Flipped Lesson Number 2

Did my second flipped lesson today, also in maths and focusing on proving/disproving a general statement. The video link is posted in a previous post.

At the beginning of the lesson, I asked who had watched the flip video and about 75% of the class had. I gave them the option of watching it again with those who hadn't seen it and half of those chose to do so.

It certainly enabled my more able to get stuck into tasks quicker and I think all the class faced a higher level of challenge than they would have in a 'normal' lesson.

However, I learnt that you can't rely on the class to watch the video and ensure they really understand it. They might watch it but won't necessarily explore areas of uncertainty on their own. For example, they didn't really understand square numbers which was mentioned on the video and this led to difficulties in the tasks later on, as some of the activities referred to square numbers.

Therefore, I think that you have to give some input as well as the video and really check for understanding. The children also fedback that it would be really useful for me to model an answer to one of the tasks on the video so they could see exactly what the expectations were.

I think that the flipped lessons might work best for more simple-concept lessons that deal with one skill. There was too much high-level mathematical vocabulary going on so they struggled working independently (some of them). I think with a short input session from me as well, it would have been a great success.

However, I think it was engaging and challenging and that the class gained a lot from it. It wasn't outstanding but also not a disaster.

Next time, I want to try an English lesson as I have done two maths now.

The Flip-Flop Lesson?

Another idea...

Instead of showing the children some information/video before the lesson, how about teaching them in the conventional way and then getting them to create a video and to upload for the teacher to assess... a flip-flop lesson if you will! :)

Twitter: Top Ten Hashtags for Flipped Classrooms and Flipped Teaching

Twitter is a great resource for learning about flipped teaching. Everyday, people tweet hundreds of tips, resources, personal stories, pose questions, and float ideas about flipped teaching. Julie Schell picks out the top ten hashtags on Twitter. Have a look and do share anything of interest: Top Ten Hashtags for Flipped Teaching

Latest Flip Video and Video Editing Software Thoughts

Hi,
My latest flip video can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1A0zemeyLg

This one features me trying to teach the topic to my cat which was an idea suggested by some members of my class. I like the personal nature of these videos as I think they make them more engaging for the class. I have had a chat with colleagues about building up a library of videos to share across the year group/school. I think there is great merit in this, but I do think that the younger children really enjoy seeing and hearing their own teacher. A parent also echoed this in some feedback which I received. Not sure about the webcam but we will see...

I am also trialling a video editing suite from Corel which you can see here VideoStudio Pro 6 I had a go at making the same video in that program which had the advantage that I could save it as an MP4 file and upload directly to my class blog rather than YouTube or www.mediacore.com

However, I am finding it really tricky to use, as it is so powerful and I have absolutely no experience of video-editing whatsoever. But it looks like it can make much more professional and engaging movies so I will stick with it and see if I can get any better at using it.

The lesson based on the flip video is on Monday and I am actually being observed by my line manager in that lesson as part of my annual appraisal so it better go well!

iPad Apps

Explain Everything
Educreations

Will update list as I find more.

Other teachers flipping their lessons

Interesting blog here about a UK teacher in Seoul who has started flipping his lessons. Slightly different perspective to the way we are doing it at the moment but still relevant

Online Storage

www.mediacore.com is all sorted now. They can all log on via their Google accounts - much easier. After one week of this flipped classroom project, I'm exhausted!
My class are really enjoying the videos - I have also posted a video or two just for fun so it keeps them following the blog. This week I posted up a video taken from the cockpit of a Typhoon fighter jet which went down well!
Next week, I'm hoping to work with some colleagues to get their videos up and running too. I am keen to develop some collaboration on this as, at times, I feel a bit swamped with information. I'm also thinking of getting myself some better video software to give me more tools for making better videos. Someone also mentioned the possibility of green screen videos so I can stand in front of any background. Exciting possibilities...
Looking forward to the weekend and making a couple more videos!