Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere. Using Explain Everything, you will be able to create slides, draw in any color, add shapes, add text, and use a laser pointer. Rotate, move, scale, copy, paste, clone, and lock any object added to the stage.Add existing photos, objects, import PDF documents from local storage, Google Drive, Dropbox or insert a fully functioning web browser window.
Type of Material:
This app is available only on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Recommended Uses:
This app is best used to create tutorials or to explain difficult concepts visually. The most recent version can be used brainstorm collaboratively. Teachers can also use the app to give feedback or video messages.
Technical Requirements:
Explain EDU was designed for schools with iOS-only deployments.
The other app on the App Store, Explain Everything Whiteboard, is a full-featured platform. It includes cloud-based video conversion, web video links, and online collaboration as well as the experiences included in Explain EDU. The Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard can be used on Android, iOS, or in a web browser.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
As touted in the Editor's Review for this app, Explain Everything is "a terrific interactive whiteboard and screencasting app...perfect for making instructional videos that clearly demonstrate concepts. Annotate, manipulate, and add narration to documents, photos, and videos, creating visual presentations you can easily share. Instructors can use this powerful app to explain everything from math equations to football plays, or they can task students with producing their own projects to show to the class.
Target Student Population:
College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
EDU was designed for schools with iOS-only deployments
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
As far as screencasting tools go, Explain Everything has all of the bells and whistles, calling itself "the Swiss army knife of the whitebording apps. As noted above, you will be able to create slides, draw in any color, add shapes, add text, and use a laser pointer. Rotate, move, scale, copy, paste, clone, and lock any object added to the stage.Add existing photos, objects, import PDF documents from local storage, Google Drive, Dropbox or insert a fully functioning web browser window.
Concerns:
There is no proper intro to the app and its features. Only a link or two are set there to go and explore some features. There are videos on You Tube to explain how to use the App.
There is a learning curve with this app, and unless you subscribe, you will not be able to use all of the tools.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The ability to create a tutorial is in itself a very effective means of sharing information with students making it easier for teachers to teach and students to learn. Students can view the tutorials created by the teacher, and stop and review the concepts as needed. This particular app allows for on screen collaboration at a distance including the ability to communicate vocally, making the tool even more effective for online learners. The teacher just sends out an invite code to connect the users.
Concerns:
The collaborative features are not available with the EDU version as it is a one person-one device app.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The white board is easy to use, user-friendly. The idea of the ability to stop a video during recording and cut unncessary parts is a very good time saving option.
The free version of the app is very easy to use with all of the tools needed to make and share excellent tutorials. Just open a browser and go to the site (or download the app to a device). Users can watch a brief video on how to get started with the basics or the support center has tutorials and guides for using the app to it's full potential.
Concerns:
The free version of the interactiive whiteboard is limited to just three projects. The full version is $6.99 per month so although this is a great tool, it is not OER.
In addition, which app to choose can be very confusing. EDU is recommended for only iPad and iPhone where creations are saved locally on the device. Also it does not include dedicated cloud storage or the online collaboration feature. As stated in the notes for the app it is "designed for schools with iOS-only deployments. It is also intended for those who may need to exclusively purchase it via Apple's Volume Purchase Program (VPP), those with internet access challenges, or both."
The notes also include information about how to try the Explain Everything Interactive Whiteboard for free, this is the full powered app that you have read about in this review but it is a trial, so some features will not be available.
The site does provide a video showing the differences between the two versions and it is highly recommended that you watch the video so you can choose the version that suits your needs.
Creative Commons:
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