I admit it, I was spoiled. I had a SMART Board interactive whiteboard and a document camera. Teaching was easy when I could create, display and save everything I needed to create an amazing lesson. My class ran efficiently, and kids had access to the great technology.
And then I moved. I transferred to a district that was experiencing declining enrollments and budgets. I had to find a solution to make it easier for me to teach and engage my students.
I had access to a portable projector and an iPad. I searched for and talked to colleagues about apps and found Explain Everything, a screencasting whiteboard app. It’s like having a document camera and interactive whiteboard, all-in-one. I use it to create cool presentations then display them on the screen with the projector. When I want to go over a worksheet, I just take a picture of it with my iPad, display it on the screen, and correct it using the writing tool in the app and a stylus.
Explain Everything works on smartphones and tablets and can display content to a TV or projector. It is available for download from iTunes, Google Play, the Windows app store and the Chrome Web store.
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Lisa Sorensen teaches grade 4/5 at Sorrento Elementary in Sorrento, B.C., for School District 83. She has a bachelor’s degree in education from University of Calgary and an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is passionate about using technology to teach as she sees the benefits it provides students around engagement and motivation to learn.
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