Flipping at Mercy

Looking back on this past school year, I think we made our smoothest and most profound technology transition. We adopted Schoology as our new Learning Management System based on the study and recommendation of a large, open committee of teachers, administrators and staff. One of the great advantages of this LMS is the performance of its iPad app.

Most of our teachers did a great job of leveraging this platform to allow for 24/7 learning.  In this 1:20 minute video, a student and teacher describe the advantages of "Flipping the Classroom" which allows students to engage with content outside of the classroom and take advantage of classroom time by diving deeper or asking questions (rather than taking notes on lectures).

Schoology allowed Mrs. Scrimscher to continue instruction and interaction with her class, even though she could not attend school for periods of time. iPad apps like ShowMe and Explain Everything have proven to be terrifically useful for the creation of "flipped" materials.

Recorded by Gary Bank; edited by Larry Baker

Movies to Develop Leadership in Educational Technology

As the year ends, I am republishing the Opinion Drive-thru's seven most viewed posts of 2013.  This is #1

During the first meetings of my Leadership in Technology College of Education course (ED 6270) at Madonna University I have used some short YouTube movies for both the face-to-face and online versions of the course.

Developing Professional Learning Networks

This is a one minute movie about an Australian teacher training program that shows teachers the benefits in using Twitter. After watching it, my students-- all full time teachers-- wanted me to prepare a lesson on it as well.

An Illustration of Flipped Classroom: The Full Picture

During our first class we looked at Reuben Puentedura’s SAMR Model, agreeing that at its very basic

level, the “flipped classroom” is more of a case of technology allowing for substitution of lecture supplied by technology for a live lecture.  In other words, it is not a “game changer” so much as a new strategy for using conventional methods. instruction rather than redefinition.  Jackie Gerstein’s video suggests ways to attain redefinition of instruction through flipping.

Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture

This is a fascinating video with all kinds of implications.  I am asking my students to reflect on the educational ramifications in our online discussion forum.

Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley

Ken Robinson is a titan of the TEd Talks series.  We are going to use his latest video as a way to break ground on pour big professional development project.

Design, Context, Flipped, and other Links

From "The Power of Design . . . ."

The Power of Design and Visualization Data

There’s a growing recognition that design is not simply about making products attractive. A well-designed product, (or space, image, service) can be easier to use, fit better into the flow of people’s lives, suit the needs of a broader range of end-users, increase productivity, and even influence emotions (which in turn can influence cognition). Sectors as hard-nosed and utilitarian as healthcare and manufacturing are now taking the “soft” subject of design very seriously.

Video: http://bit.ly/vi2AJx
Blog Post: http://bit.ly/vzI8I9


Bring Your Own Context
If I am processing audio, I want to be on a Mac. If I am tweeting on the bus, I want to be on a smartphone. If I am reading the news, I want to kick back with a tablet. If I am learning a new language, my iPod will do just fine.
http://bit.ly/w2gK8Z


Can Apple Products Pave the Way to Personalized Learning?
But as ZDNet’s Christopher Dawson recently noted, “the jury’s still out” on the success of these deployments. Despite the move towards a more paper-free classroom and despite all the new apps and e-books available, it’s hard to know if the adoption of the Apple devices — the tablets as well as iPod Touches — is necessarily changing things. Without adjusting classroom instruction to take full advantage of a one-to-one classroom, many of these schools are just doing the “same old thing” but using more expensive tools to do so. And the operative word here may be “expensive” too.
http://bit.ly/nQZszz


Learners, Not Knowers
This is why we should all be feeling an acute urgency right now to take back the definition of what “learning” really is in a world filled with content and teachers and personalization. It’s not an easy task, especially when test scores and grades take such precedence in the conversation. Don’t get me wrong; there is some opportunity in the use of technology to prepare kids at a content level for the bigger learning conversations to come, the conversations that we need real teachers for, the ones which develop the dispositions of learning that are uniquely human.
http://bit.ly/qRyPyF


Radical Flip at Macomb County School Getting Results

And when kids do homework in class, they're getting help from their teacher rather than parents who might struggle with the material. Teachers say flipping at times quadruples the amount of time they spend working directly with students -- ensuring students have a firm grasp of the lesson.

The initial success has gained Clintondale and Green some notice in national education circles. Green's a hot ticket at teacher conferences and has been speaking to packed rooms.

http://bit.ly/pcmrDx

The Rise (and Fall?) of Text Messaging in Schools

It’s an indication that text-messaging is becoming recognized as a powerful tool that schools should find a way to use. It’s one that can keep students engaged in class (though that idea remains fairly controversial, as cell phones are still viewed by many as a distraction). And it’s one that can help bridge the communication gulf between home and school.

But just as text-messaging may be on the cusp of widespread adoption in schools, there are rumblings in other sectors that text-messaging is dead. Or more accurately, perhaps, that text-messaging should simply die.

http://bit.ly/nQIerj

Flipped in Clintondale

A colleague of mine sent me an a newspaper article about a local high school, whose innovative (and courageous!) principal was launching a "flipped classroom" design:

 Instead of students receiving instruction in the classroom and then tackling their homework at home where they don’t have teacher assistance, the students in Clintondale High next year will watch their teachers give instruction while at their homes and do their practice work in the classroom.

The teachers have already spent the last 10 weeks working on recording lessons and gearing up for next year’s change. The school has stations set up for the teachers to work on this new program.

'"Class time is spent developing critical analysis and higher-order thinking skills," the high school states on its website, www. flippedhighschool.com. “Our faculty are not only experts in their field, but exceptional facilitators. Our faculty assess the needs of each student through personal conversations and assessment tools, then we are able to create a personalized learning experience. . . . “It actually quadruples the amount of time that a teacher spends with their students and also allows more one-on-one time,” [ Principal Greg Green] said.

I really admire this venture in many ways.  As someone who has conducted a "bookless" class using Moodle, I am familiar with many of the strengths of this sort of approach:

* Having the "content" of presentations available for students outside of confines of a scheduled class period makes all sorts of sense, particularly for absence, tutoring, or review.

* Class time can be spent much more interactively.  The focus on the teacher as information dispenser is greatly reduced and time can be spent answering questions, doing projects, working with individuals.

* I think the approach contributes to a healthy shift in the perspective on what teaching and learning actually mean.  Principal Green hopes this leads to collaborations, critical analysis, and higher order thinking skills.  That is certainly possible and would be really cool.

On the other hand, I wonder if Clintondale can foresee how much heavy lifting may be necessary to effectively accomplish the "flip."  I was surprised how long it took me to turn some of my lectures into podcasts.  And what about the standards for these "lectures". Will they be straight audio or talking head video?  Often times today's lectures include slides.  Yes, "death by PowerPoint is a standard part of daily life in high school, but imagine extracting all visual representation from a dry lecture.  If visuals are to be included, suddenly the amount of time to accomplish a first class "filp" goes way up too.

Jackie Gerstein provides another general caution for "flipped classrooms" as well,

A major roadblock or barrier to the implementation of this model is that many educators do not know what to do within the classroom, what to do with that “whatever they want to do” time.  For educators, who are used to and use the didactic model, a framework is needed to assist them with the implementation of the Flipped Classroom.  In other words, the message to teachers to do what they want during classroom is not enough to make this transition.

I wish Clintondale well with their plan.  I think that the most important outcome which may come from the attempt to "flip," is a closer consideration of how class time is actually used.  I've concluded that "lecture" is perfectly suited to recordings that are available to the students 24/7.  But of course good recordings with supporting material will be more effective.  Then the big question becomes, how will the teachers' talents be leveraged in ways that promoted authentic learning at Clintondale High.