Explain Everything!

Yesterday, the students had their first experience with the app "Explain Everything".  What is Explain Everything?  The description from iTunes:  "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."

Sounds a bit complicated, but I was impressed with how quickly the students picked up on the basics.  I introduced it by going over some of the basics, and then the students had some time in pairs to explore the app and discover some of the other features.  One of the best ways to learn technology is by having time to explore!  The students then tried to use Explain Everything to show something they know about fractions.

Here are two projects that came from some of the students:

I am always amazed at how quickly they are able to pick up on new things like this!  I hope to use Explain Everything more as we get more familiar and comfortable with it.  It's a great way to show concepts, understanding, and share information in a different format.  There are so many cool features on it!  It is not a free app, but the cost of $2.99 is quite reasonable considering all that it can do!

Dr. Seuss Day

It's one of the favorite days of the year!  Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration at School!  Books and pajamas are a great combination!  We started off the day with a school assembly with the reader's pledge.  After specials, we had a good chunk of reading time with our kindergarten buddies.  After lunch, we went to the library to listen to a guest reader - Mrs. Walls our former school secretary!  The kids were pretty excited!  We ended the day watching the O.B.O.B. final battle between the 4th grade and 5th grade teams.  A great day!