Flipped Classroom DefinedThe flipped classroom provides avenues for teachers to become facilitators of learning and move away from the sage on a stage approach to teaching. The foundational concepts of instructors guiding students or facilitating their progress are based on the idea that the instructor is no longer at the center of the interaction and application of knowledge. The instructor remains available to students as a facilitator of resources, a resource who should frequently check students for understanding for their learning. The teacher, when necessary will provide guidance in how to process the information for a unit of study. The facilitators role in a flipped classroom changes dramatically in that the teacher becomes a source to students in how to better use the resources, process information and how to apply the core concepts to real life situations.
|
The second idea behind flipping a classroom is to reduce the amount of time spent in class on lecturing, and opening up more class time for the use of active learning strategies. These active learning strategies should be based on effective highly engaging real life applications that promote student interaction. Student interaction in the classroom should focus primarily on understanding and application than on recall of facts, while not sacrificing presentation of the factual base.
These types of interactive practices will become even more evident as teachers experience performance based assessment that are soon to surface on the Common Core horizon. In the near future these assessment will practically shift teaching in providing students with more control over their own learning while giving students a greater sense of their own responsibility for their learning. |
|
Due to deep changes in technology, education is entering a new age where students can participate in their own expansion of knowledge like never before. First, students are not the same students as they were ten years ago. In fact, the "My Space" generation is the largest online community in the world, where over100 million young people hang out daily. Since these known variables are now prevalent in today's classrooms, students of today strive on interacting using digital media. This, of course, also provides new avenues to be considered for instructional practices. Educators of today's classrooms should design extended learning opportunities in ways that immerse students in content by using various existing technology tools that include wiki’s, blogs, and flipping their classrooms to avoid frontal delivery strategies.
|
|
The premise behind a flipped classroom is to initiate a new way of delivering content that appeals to today's students. In such classrooms, students will become self paced learners who have ownership in making choices of when and where extended learning will occur. This is not to say that flipped classrooms are to be synonyms with watching videos and placed in isolation with self paced lessons. On the contrary, flipped classrooms are very dynamic and highly engaged learning environments. The flipped classrooms are collaborative environments where teachers are facilitators of learning; where students are constantly interacting within an authentic learning environment using flip content to expand and produce in-depth knowledge. It is in the expansion of knowledge where flipped classrooms are unique.
|
|
To expand this thought of learning and how personal learning can be a motivating factor in human development would be to explore Lakhani and Wolf's work in intrinsic motivation. Lakhani and Wolf discovered, out of 684 surveys, "that enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation is the strongest and most pervasive drive for learning." In fact, most classrooms in America remain routine, unchallenging as they are directed by frontal delivery models set in motion in the early 1900's. What seems to be most reconciling is that most schools are still harnessing the algorithmic pathways to learning even after implementing Common Core standards within the curriculums delivery system.
|
|
Classrooms of the future especially when moving over to the common core will require a more diverse approach to the development of organizational skills, especially when working in a digital environment. The purpose of this section of Organizational Tools is to provide resource information on the types of open software applications that are designed to help learners organize their digital learning environments. One application that seems to provide substance to organization within the digital world is Symbaloo.
|
|
To get started, a teacher would simply provide an open source platform for students to view and select assignments. A great resource for obtaining skill based
screen cast in math and science has already been created by Salman Khan. At the Khan Academy teachers can select specific screen cast that match the Common Core standards selected for a unit of study. From this resource the teacher easily incorporates what is available on the Khan Academy website and begin creating their own set of screen cast for supplemental skill enhancements. |
|
Avitars in Screen CapturesOne use of screen recording software is the creation of animated learning material for a digitally composed interactive lesson. Animations can be created with your favorite application such as using avatars in PowerPoint
presentation and then recording the screen in Camtasia to capture the animation. Teachers can also edit the recording by transferring the file to either your imovie or MovieMaker video software editor and create additional voiceovers or lay down music tracks. Play vidoe to the right to view avitars in action on a screencast using Camtasia. (See also Avitars in Education) |
|
The screen cast website also allows a registered users to create screen casts and keep track of them in "My Screencasts." Technology teachers can create a Channel and add favorite screen casts to them. There is also a screen cast Request feature, which allows users to request for someone to do a screencast on a
particular topic. Once their screen casts are complete, the screen cast creator has the options of viewing them on the Screencast-o-matic site or converting them to a QuikTime movie file which can be saved on a hard drive and uploaded to a video hosting website like the ones referenced above. You can also use ScreenCasting to record PowerPoint presentations. |
|