Almost every week, I’m contacted by an educational institution that wants assistance in implementing a technology tool. In the majority of cases, these conversations have a similar pattern:
Client: “We want you to come to the school and show [insert audience here: teachers, students, admin] how to use [insert technology tool here].”
Me: “Sounds like you’ve invested in the idea of using [insert technology tool here] at your school. Can you tell me why?”
Client: “We looked at several different technologies and decided that [insert technology tool here] is the best solution.”
Me: “How are you doing things today without [insert technology tool here]?”
Client: “We are already committed to moving forward with [insert technology tool here] and just want someone to spend a few hours showing everyone how to use it. Some of us are already using it, but others need help getting started…”
As a technology integration specialist, this is a difficult position to face. Often, end users (teachers or students) aren’t even aware of the vision (more…)
In response to recent articles on the concept of flipped instruction and iPad screencasting reviews, some educators have emailed or commented and asked how time-shifting lectures can be used beyond mathematics classes or math-based science classes.
Here are 10 quick examples of non-math flipped classroom ideas. The entire video clip was created using Explain Everything for the iPad.
Examples are provided for :
Language arts – sentence diagrams
Music instruction – reading a staff and ukelele tuning
Communications – user interface and graphic design elements
Web design – basic HTML5 structure
Visual art – vocabulary terms for photography
History – timelines and inventions
Health – the food plate replaces the food pyramid
Learning support – reading fluency support
Community service – coordinated neighborhood improvement
Foreign Language – drawing Mandarin Chinese characters
Apple’s iPad is becoming a common fixture in over 600 districts across the US ((Many US schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks STEPHANIE REITZ Published: Sep 3, 2011 (http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16026/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=QUDMd2uA#) )), and teachers are connecting online to share ideas for effective implementations. As the barrier to access has been removed in these classrooms, many teachers are considering a blended teaching model or flipped classroom opportunities*.
Flipped instruction (flipped classrooms, vodcasting, time-shifted instruction) allows students to view or review a lecture when they are ready to, at their own pace. This requires teachers to record lectures either live or, more often than not, prior to delivery. To capture a lecture, educators like Ramsey Musallam and Stacey Roshan use software that records their voice along with the action happening on their screen in real-time.
Screencasting software for desktop/laptops is fully developed** – users can record screens while opening and closing applications and have access to post production elements (titles, transitions, trimming, etc) all from within the software. iPad apps are not so fully developed yet – with iOS4, users can only record what is going on within the screencasting app.
Common features
All of the reviewed Apps allow the user to:
import a background image from the camera roll
choose pen colors for drawing
erase areas of the screen or the entire page
record voice along with what is happening on the screen
At its core, flipped teaching (also called flipped classroom, flipped instruction, vodcasting, educational video-on-demand) is a format for removing some of the lecture-based lessons from classrooms and giving students the ability to learn that content in their own time at their own pace. This is done through recording video-based lectures* [editor note: flipped philosophy has moved away from requiring video – see this article for more information. 4/25/2012] and posting them online for students to engage and respond to.
There are several advantages to this model of teaching.
Flipped teaching means that an educator doesn’t need to guess at what speed to deliver content – with students watching lectures at home they can move at their own speed and review concepts as necessary.
Without large portions of classroom time spent lecturing, educators can use that time to see students working through projects and assignments that would have previously been done in isolation at home: break out sessions can occur spontaneously, students can work in mentor-based groupings, jigsaw opportunities, supplemental support, etc.
A means to INCREASE interaction and personalized contact time between students and teachers.
An environment where students take responsibility for their own learning.
A blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning.
A classroom where students who are absent due to illness or extra-curricular activities such as athletics or field-trips, don’t get left behind.
A class where content is permanently archived for review or remediation.
How is flipped instruction different from other educational movements?
Flipped classroom isn’t the first time that technology has been held up as a solution for the worldwide challenges that are occurring in education, and it won’t be the last. However, the focus of flipped teaching is different from other examples in that the technology itself is simply a tool for flexible communication that allows educators to differentiate instruction to meet individual student needs and spend more time in the classroom focused on collaboration and higher-order thinking. The technology solutions are varied and don’t rely on a single vendor to implement. Flipped teaching is a great example of using technology with intention.
The evolution of flipped instruction
This educational practice has been around for over a decade, but visibility in educational circles is increasing as the cost of implementation goes down and also through Bill Gates’ endorsement of Salman Khan. Khan takes both praise and criticism from teachers, media, education departments and business on a global scale.
Educators critical of Khan’s model point out that his lecture-respond model does nothing to inspire students and furthermore just encourages the “drill and regurgitate” learning that is built for standardized tests. Frank Noschese eloquently elaborates in his article Khan Academy: My Final Remarks:
[W]e should be inspiring [students] to figure things out on their own and learn how to create their own knowledge by working together. For example, instead of relying on lectures and textbooks, the Modeling Instruction paradigm emphasizes active student construction of conceptual and mathematical models in an interactive learning community.
Ramsey Musallam is working with the flipped model to address Noschese’s observation and push the practice into a more constructivist experience. His graduate work at the University of San Francisco focused on the cognitive psychology behind time-shifted instruction. Based on his research, Musallam adds a few best practices to the flipped model; ones he believes enhance student retention and understanding:
Musallam always introduces a new skill or concept IN THE CLASSROOM with open exploration. Students learn through true trial and error and make their own explorations prior to being exposed to the theory behind the experiments.
Students completed a 5 sentence typed recap of each lesson while watching the lecture. This immediate typed response forces student to recall and synthesize information, responding in their own words.
Musallam uses the same visual procedure every time when explaining a concept. This allows students to become familiar with his process so that they can begin to predict and hypothesize as they watch.
Musallam limits viewer input to one channel at a time. Visual and auditory channels of information delivery are alternated to avoid information overload. Furthermore, Musallam’s screencasts are as simple as possible – typically white background with text and simple diagrams.
There is a new resource available for those interested in increasing their online skills – http://www.digitalliteracy.gov/ was just launched by the U.S. government. It is full of tips and tutorials ranging from keeping children safe online to learning to text to broadband speed tests.
A Google A Day is a website that offers a single question that can be solved through effective search term use. Take a few minutes out of your day to learn something new and consider the validity of the information you find through an internet search.
Not a search guru yet? Take a look at a series of search-related lesson plans ranging from differentiating adverts from results to using Boolean operators to limit results. In an always-on world where attention is a commodity, search efficiency is an essential 21st century skill.
A SMARTboard won’t raise SAT scores, even as districts plop one into every classroom. An iPad won’t decrease tardies and a Facebook account won’t reduce the number of parent emails you receive on a daily basis.
Integrating technology into the classroom can mean so many things…how to figure out where to start? Digital citizenship, personal learning networks, online video resources and real-time collaboration tools all compete for out attention. No tool by itself will revolutionize your classroom, it is how you use a resource that counts.
Not sure how to decide to enhance your teaching with technology? Try 21 things for teachers, a straight-forward introduction to some of the tools and resources available at low- or no- cost. The site is an overview, you’ll still end up using your personal learning network and watching YouTube videos to master the resources presented. You have to start somewhere…
One way to move learning beyond the walls of the classroom is to make connections with real people elsewhere in the world. The prospect of finding a partner school in another country seems overwhelming for some teachers, but Skype is trying to make that task easier.
A few weeks ago, Skype in the Classroom launched – a database of over 11,000 international teachers looking to connect with other classrooms to collaborate and communicate. Want to talk for free with someone in Australia who uses the Nintendo Wii to decrease absences and tardies? Interested in swapping graphic arts images with a middle school in Sweden?
One way to move learning beyond the walls of the classroom is to make connections with real people elsewhere in the world. The prospect of finding a partner school in another country seems overwhelming for some teachers, but Skype is trying to make that task easier.