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Parents' Guide to

Explain EDU

By Dana Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Powerhouse presentation tool has a multitude of features.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad Paid Education
Explain EDU Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Explain Everything App: Screenshot #1
  • Explain Everything App: Screenshot #2
  • Explain Everything App: Screenshot #3

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are not created and used for personalised advertisements.
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What’s It About?

First consider reading the help page to discern all the features on Explain Everything. Then tap on New Project and choose a blank project screen or import from one of many sources, including Dropbox and Evernote (you must enter your username and password information for that source on the linking screen). A white screen with tool options stacked on the left side appears and users can begin to import content, write on, and record audio for the presentation. Then save (it also autosaves) and playback the presentation.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Explain Everything is clearly an amazing tool for creating multimedia, interactive, and engaging presentations. That said, it may not be the ideal presentation app for some kids. The multitude of options may distract some students from the most important part of presentations: clear, well-organized, accurate content. Still, for kids who are ready for this powerful tool, the technological features on Explain Everything are numerous. From changing the size of the laser pointer to importing almost any content from a variety of sources that you can imagine, to inserting a web browser and drawing content that can be resized or animated, it's packed with options.

One caveat: Since users link from their various accounts (Dropbox, WebDAV, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook) to use content from those sources in the presentations, and they remain linked to those accounts on this app unless they sign out in preferences, there are some privacy concerns. Parents may want to explain to teens that if they don't sign out when not using the app (especially on shared devices at school) content in those accounts can be accessed via this app, which is not password protected. Explain Everything may be best for kids who have already used other presentation apps (such as Educreations Interactive Whiteboard) and want more capabilities, but who also understand privacy concerns and know that solid, accurate content is at the core of any good presentation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Review the Help section (including the segment about linking to other accounts) with teens to help them get the best use of this app.

  • If you have to create a lesson or presentation for work or personal life, ask your teen to give you a tutorial. Often the best way to learn something is to teach it.

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
  • Pricing structure: Paid (There's a one-time $9.99 purchase to use the app. If you want to use the features of the new Explain Everything app, users can upgrade with an individual subscription of $24.99 per year.)
  • Release date: May 8, 2018
  • Category: Education
  • Publisher: Explain Everything, Inc.
  • Version: 5.0.7
  • Minimum software requirements: iOS 9.1 or later; Android 4.1 and up
  • Last updated: March 29, 2021

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