Tool Reflection 1: What Tool and Why?

For my digital tool, I chose the application Explain Everything. It is a whiteboard-style

application, that allows me to invite students onto it. It reminds me of Jamboard, in the way that it is
interactive with students. Its located at this website https://whiteboard.explaineverything.com/.
(Links to an external site.)
This tool is completely free, except I needed to make an account, but it was completely free.
This was also a new tool to me, although I had used Jamboard before and other types of technology
like this, I had never used this specific application.
I chose this tool because it has so many features. There are different templates that can be used
for different aspects of class, including different subject areas. You can also include audio and videos of
yourself onto this whiteboard, which makes it good for sharing content with students if we were
remote.
So far I enjoy what this application has to offer. It is very user-friendly and I appreciate how I
can save different whiteboards or different projects. With this tool, I can use it for discussion purposes
for in-person classes. I can also record myself giving questions or bringing up different topics in order
to facilitate discussions for asynchronous work or remote work. This way I can still control a
discussion without being present in person.
Over the course of the semester, I plan on testing out different features of the app. This
includes using the video recording feature to create "reaction style" projects based on something we
talked about in class or read about. I also want to try and use some of the template options as well, to
see how a discussion could be run using those. I am excited to see how this technology could be used
for organizational needs, such as breaking down prompts or discussions.

Ed-Tech reflection 2

I absolutely love the Ed-tech tool that I chose. Once again, the tool that I chose is called
“Explain Everything” the whiteboard function. The function of this tool is to be able to collaborate
with peers in a jamboard-esque style and visualize your ideas. Given that I have no peers to collaborate
on this tool with, I have been using the tool to create idea maps and organize my essays and projects.

I have two large projects coming up soon, the first of which is a TikTok video that we must
make about a topic we are passionate about and teach to peers. When I wanted to begin planning this,
there was a slight introduction to the application that described some of the tools you could use.
Additionally, each time you log into the application, you are prompted with a link to send to your
peers or students so that you can collaborate. The first screenshot, which shows this project plan, uses
more of the draw tool and text tool than the others. I also was able to insert images from my
computer onto the whiteboard, which was very helpful with visualization, as these images were the
ones I am using in the video. The second screenshot shows my planning for a research essay I am
beginning. For this plan, I use the sticky note tools more than the draw and focus on text and
organization.
 It was easy to use all these tools but feel like the draw tool would be easier on an iPad of some
sort to write cleaner and more organized. I liked the sticky notes as they were very organized, I could
picture myself using this tool outside of class, potentially for a tutoring job to show kids an idea map. I
think if I were to lead others in this tool, it would be relatively easy to do, as the technology of the
application is incredibly simple and similar to other applications like jam board. I like the tool so far
and honestly am surprised I haven’t encountered this more in my schooling experience.