Explain Everything: MS Math Live Instructional Delivery

When presenting I often share a version of the image below to describe four common patterns of Explain Everything usage I have observed in K-12 settings. 

For the next few weeks, I am going to share one specific idea that fits into one of these four categories, contextualized in traditional K-12 disciplines (Math, Language Arts, Fine and Performing Arts, Science, History and Social Studies, World Languages, Physical Education, and so on) and in typical K-12 school breakdowns (early childhood, elementary, middle, and high schools).

This first example is for Middle School Math: Live Instruction and Feedback. During moments of brief direct instruction, Explain Everything can be used in support of visualizing concepts in a clear and colorful manner and in a format that is easily saved and shared. In this example, a teacher might model not only the solution of an abstract linear equation but also the process by which one might check whether or not a solution is valid.

From a design perspective, I find it easy to write really large letters and then either shrink them using two fingers or using the Zoom and Pan Tool. 

I also frequently switch from the Draw Tool to the Hand Tool when completing  a word or a line or when switching colors. This ensures that the drawings will be created as separate objects. This makes it easy to delete drawings I am not happy with and to duplicate elements that I might reuse. For example, instead of rewriting the original equation (3x - 4 = 2x + 8), I just duplicated the one I had originally created and then deleted the colored underlines which had automatically been grouped to it, but exist as a separate object.

Tomorrow we'll be launching a bunch of new services and tools which we are very excited about (at Explain Everything). You can view and download a copy of the project mentioned above at this link.