19 Apps to Bring App Smashing to Your
Classroom
App smashing is the act of using (“smashing”) two or more apps to create one project,
usually an animated video that’s published online.
If you’re not familiar with this concept, it’s an exciting way to use multiple media forms to
complete amazing projects. You can facilitate app smashing with any app that allows
users to:
1. Import pictures or video.
2. Publish student work.
3. Create videos and pictures.
Below you can find just a few of the apps that lend themselves to app smashing, how to
combine them to create fantastic projects, and even a few student-created examples.
IMPORT PICTURES AND VIDEOS
TELLAGAMI
Students can use this app to create a character that becomes animated after the user
records their voice. This app allows students to import images into the background of
the characters; these images might demonstrate the home of the character, or include a
note for the audience to see. It might be a hand-drawn image imported onto the device
using the camera or one created in another app such as Hello Crayon or Scoodle Jam.
GREEN SCREEN DOINK
Doink is an easy-to-use app that utilizes green screen technology. Videos can be filmed
in front of a green-screen or students can place hand-drawn illustrations and/or videos
in the background, covering the green screen.
To increase the apps smashed, videos can be created in other apps such as Lego
Movie or iMovie and then imported into Doink. The app smashing possibilities here are
virtually infinite.
YAKIT KIDS AND CHATTERPIX
Students can use both apps to animate a student-created photo. Animated mouths,
stickers, and fun backgrounds can be added to the images and then students can
record a message causing the animated mouth to move as the words are spoken.
Children are captivated as their drawings come to life!
The video below uses Hello Crayon, ChatterPix and YouTube
EDUCREATIONS AND DOCERI
Videos can be created showing each written stroke a student makes on the screen
using their finger or a stylus, all while recording their speech. This makes these apps
the perfect medium for think-aloud assessments.
Want to know what students are thinking as they regroup (borrow or
carry)? Educreations and Doceri allow teachers to watch as students solve the
problems while narrating their actions. This gives teachers a peek inside students’
brains as they work.
The following video was created with Educreations, ScoodleJam and RealTimes.
BOOK CREATOR
Students become digital book authors with this fun app. Students import photos or
drawings, add their own words, and suddenly have a digital book!
GOOGLE DOCS, SLIDES
Now that Google has created apps for their outstanding Google Drive suite, importing
photos and images into Docs and Slides has never been easier.
STRIP CREATOR
Students import photos or digitally created pictures into this app to create amazing
comic strips. The wide assortment of tools and options available make this a robust yet
very easy app to use.
More: 15 Creative Ways to Use Comic Books for Learning
CREATE PICTURES AND VIDEOS
There are a large number of these apps, but these are the ones I use consistently in my
classroom.
SCOODLEJAM
This app is great for creating the images that students will import into other
apps. ScoodleJam includes a wide variety of stickers and drawing tools that students
can use to create their images. I love this app because it includes images of money and
other mathematical tools, which makes it great for mathematical app smashing.
HELLO CRAYON
This user-friendly app allows students to draw with a crayon-type texture in a large
variety of colors.
GOOGLE DRAWING
Students can create a picture or image that can be imported into other apps.
TOONTASTIC
Creating animated cartoons has never been easier. This free app gives students a
plethora of settings and characters to choose from to create their own animated
story. Students can even create and animate their own characters. Here smashing
occurs when the videos are published on another app.
This video was created with Toontastic and YouTube.
Don’t forget that the camera that comes pre-installed on most devices allows students
to take pictures and video of themselves, objects, and work that can be imported into
many different apps.
PUBLISHING
THINGLINK
This is a unique publishing app. Students import pictures, targets are placed on top of
the picture, and then individual videos or projects are attached to these targets. The
targets can be clicked to open the projects to which they are connected. The finished
product is a photograph with circles (targets) on top. This is a perfect way to use app
smashing for a history or assigned reading project.
This was created with ChatterPix, ThingLink, Hello Crayon and YouTube.
M ade wi t h
LEAR N MOR E
YOUTUBE
This is the most popular medium for video publishing, with more than a billion users.
Students and teachers can use YouTube to publish and share the products of their app
smashing with peers, family and other teachers.
PADLET
Need a place to put a collection of work? Padlet is your answer. Attach photos, text, and
videos to one Padlet and then share the QR code or the link with parents, creating an
automatic digital cork board that can display an entire class’ work.
See a collection of my students’ work here. Apps used: Padlet and ChiliFish.
SEESAW
Seesaw is a great way to create digital portfolios for individual students. If you have
digital projects to share with specific parents, use SeeSaw, which allows them to view
their child’s work without having to view the work of every student in the class.
REALTIMES
RealTimes provides a similar service as YouTube, without the advertisements and
questionable material (i.e. ads or explicit videos). For this reason, RealTimes is a great
platform for uploading and sharing video projects in the classroom. There are both paid
and free options available.
App smashing utilizes tablets to their fullest potential while giving students infinite
possibilities for creativity. Why stop at one app when you can use two, three, or more!