Scratch
Explain Everything
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SCRATCH/ SCRATCH JR.
Scratch and Scratch Jr. are web-based programs used to help introduce students to the coding system. This site is great for students as well as integrating into the classroom setting. This program allows students to imagine and design different interactive pages, design complex games, and create stories. While the imagination is unlimited, this program allows thoughts and ideas to come to life.
For this assignment, we used the Scratch program to create our own interactive greeting card and our own computer game. The projects I created are to the right. I made a Halloween greeting card to share with my friends and family. For my game, I chose a pong game, which was a favorite game of mine to play as a child. I think this is a great program for teachers and parents to use in order to get their children involved in coding. I showed this to a group of third graders and they loved Scratch!
ISTE STANDARD
This assignment fell under Standard 1C (promote students’ reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes). The Scratch program promotes students to create a story or scene using the program. It is applicable for the computer or an iPad. This program shows the students’ understanding of their thoughts and reflective processes, as well as how they portray their thoughts and ideas physically through the program.
Explain Everything
Explain Everything is a web-based application that allows educators to create different videos for students, parents, or other educators to watch and gain knowledge from. This application allows you to upload different pictures, even an entire Powerpoint, and creates a video. You are able to narrate and show different writing expressions on the actual page.
For this assignment, I created a video based on a math standard. I chose to create my video about telling time to the nearest minute. I started the project by brainstorming how to go about teaching this lesson in a five minute video. First I created a Powerpoint. I ended up changing the Powerpoint 4-5 times in order to make the video flow better. Once my Powerpoint was created, I uploaded it onto my iPad and then onto the Explain Everything application. Once on the application, I decided how to explain the information and simultaneously illustrate what was being said. This was a huge challenge for me. It took a very long time to create my final product because I was unable to speak and draw at the same time to create a video which met my personal standards. From this assignment I gained valuable knowledge. My persistence and determination to create an executable video, prompted me to start over from scratch several times. I will be more prepared if I choose to use this application again in the future.