10 Edpuzzle App Smashes... and Some Food Smashes!?

I’m writing this blog post while eating creole poutine.

I’m assuming you have questions about that statement.

• Why does Jake eat while blogging? (Why not?)
• Does he get food on his keyboard? (Sometimes.)
• What IS creole poutine? (For starters, poutine is a delicacy where french fries are topped with cheese curds and gravy. Creole poutine adds chicken and sausage gumbo into that mix of deliciousness. And let me tell you: it’s awesome.

Creole poutine is an epic example of food smashing. First off, food smashing is not as messy as it sounds. And second off, yes - I did just make up the term food smashing. Food smashing, probably more accurately identified as fusion cuisine, is when different foods are combined together to make results that are more awesome than any of the individual foods on their own. Fries? Good. Cheese curds? Nice. Gravy? Yum. Gumbo? Yes, please. Creole poutine? 🤯🤯🤤🤤 Whoa! See what I mean?

Similarly, app smashing, which the Edpuzzle blog covered a while back, is the act of taking different apps and combining them together to make results that are more awesome than any of the individual apps on their own. (Note: the term app is used loosely here: any edtech tool counts.)

In creole poutine, different ingredients are bringing different valuable assets to the tastebud party. The french fries are bringing starchy, salty goodness; the gumbo is bringing the spice; the cheese is bringing, well, awesomeness, as always; and so on. In app smashing, we are fusing apps with one set of capabilities with apps with a different set of capabilities, thus enhancing the flavor… er, learning experience.

So, let’s look at some different app smashes that can make an awesome tool like Edpuzzle even awesome-er.

1. Flip x Edpuzzle

You didn’t think I’d stop talking about food, did you? One of my favorite restaurants has a bacon cheeseburgerito. Can you imagine anything as awesome as fusing the super powers of bacon cheeseburgers and burritos? I didn’t think so. They’re two of my favorite foods. And, coincidentally, Flip (formerly Flipgrid) and Edpuzzle are two of my favorite edtech tools.

But, like cheeseburgers and burritos, Flip and Edpuzzle each have different things that they’re really really good for. Along with its great video discussion capabilities, Flip also has a tremendously capable camera. You can add text, images, stickers, GIFs, and music, but you can also add backdrops, video backdrops, screencast backdrops, filters, whiteboards, and more. But you know what you can’t do? Add grade-able questions within your video. So, enter the app smash: download your Flip video, upload it into Edpuzzle, add your questions, and watch the magic happen!

2. Podcasts x Edpuzzle

While we’re on the topic of burritos, you’ve had a breakfast burrito before, right? Epic food smash.

But have you used Edpuzzle to add questions to a podcast episode? Epic app smash.

The reason this is great is clear. First, many podcasts contain great academic content. Second, adding formative assessments into that content would be amazing. So, how can we do this?

For most podcasts, it’s super easy. You may not have noticed it before, but most major podcasts are available as YouTube videos, too. That means you can go grab that Revisionist History episode’s YouTube link and plunk it right into Edpuzzle. That’s all it takes!

3. Edpuzzle x Book Creator

Those of you who have read my book, Educational Duct Tape: An EdTech Integration Mindset know that I love tater tot casserole. It’s quite a food smash. Tater tots, meat, mushroom gravy, and cheese all baked together into casserole goodness? I’m in. Showcasing those great foods in a casserole is a win, for sure.

Sometimes great edtech tools are even greater when showcased in a different way, as well. An example of that is taking an Edpuzzle activity and embedding it into a Book Creator book! In your Edpuzzle activity, click Share Assignment and copy the embed code. Then, in your Book Creator book, click the + symbol, select more, and select embed! This is great for packing together different kinds of content so that your activities have the right cadence and your learners get to that video activity in just the right spot within the learning experience.

If you’re like me, you’re probably now thinking I wonder where else I can embed an Edpuzzle video activity? If you were thinking that, I’m proud of you. Because the answer is: lots of places! And those, my friend, are all app smashes.

4, 5, and 6. Schoology or Canvas or Google Classroom x Edpuzzle

Ever had a walking taco? You take a small bag of Doritos or Fritos and dump some taco meat, sour cream, and cheese into it. It’s not fancy, but it is delicious and, according to the name, you can eat it while you walk (I guess).

Sometimes a good app smash is also about packaging good edtech into another platform to make it more convenient. Many of the common learning management systems (LMSs) allow you to package Edpuzzle right within your bag of Doritos, er, I mean, LMS. In Schoology and Canvas, the students can complete Edpuzzle activities without leaving the LMS tab. With the Google Classroom Edpuzzle Add-On, it directs students to a new tab, but the big win is the improved grading experience: in all three of these tools, teachers can see the Edpuzzle grading screen within their LMS grading screen!

7 and 8. Canva or Adobe Express Videos x Edpuzzle

Recently, we were at a restaurant that served sushi. My wife, our oldest son, and I love sushi. Our other two kids are grossed out by it. But at this restaurant, they had fruit sushi! Pineapple, mango, and guava wrapped up in a tiny bite-size package? It was perfect for them!

Presenting fruit in a sushi style was a way to get two of my kids to try sushi. Sometimes with our students, we’ve got to present things a little differently too. Two tools that are great for this are Canva and Adobe Express. Both have video editors that are super easy to use and create slick, visually appealing videos that are reminiscent of what you may see on social media or YouTube. And guess what! You can download them and import them into Edpuzzle to add questions!!

9. Pear Deck x Edpuzzle

Choco Tacos. It sounds like it wouldn’t work but, surprisingly, it does.

Pear Deck and Edpuzzle? This quality pairing shouldn’t be surprising. Pear Deck is great for live lessons with formative assessment, but it’s also great for student-paced work. One thing that I really like about student activities in Pear Deck is that you can package all elements of a learning experience into 1 spot that flows seamlessly. And that goes for Edpuzzle activities too. Just copy that embed code that I mentioned above and use it in a Pear Deck Website slide. When your students get to that slide in the Pear Deck, the Edpuzzle will function right there within the Pear Deck tab.

10. Prezi Video x Edpuzzle

Cheeseburgers are awesome, but have you ever tried one with a fried egg on it? It kicks the tastiness up a notch for sure.

If you’re recording mini-lessons using slides and using them within Edpuzzle to add formative assessment checks, that’s awesome. But if you’d like to kick that awesomeness up a notch, you may want to check out Prezi video. Their fresh take on slideshow-based videos will definitely kick those lessons up a notch.

Can you think of others?

I bet you can! If you can think of an epic app smash with Edpuzzle (or an epic food smash!), I’d love to hear about it! Tweet to @edpuzzle and @JakeMillerTech to tell us about it!