Subject: Digital Technologies

Year Level: 4

Strand: Processes and production skills

Sub strand: Designing

Develop and communicate design ideas and decisions using annotated drawings and appropriate technical terms

Link to the resource: Downloadable from the App Store

Cross curriculum priorities and general capabilities: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability, Critical and creative thinking 

Links to other learning areas: Literacy, Numeracy, Science

Using the resource in the classroom: Explain Everything is an app that can be used in thousands of ways in the classroom. It can be used across a range of year levels and a variety of subjects. In relation to the Technologies curriculum, students may use the app to communicate their design ideas and decisions by using annotated drawings, while discussing and explaining their reasoning using the appropriate technical terms. This can be done in a variety of ways:

Peer to peer teaching – students can use the recording function to record their writing and voices, meaning they can easily construct a simple video that explains a key concept of a task. This can then be watched back directly within the app by another child.

Assessment – In a similar way, using the recording function, students can explain and communicate their design ideas and decisions. The recording will pick up any scribing and annotated drawings students choose to make. Once completed, the video can be exported to a normal video file.

Guided tasks – Explain Everything can be teacher facilitated by creating an entire guided task on the app. This task could involve various open-ended questions about design ideas, decisions and technical terms.