Students Seeing and Hearing
Screencasts also allow students to self-monitor, reflect on
their thinking, and “be the teacher.” For example, we told
a student before she solved a problem that she was going
to make two screencasts: The first would be her practice
version, and the second would be her final version. After
she made her first one, she asked, “Can that one be the real
one?” However, while watching her screencast, she admitted, “Yeah, I need to redo this.” When asked why, she said
that some places needed more explanation and she “should
have done something with the remainders.” Her final version is “Screenshot 2” above.
In this example, she used a variety of tools and changed
pen colors to represent different parts of her explanations.
She also explained what she could do with the remainders.
She added a laser pointer, which made it easier to follow
along with what she referred to on the screen. And she
explained the whole thing as if she were teaching another
student, providing multiple representations of how to solve
the problem and thoroughly explaining how to do it.
Nice Addition to the Teacher Toolbox
The use of these technologies is not the silver bullet. However, when combined with appropriate pedagogical and
assessment methods, educators can gain valuable information by using student-generated screencasts to capture students’ problem solving.
Because these screencasts captured student thinking as
it unfolded, we were able to identify exactly when and how
students’ thinking went wrong and help them immediately.
We also gained insights when students started solving
problems incorrectly but then changed their thinking. We
could see what they erased and why. We could also see how
they counted or distributed objects.
With the ability to replay what was just recorded, students had the opportunity to reflect on their work and
make changes they felt improved the quality of their explanations. This immediate feedback allowed students to
develop metacognitive skills and give them more independence to assess themselves.
We also saw the potential in using these tools in different
ways. In the second example, the student used many of the
app options and created a presentation that could be an entertaining and creative tutorial for others as well as a product
that showed her understanding. She also generated multiple
representations and solution strategies, which provided us
with information about how she thought about the problem
and the connections between the solutions. Because the app
records not only what students write but also what they say,
they have multiple modes for expressing their thinking.
Overall, we believe the easy-to-use ExplainEverything
app helps engage students, promotes their individual understanding, and creates an environment for self-regulation
and reflection. As mobile learning tools become more accessible, apps such as these will become efficient ways to
empower students. At this point, the use and gathering of
information is efficient, and we are working on ways to
gather the data so teachers can quickly view and categorize
the type of assistance students need.
—Melissa Soto is a doctoral candidate at the University of California,
Davis, in mathematics education. Her research focuses on investigating
students’ mathematical thinking and making it accessible to teachers.
—Jace Hargis has been a college director, assistant provost, and director
for the Centers of Teaching and Learning. He earned a doctorate from the
University of Florida in science education.
Screenshot 2
Screenshot 1
