The Flipped Classroom

The latest buzzword in education today is flipping the classroom.  What exactly does that mean?  It starts with teachers recorded themselves and having students watch the 10-15 minute lectures outside of class and leaving the assignments and projects to be completed inside the classroom.  As with all new concepts there will be concerns.:

• what if students do not have internet at home?
• what if students have to work and can not watch the videos?
• how do you know if students are really watching the videos?

The first issue can be resolved rather easily.  Teachers can download the videos onto flash drives, cd's, iPods, kindles, nooks, etc, so students can watch the videos if they do not have computer access at home.

The second issue is the same issue that teachers always had with students completing their homework assignments.  I believe since students are so technologically savvy, they are probably going to find a way to watch the video.

The third issue is a great question?  Teachers can incorporate edmodo questions into their video to see if students understood the concept.  Once students arrive to class teachers can use Senteo clickers assignments to quiz students on the video assignment and then determine how

There has been a lot of interest in the flipped classroom.  Here is an attempt to define what the Flipped Class IS and what it is NOT.

The traditional definition of a flipped class is:

• Where videos take the place of direct instruction
• This then allows students to get individual time in class to work with their teacher on key learning activities.
• It is called the flipped class because what used to be classwork (the "lecture" is done at home via teacher-created videos and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class.

The Flipped Classroom is NOT:

• A synonym for online videos. When most people hear about the flipped class all they think about are the videos.  It is the the interaction and the meaningful learning activities that occur during the face-to-face time that is most important.
• About replacing teachers with videos.
• An online course.
• Students working without structure.
• Students spending the entire class staring at a computer screen.
• Students working in isolation. 

The Flipped Classroom IS:

• A means to INCREASE interaction and personalized contact time between students and teachers.
• An environment where students take responsibility for their own learning. 
• A classroom where the teacher is not the "sage on the stage", but the "guide on the side".
• 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.
• A class where all students are engaged in their learning.
• A place where all students can get a personalized education.

The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. They are a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.

All of the site's resources are available to anyone. It doesn't matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology.  The Khan Academy's materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.

Students can make use of our extensive video library, interactive challenges, and assessments from any computer with access to the web.

Teachers and coaches can access all of their students' data. Teachers can get a summary of class performance as a whole or dive into a particular student's profile to figure out exactly which topics are problematic. The class profile lets coaches glance at their dashboard and quickly figure out how to best spend their time teaching.

Are you willing to flip your classroom?