Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Have you ever listened to a 5 year old tell about their work? Try listening to 25 of them. Daily. They have so much they want to tell and explain that I don’t have enough ears to listen to it all. Their work is so detailed and there are like 40 bajillion things they absolutely must tell, and if you interrupt them even once, they must. start. over.
Hope
Thank goodness I have Explain Everything. It is the perfect app for my kids to demonstrate their workflow, show me what they have learned and talk, talk, talk to their hearts content. If they mess up, they just erase and start over. My kids are learning about labeling and annotating their work. Scientists label and good readers annotate for meaning. When I showed them the app, someone said, “You mean I can just tell my iPad everything I want it to know?” Yes…within 13.8 GB of reason. So with full permission to illustrate, write, label, annotate AND talk, this lesson was a home run. There is an example from Hope, one of my students at the end of this post.
Ok…so a small caveat. I have a slight obsession with neat and orderly and it’s hard for me to do messy. (Yes, I realize I teach kindergarten. Somehow it all works.) This activity can get messy. I had to get over my urge to tidy it up and put it all in a bento box and say that’s, that. You can’t have kids recording all over the classroom while other kids are talking and recording at the same time. So, as kids finished their illustrations, labeling and annotations, I allowed 4 at a time to go out in the hall, spread themselves out, and tell their story. I actually had to tell them it was ok to speak up so they could be heard by the recorder.
We will be using this approach with demonstrating mastery of math standards as well in the coming weeks. Explain Everything is not free…There are other apps, like Show Me that does similar things that is free.
As my kids are working on many different kinds of fluencies, stretching their cognitive wings and needing to share what they’ve learned, having the iPad allows my kids to create, produce, redefine and transform all in one place.
Please allow Hope to Explain Everything:
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iTeach with iPads 
Reblogged this on teacheronjay.
We love Explain Everything, too, in our classroom. I’ve been using it quite a bit for math. Here’s an example:
http://thegraffitibench.edublogs.org/2013/01/09/let-me-explain-everything/
My grass is pretty and I just drew the dog? Is that what she said? So cute and how articulate! My 7-year-old just looked over and said, “She lives in a barn?”
This was a fun activity. And yes, she is very articulate.
I’d like to say this surprised me, but I teach Sunday School and supply in both elementary and high school. I know how articulate AND verbose young children can be. I find too often adults underestimate children’s capabilities, and then are surprised when they hear someone like Hope.
I also hear a lot of adults scoffing at iPads and other emerging technology, but children have no hang-ups to using technology, and are often far better at adopting technology than many adults.
Having recently supplied in a Gr 1/2 class, I can appreciate your comment about “not having enough ears.” Trying to listen to twenty-eight 7- and 8-year-olds all vying for my undivided attention was quite overwhelming.
David,
Thanks for your comment. You are definitely correct about children having no hang ups when using technology. Their adaptive skills are amazing!
Thanks for stopping by!
Kristi
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