Active Explorer

Send kids on fun educational smartphone explorations with Active Explorer!Educators log in to the Active Explorer website as Leaders and create Quests, which are like treasure hunts for data, and then give their students the Quest number and password.Players use smartphones with the free Active Explorer app to sign up for Quests, where they collect images, video, audio, sketches, notes, and other data.When they are done, they upload everything they collected to their Active Explorer web account. Then, they go on line to use it to make posters, comics, slide shows, and other fun SmartWork.What is a “Quest?”Quests are instructions and a toolkit that appear on Explorers’ phones. After signing up for a Quest, Explorers collect images, audio, video or just observational notes on a specific topic. A Quest could be a search for:* different kinds of seeds (or clouds, trees, rocks, fruit, roots, colors, shapes, sounds, etc.)* notes, images, and observations on a particular topic* collections of species in a particular place* searches for a particular species, ie, all of the invasive plants ina school yard or park* images that show shadow or color* audio memories from older family members or friends* video clips of creatures walking, running or flying* objects with three sides, four sides, five sides, etc.* all the foods eaten in a day* items that come from different countries* photos of the oldest buildings in townQuests can be about science, art, music, history, languagearts—anything you can imagine.What is “SmartWork?”After Explorers finish gathering everything they need for a Quest, and upload it to their Active Explorer web account, they log into their account, see what they collected, and open fun tools to create SmartWork: ebooks, slide shows, comic strips and posters to share what they have learned with their Leaders and fellow Explorers. We will continue to add new creative tools to let Explorers stretch their creativity.Who are “Leaders?”Leaders are educators—either teachers or adults working in after school programs. They give their Explorers the Quest numbers and passwords for the Quests they create.Who are “Explorers?”Explorers are kids who have created an Active Explorer account, with help from a parent or guardian. They sign into Quests provided to them by a teacher or after school provider.Active Explorer collects no personally identifiable information from Explorers.