Explain It With Digital Tools

During the next 10 weeks, I'll emphasize "analysis and explaining your thinking" with my fourth graders.  We'll work to explain our thinking with pictures, numbers and words in reading, writing and math.  Clearly explaining your thinking is challenging for students of any age, and digital tools can help you to meet that challenge with engagement and precision.

I've used screencasting to share my thinking, and to help students share their thinking.  Then this week a couple of my colleagues presented their individual and student screencasting work.  More than ever it was clear to me that screencasting is an awesome tool for helping students develop precision, depth and clarity with explanation. Screen casting not only demands that a student repeatedly try out their voice and associated images, text, numbers and diagrams to make a point, but screen casting also makes a much more engaging and useful tool for class critique and discussion.

Hence, during the next eight weeks, I'll use this tool often as my students develop their "explain it" skills.  I'll use QuickTime since that's available on our laptops.  I may also use Show Me and Explain it on the iPads, and Photobooth too (can be used like a screencast with students' images, posters). Please don't hesitate to comment with other wonderful screencasting tools.

I'll start the process today by sharing my screencasting draft of the math operations--it took me forever and I can still see many areas for revision including the use of pointers, more precise math language and adding a story to every operation.  I'll let the students critique my work today before I start the revision process.

Next, I'll think about our specific content emphases and divide up the content with the children.  Small groups will make screencasts about specific content areas.  We'll share and critique the screencasts together with a rubric that looks for specific language, transition words, accurate diagrams and so on.  This is just the start of my thinking--I like to throw the ideas out there to my PLN and in-house colleagues to prompt feedback and discussion as that aids the process.  Hence, your thoughts and ideas are welcome.

Follow-Up Notes:
A colleague cautioned me about the length of my screencast.  I agree--shorter is better with regard to learning and focus.  I'll foster shorter screencasts for my students' work.