4th Grade Pixiclip Videos
Fourth graders at Varina Elementary have been learning how to multiply 2-digit numbers (SOL4.4b), so today students in Ms. Burcham’s class created their own “how-to” videos explaining how they do it. As students create their videos, they have to break the process down into steps and explain each step. Not only is this valuable for the students, but it also helps the teacher see how the students are thinking each step of the way. They can identify exactly where in the problem solving process misunderstandings occur. Another benefit of creating “how-to” videos is that students can go back to the videos later if they need a quick review. We used a webtool called Pixiclip to record our videos. It’s a great tool that doesn’t require a login. You can record audio or video and you can draw, type, or upload files on a virtual whiteboard. First the students created their own multiplication problem to solve. I encouraged them to challenge themselves though, and not make it a simple problem. Next they chose the strategy they would use to solve it and recorded their steps. Those who finished early went on to make videos showing where the different people groups settled in Virginia (VS.4b), since they are studying colonial times in Social Studies. I gave them a map to use to save some time. We posted all our links to Google classroom, but you can see some of their videos by clicking here.