App Smashing or App Synergy is when students use a combination of apps to create a final product that would not be possible to create with the sometimes limited capabilities of one app. App smashing comes from the inability of one app to do all you need, however, it creates a wonderful new opportunity for students to use technology in creative new ways. Through App Smashing, students will use critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity to find the best technology to demonstrate their understanding.

When creating a product using multiple apps, students will start by gathering their initial content. Here, students can use their iPad’s camera and microphone along with apps such as Soundcloud, Garageband, or iMovie to create content. Once initial content has been gathered, students can store this content on their iPad, upload videos to Vimeo, or use cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox.

Now we’re ready for the Smashing to begin!

There are a slew of great apps to use for this step. Some favorites are ThingLink, Explain Everything, Popplet, ShowMe, and Educreations.

Don’t forget to have the students share the work. This will provide a more authentic assignment, create greater motivation for students to produce quality products, and allow you to celebrate their hard work and impressive products.

App Smashing ideas:

• Take photos of the steps in a science experiment. Bring these into Explain Everything and make a video where students explain their process. Upload this video to YouTube or Vimeo or attach to a Popplet or ThingLink.
• Have students take videos of angles, community art, historical locations or geographical features in their communities using their Smartphones or tablets. Edit their videos in iMovie, add voice over to narrate and give information about the video. Then attach these videos to their position on a map in ThingLink.
• Bring App Smashing to your Chrome device! Use Google Docs revision history and Screencastify to walk through and explain revisions made to a paper.

And finally, get creative, challenge your students, and have fun!