Explain Everything

What is Explain Everything

Explain Everything is a presentation creation app for iOS (for iPad and iPhone) that allows the annotation, animation, and narration of presentations on a digital and interactive whiteboard. Documents, pictures, and videos can be inserted onto the whiteboard space then on-screen drawing, annotation, and object movement can be recorded while audio may also be captured.

What is the purpose of Explain Everything

This tool can be used for dynamic lessons, activities, assessments, and tutorials through exported videos. There are many instructional video styles that are beneficial to students. Step-by-step demonstrations of example problems, explanations of concepts, and unit overviews are just a few types of videos that could be beneficial. Keep in mind, the best instructional videos are purposeful and planned. They should only be a few minutes long and correspond to material that students might need to revisit multiple times.

How to use Explain Everything

For an initial orientation on how to use Explain Everything, we recommend reviewing the help documentation provided by the developer (see the manual) that assist with getting started. When it comes to how you might use Explain Everything for teaching, there are a variety of instructional video styles that can be particularly helpful: explanations of concepts, unit or assignment overviews, example problems, mathematical or chemical equations.

Where to find Support

This tool is not centrally supported

Help and Documentation

For help, please refer to the Explain Everything documentation

Tool Evaluation

Functionality overall rating: 2 starsFunctionality

Rating Rationale
Scale rating: 3 stars

Scale

Explain Everything creations can be exported and shared with any number of viewers
Ease of use rating:3 stars

Ease of Use

Explain Everything has a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and personalize
Tech Support/ Help Availability rating: 2 stars

Tech Support/Help Availability

Technical support and help documentation is available in the form of web pages or videos
Hypermediality rating: 3 stars

Hypermediality

Explain Everything allows users to communicate through different channels (audio, visual, textual) and allows for non-sequential, flexible/adaptive engagement with material

Accessibility overall rating: 2 starsAccessibility

Rating Rationale
AODA Friendly rating: 2 stars

AODA Friendly

Explain Everything has some limited capacity to be fully accessible for users or for materials to be made AODA-friendly. Instructors are encouraged to add closed captions post-production and/or provide a script in accessible format (i.e. readable PDF)
User Foused Participation rating: 3 stars

User-focused participation

Explain Everything is designed to address the needs of diverse users, their various literacies, and capabilities, thereby widening opportunities for participation in learning
Required Equipment rating: 2 stars

Required Equipment

Proper use of Explain Everything requires a touchscreen (i.e. a smartphone or tablet)

Technical overall rating: 1 starsTechnical

Rating Rationale
OWL Integration rating: 1 stars

OWL Integration

Explain Everything itself cannot be integrated/embedded in OWL. However, exported projects (i.e. created MP4, MOV, PDF, PNG files) can be uploaded to OWL (i.e. student could watch instructor-created Explain Everything video)
Operating Systems rating: 2 stars

Operating Systems

Explain Everything is designed specifically for touchscreens. It is available for iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, Chrome OS, and Windows tablets
Web Browser rating: na stars

Web Browser

Explain Everything does not make use of web browsers.

Additional Tech Requirements rating: 2 stars

Additional Tech Requirements

Explain Everything requires downloadable software

Mobile Design overall rating: 2 star Mobile Design

Rating Rationale
Mobile Operating Systems rating: 2 stars

Mobile Operating Systems

Explain Everything has limited functionality in that it is restricted to touchscreens.

Mobile Functionality rating: 3 stars

Mobile Functionality

The Explain Everything app was specifically designed for use on a mobile, touchscreen device and demonstrates a high degree of functionality. Users may prefer larger touchscreens (i.e. tablets) over smaller ones (i.e. phones) for ideal functionality.

Offline Access rating: 2 star

Offline Access

Explain Everything can be used offline but content may be affected

Usage and account set up overall rating: 1 starsUsage and Account Set Up

Rating Rationale
Sign Up/Sign In rating: 3 stars

Sign Up/Sign In

Use of Explain Everything does not require the creation of an external account or additional login; no personal user information is collected and shared
Cost of Use rating: 1 stars

Cost of Use

Use of Explain Everything requires a fee, membership, or subscription. See Pricing
Archiving Saving and Exporting Data rating: 3 star

Archiving, Saving, and Exporting Data

Users can archive, save, or import and export content or activity data in a variety of formats
Data Privacy and Ownership rating: 3 star

Data Privacy and Ownership

Users maintain ownership and copyright of their intellectual property/data; the user can keep data private and decide if/how data is to be shared.

Social Presence overall rating: 3 starsSocial Presence

Rating Rationale
Collaboration rating: na stars

Collaboration

As a video creation tool, Explain Everything does not support communication, interactivity, and transfer of meaning between users. For a version of Explain Everything that is collaborative, consider the Explain Everything Collaborative Whiteboard for iOS.

User Accountability rating: na stars

User Accountability

As a video creation tool, user accountability is not a related concern.
Diffusion rating: 3 star

Diffusion

For viewing videos created by Explain Everything, students do not need to be familiar with the tool itself. If students were to make use of the tool themselves (i.e. for student generated video), it is likely that familiarity with the tool is mixed, and that some students would lack basic technical competence with its functions

Instructor Presence overall rating: 3 starsInstructor Presence

Rating Rationale
Facilitation rating:3 stars

Facilitation

Explain Everything has easy-to-use features that would significantly improve an instructor’s ability to be present with students via active management, monitoring, and engagement
Customization rating: 3 stars

Customization

Explain Everything is adaptable to its environment: easily customized to suit the classroom context and targeted learning outcomes
Learning Analytics rating: na stars

Learning Analytics

As a video creation tool, Explain Everything itself does not allow for collection of analytics

Cognitive Presence overall rating: 2 starsCognitive Presence

Rating Rationale
Enhancement of Cognitive Task(s) rating: 3 stars

Enhancement of Cognitive Task(s)

Given the creative format allowed by Explain Everything, videos can be used to explain concepts, particularly highly visual or explanatory concepts, the tool has the potential to enhance engagement in targeted cognitive task(s) that were once overly complex or inconceivable through other means
Higher Order Thinking rating: 2 stars

Higher Order Thinking

Given the creative format allowed by Explain Everything, videos may engage students in higher order thinking skills (given significant consideration to design, facilitation, and direction from instructor)
Feedback on Learning rating:2 stars

Feedback on Learning

Explain Everything could be used to record video that provides feedback to students, however, opportunities for this form of feedback might only be applicable to specific contexts.

Security and Privacy

This tool has not been formally reviewed by Western’s Technology Risk Assessment Committee

Security and Privacy Flags

Accounts

  • Users are required to create and use a non-Western account. It is highly recommended that users do not use the same username and password that is in use at Western.

Information Collection

  • Application collects information that could identify the user specifically (email address, class schedule, etc..)
  • Application collects information that is confidential (physical address, drivers licence number, health card number, social insurance number)

EULA

  • Acceptance of the Application's Terms of Conditions or End User License Agreement may bind the institution to an agreement thereby requiring legal counsel to review the application contract.

Cost and Approval

  • The application may require the instructor to enter credit card information

Integration

  • This application is hosted outside of Canada

Sharing

  • The default setting of this application is to share user’s content publicly

Last Updated: January 31, 2020


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Credits

Ratings icons are based off images made by authors on Freepik, Zurb, and Icomoon and licensed by CC BY 3.0