What is a Flipped Classroom?

Initially, when I was going to write this post it was going to be about how I had just done a short presentation about what happens in my class for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce Business-Education Committee, which is a group of about 30 members made up of Business and Educators in our local area. The presentation was to happen on February 5, Digital Learning day.

I was really excited about the thought of sharing the magic that happens in my classroom on a daily basis.  Well, as you have probably guessed by now that didn't quite happen.  To make a long story short, I began to feel sciatica pain on Sunday morning, three days before I was supposed to present.  Each day the pain got progressively worse until I found myself in the emergency room the night before the scheduled presentation begging for something, anything to take the pain away.  My relief was soon found but sadly I was in no shape to present the next morning.

So, In the true spirit of the Flipped Classroom, I did what any flipper would do; I sent my video along with my co-presenter to speak for itself. So, here's a look at what happens in our Flipped Classroom. Oh yea, I forgot to mention that the video was made and edited by my students!

It Takes Two

In FlipYour Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Everday one of the many suggestion Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams give for making videos your students will love is to "create the video with another teacher".   I will admit that I hadn't actually read "the book" before I began flipping my classroom this year. After my initial introduction to Flipped Learning at the Model Schools Conference 2012, all of my flipping research was done online. The Fizz Institute, The Flipped Learning Network, and Crystal Kirch's website were my "go to" resources for what to do.  

When I first started making my videos (just a few short months ago), I made them all by myself.  Then one day after school I was talking with another fifth grade teacher who was taking steps towards flipping his classroom.  He was saying that he needed to make a video for his class.  The more we talked we decided to make one together.  After we made our video, it was easy to see why Bergmann and Sams say you should make your videos with another teacher.  It seems more natural to have a conversation about the strategy as we are talking to each other.   Mr. Young also adds humor to the videos to keep you laughing as you learn.

One of my students wrote this post on Edmodo after watching a couple of the videos we had made together: "Hey Mrs. Fisher are you going to start having Mr.Young with you when we are doing math? I don't mind."  I guess that says it all.  Two heads are better than one!


What do you think?  Click here to watch one of my solo videos. 

I've watched the video, now what?

I don't know how else I need to say it or what I need to do to help my students understand they are expected to complete a WSQ reflection (Watch, Summarize, Question) each time they watch a video. This idea came from Crystal Kirch.  After the assignment has been posted, I will usually get 1 or 2 posts on Edmodo asking if the WSQ is optional or do they even have to do a WSQ.  I have said it over and over. I have even written it as part of the instructions for completing the assignment. Granted, I don't write it every time. I really shouldn't have to, should I?

I have given them the choice of using a Google Document or completing the form in their math notebooks. I am also thinking whether or not students should be required to use the Google document each time or should they just write their responses in their notebooks or type them on a Word template and then print and glue them in their notebooks.

I am starting to think that requiring them to use the Google Document is more for my convenience than it is for their benefit since I can quickly check their response online rather than looking at 24 spiral notebooks.  The downside is when they use the Google Document, they don't have their video notes with them... And aren't the notes for them to use? 

What are your expectations for your students once they have finished watching the video? 

It's More Than Just the Videos

Watching Videos

I know I keep stressing out about making these videos.  But flipping the class is not just about finding and making videos for your students to watch at night.  How will "flipping my class" be different from what I did last year?  When I think about it, I had some content videos linked on my class website last year, still do. I often reminded my students, "you know, you can watch these at home" or "If you need to review, you can go online during independent reading and watch that video".  The closer we got to our end-of-the-year assessment, I found myself encouraging my students to watch the content videos whenever they had time; especially the students who needed review or who were absent during instruction for whatever reason: illness, small group pull-out, or whatever. 

I am beginning to understand what Brett Wilie meant when he said: "Flipping is not just about the videos"!  I had videos last year. One way my flipped class will be different this year is that I will make some, eventually most, of the videos I post for my students to watch. (See "Why it Has to Be Me").  But I think the biggest difference will be that I will have more in-class time for the students to practice with supervision, to put what they are learning into action through games, projects, solving problems, etc. and I will have more time to work with individual students and small groups. Not a bad trade-off, wouldn't you say?

"Order Up" Game Board

 
"Order Up"

Each student wrote a 3 digit decimal number between 2 and 3 on an index card.  Their cards are then placed in random order on the side of a strip of adding machine tape. Their task was to arrange the cards in order from least to greeted by moving only 1 card at a time.  They can only move 1 card to the empty space on the board (see the smiley sticker). They could not talk while playing the game. Can you see the student covering their mouth to keep from talking in the picture? Too cute!

The Videos Are Coming!

Have I mentioned before that Edmodo is a wonderful social platform for flipping your class?  And I don't mean just for communicating with students and parents, for posting assignments, grades, quizzes, videos and what have you.  NO, I am constantly finding it to be a powerful site for professional development!  Just yesterday I read a post from Mrs. Kennedy.  She posted a link to Learn Zillion, a site that has videos based on the common core standards for grades 3-5.  Just about every standard has videos that can be easily used if you are flipping your classroom.  Did I say it has videos?  I mean really good videos! 

Even though Learn Zillion has wonderful videos (and I do mean wonderful) I still want to make my own.  But do I even need to make my own videos? In Why It Has to Be Me Katie Gimbar gives the following reasons teachers should invest the time and energy to create videos for their students: there is a level of trust between the students and teacher, there is accountability that is not there when you outsource your videos, videos can be personalized for your students, and creating your own videos empowers you, the teacher, to effectively make a shift in the way you teach.  So . . . I will continue to work on my videos but while I am perfecting my technological skills, I can still use videos like the ones on Learn Zillion. . . can't I?

By the way, I realized that my video in the previous post will play - it just takes forever to load. I also had better luck posting a video I made for Sneak-A-Peek to School Tube.  One that I had been trying to embed on my class website since school started. I almost gave up since it has been about 4 weeks but I have had 2 new students join our class and the video was a good way to introduce their family to our class.  I don't know why it finally decided to work but I'm glad it did.

"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn"  ~John Cotton Dana

I Finally Did It!

This is the beginning of the third week of school and I was finally able to post a video to School Tube and link it directly to my Edmodo library! I am doing my "happy dance"! That was a major accomplishment.  I can't tell you how many times I have tried to upload a video.  Just when I thought I had it, I would get a message from one of my students saying "I can't see the video".  So I would have them watch the video in class the next day.  I finally ended up using Screencast-O-Matic to record directly from my laptop. So today I decided to try, try again and BAM!  There it is.  I was able to use the School Tube app that was directly on the Edmodo site.  Ultimately I want to record my videos with a picture in a picture.  I have read articles that the students are more engaged when they can actually see the teacher teaching in the video.  Well, this is my video.  It's very basic, but Hey!  It's a start.  I know my videos can only get better. Now if I can only attach it to this blog post!




YEA!!!  I DID IT!! . . . Doing the Happy Dance!!

OK, this is really strange. I can watch the video when I am on the compose screen of this post but it won't play when I am on the blog page. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?  Click here to view the video.

My First Video

I am trying to post my first video and I have encountered a few problems.  Nothing that serious, but it's a little frustrating.  Originally I wanted to post a video for sneak-a-peek, but around 10:00 A.M. I realized that was not going to happen!  Did I mention that Sneak-A-Peek started at 12:30?  I quickly realized it would have been a little awkward for parents to be watching a video while I was standing right there in the room. 

So move on to Plan B.  I decided that I would still make the video, but it would be for the parents that were not able to attend.  Good idea, huh?  OK . . .  I have made the video but I am still waiting for it to be approved by Teacher Tube so I can get an embed code to post it on my class web page.  I have it in my Edmodo library, but that won't do any good since my parents have not joined my group yet.  I will have to wait until all of my parent permission forms are returned and by that time it will be a moot point. So I thought I would post it on my class web page and any parents that were not able to attend could watch it immediately.  Right! Wrong! I just checked and it is still "being reviewed by a moderator". . . Are you kidding me? So what would you suggest I do at this point?

On to Plan C . . . I figure any students that enroll in my class during the year will benefit from watching the video. Moving on. . . I hope to have all the permission forms this week so my students can join our class group.   Most of the advice I have gotten up to this point is to "take it slow"!  It looks like that is not going to be a problem.

Flip Sneak-A-Peek!

I had a light bulb moment early this morning!  Our school has Sneak-A-Peek before the school year begins.  Parents and students are given an opportunity to meet their new teachers and see their classrooms for the first time. It is very informal. What a wonderful opportunity for me to introduce flipping to my parents!

I am going to record a video for Sneak-A-Peek, have laptops set up, so parents can view the short video as part of their visit.  Then I will only have to  say those things I usually have to repeat over and over 1 time!  That will free me up to actually meet and greet the parents and students while they meander through the class. I won't have that nagging feeling that I forgot to tell a parent something.  I will make sure I include instructions on how to join our Edmodo group on the video.  I think this will be a great opportunity for parents to experience the flip for themselves!  What do you think?

Can You Hear Me Now?

I still get a chuckle, when I think about the response I got from my co-worker after asking for her opinion on an external microphone I was going to order.  Megan is my "next door teacher", who is also our resident computer expert.  Whenever I experience a technology problem in class, whether it be with the Smartboard, document camera, or even my laptop, I head next door.  Without giving it a second thought, she walks in my class and with a click here and a click there, magically fixes the problem. It had gotten to the point that whenever something went wrong, as it often does with technology, the students would say, "Do you want me to go next door and get Mrs. Huss?" 

So, originally I was thinking that I needed to order an external microphone to record the videos.   I would like to start flipping right off the bat with a video on class routines and procedures.  Of course, we will discuss what they learned together in class.  Then the videos can be used whenever new students join our class.    I would also need access to a camera.

I think I need to check with our Media Specialists before spending money.  I know it is possible to record lesson directly from the Smartboard.  That would be perfect for students who are absent or students who need to review concepts.  Now, if I only knew how. . . I think I'll call Megan.

P.S.  I just found the video link I was looking for earlier that shows you how to record videos using lecture boards, a flip camera, and a tripod.  That's the method used to record videos for the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation.  You can check that out here.  Another option is to use something like Screencast-o-matic or Jing to record directly from your laptop.  I was really surprised at how easy it was to record using Screencast-o-matic.  I didn't even have to download anything.  There is also a good video on YouTube showing how to create a screencast using Screencast-o-matic.  Since I don't have administrative rights on my school laptop, I wasn't able to try Jing yet.  That will have to wait until I return to school. . . . guess I won't need that mic after all.