Thing 6: Screencasting with Educreations

There are many apps available that allow you record what is on the screen of your iPad.  These are commonly referred to as screencasting apps.  All Alief ISD iPads are loaded with an app called Educreations.  Educreations is an interactive whiteboard app that allows teachers and students to record amazing video lessons which then can be shared with everyone.  There are many great uses for Educreations.  Let’s explore some of them together!

Teacher Use

Many teachers are using Educreations to create lesson for use in a flipped classroom environment and for use as video tutorials.  The value of this type of screencasting is it allows students to learn at their own pace and if they are confused and need something repeated, they can replay it over and over and over again. 

Here are some sample videos:

A History Lesson-

A Math Lesson-

A coach using Educreations with his players-

An English Lesson-

Student Use

Educreations has been used by teachers, coaches, and a host of other professionals to create rich content for public consumption.  However, it doesn’t stop with teacher created content.  Another powerful way to use this app is to allow students to create and record their own work.  Students can create video tutorials, mini-lessons, or examples of students working out problems.  Teachers can then use these videos post as short tutorials for other students.  

Here is a sample video of students using a screencast app to demonstrate how to work through a math problem:

Educreations Online

Educreations also has an online component website.  This site hosts hundreds of videos which were made and uploaded by people all over the world.  Teachers can create a channel and house videos there for students to view.  Student accounts can be created without the need for an email address.  Students can then explore videos on their teacher’s channel, or they can browse videos from other content that they find interesting.  Creating an account is simple and quick. 

Watch the video below to get a better understanding of how to create a lesson using Educreations.  You will need this information to complete the blog post for "Thing 6".

Assignment:

**Note: For this assignment, you will need to use an iPad to create a screencast with Educreations.  If you do not own an iPad, please speak to your campus Library Information Specialist about options available to you to complete this assignment.**

Activity One

1. Create an Educreations account online.  The web address is www.educreations.com.
2. Browse through the lessons uploaded by other teachers and find 1 lesson you might be able to use with your students.
3. Embed the video in your post and answer the following questions.  If you are not able to embed the video or you do not know how, copy and paste the url into your post and answer the following questions:

• Why did you pick this lesson to use in your classroom?
• How will you use this lesson with your students (in class, as homework, in small groups, etc.)?

Activity Two

1. Open the Educreations app on your iPad. 
2. Choose a topic and create a sample/practice lesson.  This can be a lesson you would actually use with your students, or it can be a getting to know you activity like teaching physics concept, introduce your classroom, or show a map/visual of your last vacation. The topic is not important.   The end goal is to help you become comfortable with creating lessons using this app.
3. Export your Educreations lesson by sending it to the Educreations website. 
4. Embed the video in your post and answer the following questions.  If you are not able to embed the video or you do not know how, copy and paste the url into your post and answer the following questions:

• How will you implement the use of this app in your instructional setting?
• What barriers do you see which may prevent students from being able to utilize this app to create lessons and screencasts of their own?  How can you eliminate or circumvent those barriers?