

 August 15, 2024

I have been looking for a web application that would let me do more than just record my voice when making a recording. I have seen the examples in the LIS 568 PD assignment where the information is presented in an interactive format. The presenter not only speaks, but also shows and explains thing in live actions, so everything is playing out before our eyes. I have also seen other students utilizing this tool to deliver works that are more engaging and fun to watch than the PowerPoint slide presentation. I searched a few sites that I suspected to provide the tool to create the interactive presentation seen in the example (Wix, Google, etc.) but none answered my question. 

I took a look into the Whiteboard in ExplainEverything, which I had stumbled upon early in the course through an article (I forgot which one). The article talked about students using educational technology to demonstrate creativity in a school project. In this case, a student used Whiteboard to play out an audition. I thought that was an awesome tool for the classroom.

This led me to the discovery that you can create an interactive tutorial with the Whiteboard in ExplainEverything. You can easily access the tool, but you have only 3 minute of free use of recording. For longer length, you have to upgrade the application.

There are many templates to choose from. I chose the following one and did a recording for fun. It looks like this is the tool I've been looking for. I wish I had found out about it sooner so I could use it in my PD Workshop assignment to make my presentation more engaging. I could certainly use it to present my high usability product and the process of making the action plan in a more effective and engaging format.

Explain Everything | Online Whiteboard for Teaching
https://explaineverything.com/

In this video I explored the basic features of Whiteboard.



There are so many things to try and play with on this web site. I look forward to utilize this tool for my next presentation LIS assignment. 

For those who are interested to use the Whiteboad in ExplainEverything for online teaching, this can be an effective tool as it allows you to explain the thinking and problem-solving process as if you are in a class room and writing on the board as you explain the concepts to students. Because it is a two way teaching and learning process, the teacher can observe the student's progress and be able to help students better with understanding the lesson. Be aware of the materials you will need to create a live video lesson:
  • an iPad with the Explain Everything application
  • an Apple pencil
  • an Apple TV to screen mirror in the class
  • an iMessage Group
  • a shared folder
There are instructions on how to record a live lesson and to give video feedback that you can read at this site.

You can start free with all creative features but limited projects and recording time. For solo teacher, the price is $34.99 per year with unlimited projects and video time.

Ending note:

To my fellow students, have fun with all the tools that we have explored together in this course. I have learned so much from your posts in blogs and on discussion forum. Thank you for leading the way in our learnings.

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