Educreations an Ipad App & Can also be used on a laptop.

First guest contribution from the 7th Grade Black Ipad group.  I have created an account on this site (laptop), but have not had a chance to mess with it.  Kimberly T. has used it in her math class and has written up a post about it.

Title:  Educreations

Address/Cost:  My students used the app version of Educreations, and I have used both the app and web version (www.educreations.com)  The app is free (with more options and upgrades available for purchase)

Description:  Educreations is an interactive whiteboard and screen casting tool.  Students can use it as a virtual whiteboard, can annotate on a picture, or create a video screencast with audio recording.   Educreations allows teachers to create classes, where the teacher can easily create and share videos to the class through the app or website.

How I used it:  I had my students take a question from an assignment covering rate of change and proportionality and make a video explaining how they solved the question.   The students were required to not only write the answer out step by step, but to explain it orally as well.  I learned more from watching a short video about one question than about grading the entire assignment.  I could actually hear if they used the terminology correctly and why they were answering the way they did.  I could pin point their misconceptions, instead of just marking the question wrong.

How I learned:  I heard about Educreations from teachers at Inman and Abilene, but I really didn’t learn how to use it until I took the time myself to experiment.  I have also read through the FAQ on their website and when I had a question about saving videos, I tweeted @educreations and they responded within a few hours.